My family had a terrific Weimaraner, one of best dogs ever to grace our house. Large dogs like weimaraners are doing good to reach 10 years old, aren't they?
We had a Parsons Jack Russell Terrier that suddenly got very ill. Vet did tests that were inconclusive. Wife fed him chicken soup with an eye dropper to keep him hydrated. We guessed somehow he got into some kind of poison (big clue: two dead squirrels in our back yard). We finally made an appointment to put him down.
While we were crying in the bedroom before driving him to the vet, we heard his toenails clacking on the floor. He had struggled up from his bed and was walking for the first time in a long time.
He lived until 15 when he finally became so addled we did have to put him down. I held him at the vet's for the final shot. It was the least I could do and what I wanted and needed to do. He expected me to be with him, and I wanted to be the last person he saw. It was my duty.
Not getting maudlin or grim; just saying anything can happen either way and you have to prepare for any eventuality.
