OldButtoni
God Like
Thank you all for your kind words, everyone. Most of us have been down this road at least once. I've personally seen 8 dogs in my lifetime pass on. All mini dachshunds and rat terriers. It's never easy. We always said Button would be our last dog. I'm 72 now and my husband is 75. It's just not wise to accept the reality now of a dog outliving us, so any replacement can't be a small breed, (small breeds live 17-18 years, some longer) or a real young dog. Hopefully we'll both be driving for awhile yet, but ya never know what life will dish out. Mobility and trips to the vet throughout their lives might be more difficult over time. If we ever do get another dog (because of current geopolitical setting & things turn so bad we need a bark/alert dog for our intruder warning system at our BOL) it would likely be a slightly larger dog than Button's 10# of might (ratties don't see size LOL). It would definitely not be a puppy as it could outlive us. And very importantly, it would have to be a smooth/short hair dog as we have lots of sticker burs on our 42 acre BOL cabin place. We've talked about a boxer (female as they are a bit smaller) or a beagle maybe. My Dad raised 8 hunting beagles in Texarkana. Wonderful mid-size dogs. I've only been around 1 boxer and it was a very nice dog. Very loyal, protective of family, friendly/playful and its coat would surely shed those sticker burs easily. I love blood hounds and coon dogs, but they're both a bit large for me (and our city yard, if SHTF doesn't happen).