Brutus

When you get a puppy for your family you look into good breeds for children. You contemplate temperaments and fall in love with sweet puppy breath. Their playfulness and silly quirks seal the deal. You don't go into this adoption expecting an old dog and yet here we are just 11 years later. Eleven years that went by much too quickly. It isn't easy to watch the old boy age. He still shows off a puppy-like spirit every now and then but overall, he is tired. He breaks my heart often. He is a loved member of our family and watching him age is anything but easy.

He sees the vet every six months now. Today he had a "senior wellness exam". Lauren joined Greg for his check-up to hear first-hand what the experts have to say about his health. He fell asleep in the exam room! Clearly he was not too excited about this appointment. Overall, he got a clean bill of health. He will be taking some medication for arthritis to help with the pain he has when sitting. He has lost five pounds in six months which is concerning but his blood work was normal. He has some fatty deposits under his coat that worried us but the vet believes are harmless. Since we don't want to put his heart through the sedation process for biopsy, we will remain blissfully unaware if they are more serious. Sometimes not knowing is a gift.