[@Silver Fox]

Thank you for sharing, it must be difficult for you...

I'm fearfuly bracing myself for something like this. I have a 14 year old dog whom we have had for 13 of those years. I'm 16, so this dog had been around for almost as long as I can remember. She is obviously getting old, her mussel and face is streaked with white, and she has gained a lot of weight. She still runs, and plays, but after she has been still for awhile and gets up, she gets ups stiffly and slowly. She may some possible health issues, and we don't have the money to take her to the vet right now.

On top of that, we have a cat (who is lying beside me as I type this.) who is almost the same age, and starting to show it too. 

*sigh*

And just two months ago, one of my cats ran away and has not come back.