My old dog Jimmy turned 20 a couple of weeks ago.
He is pretty blind and deaf these days as well as crazy, sometimes he barks at cars that drove past yesterday or stands there and stares at a rock for ages.
My old bulldog was nearly 15 years old but we had to put him down about 2 months ago.
Poor old bugger was riddled with cancer in the rear end.
He was pretty much the same as yours @GUN-DMC in that he was about 80% blind and about 90% deaf.
But he was a good loyal pet and part of the family.
This was him in his younger days.
Wow, 15 is a good stretch for a bulldog.
He looks like a cool dog.
Yes he was…he was also as thick as a plank at times and had no road sense. They normally average 11-12 years but I guess that because he lived the life of luxury he stretched it out. He spent pretty much his whole life living inside, slept at the foot of our bed in his basket and came and went when he wanted too. A good stable diet of healthy “large” hoping rabbits probably helped instead of the crap that they sell as pet food today.
I have a young dog (2 1/2) and a middle aged dog (9) but our old boy was 17 when we he shuffled off. He also was half blind, half deaf and mostly senile but the friendliest dog you could meet, except for our young one now, who loved the old boy and learned his loving nature from him, i reckon.
We also spent a lot of time in the last few years, watching him sleep and waiting to see if he was still breathing each morning. He’d still follow you anywhere but sometimes get confused and wander off in some random direction. Still miss the silly old bugger.
So Jimmy is still kicking now but only just, I’ve gone from being surprised each morning when he’s still breathing to being surprised every half hour that he’s still breathing.
He will only eat now if I feed him soft (generally people) food with a spoon and don’t look at him while I’m doing it. Yesterday our goose attacked him and he didnt even notice, in fact he seems to have very little clue as to what’s going on around him.
It’s hard to feel sorry for him considering he has lived 3 times the life of many dogs, but still its getting hard watching him slowly fade. He doesnt really seem to be suffering so ill let him keep going for now, when and if the time comes that he needs to be bumped off the perch I’ll do it myself out of respect but I think it’ll be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, hopefully he just dies peacefully in his sleep.
Sorry for the depressing post 
Well. I had to put my dog Jimmy down at 18- he had a cancer in his mouth that wasn’t treatable. My dog Vince I had to put down at around 10 - 12 after an incident with a neighbor. I still think the wrong animal got put down. He came my way after a very angry lady arrived on my doorstep with him and started abusing me for the way I was treating my Dog, severely malnourished he had been left tied up in the driveway of a vacant House about 100 mtrs away. Jimmy was a black dog - and so was the newcomer. She had asked around who owned the black dog and arrived on my doorstep by mistake.
I fed and watered him and reluctantly called the council , after that he would escape from the House he was “guarding” every few days and sit at my door until I came home or let him in, I’d water and feed him then ring the council. I think that I was the only source of food and water he had. After a couple of months I was moving out of suburbia. The next time he came around I drove him to the lost dogs home in West Melbourne, explained the situation and said that he would be better off with just about anyone other than his owner. They “couldn’t” read his microchip so he got evaluated for adoption. He failed. They rang me and told me that I could adopt him on the promise that if he ever attacked or bit someone he was to be put down.
We had a good ten years until a dickhead neighbor came onto my property and mistook him for Jimmy. Jimmy was a sweetheart to everyone- a lick you to death dog, Vince was not - he had one master (me) and a short fuse with everything and everyone else. When the Dickhead grabbed him by the ears and shoved his face down to his snout…well there was plenty of blood.
Angry and sad at the same time. Dogs just don’t live long enough.
My Jimmy was a black and white Lab/Satffy cross that was patterned as if he was wearing a tux, combined with his escape skills he was named James Bond - or Jimmy.
My current dog a Red Kelpie that is not very loyal or a good worker is just 4. Problem is she is not working every day and has more than one master. apparently they can get a bit arrogant and think they know what needs to be done. Which she does often do racing ahead to paddocks that she thinks we may be going to. We may just be cutting some wood and she may think this is no fun I am going home. Although she is obedience trained on the lead and to a point off lead she will often not do as she is told when it comes time to move the cows and tries to do it her way. Then when she gets yelled at she just goes home rather than come and sit.
My last dog got to 15 and while not a cattle working dog perhaps due to lack of training was very obedient and loyal and would stay with me out working all day long she cost me the grand price of $5. She was a mix of Border Collie and perhaps another 5 types of dog. She got some form of cancer in the end and just slowed down to the point that she looked in pain when moving. Its a sad day when you have to have or put them down.
Ive got 3 in total, an aging JR who’s 17, pretty much toothless with breath that can peel paint at 3 paces. The other 2 are heelers, Matilda is 5 and my mad red dog who’snnearly 2. Both characters in their own right but oh boy “Tank” is the most loyal and unpredictable bastard you could hope to have as your best mate. Ive had a few heelers over time and remember them all fondly but this guy is the one with the most attitude, a real rough diamond. We love them all and they get treated well as dogs should.
Our Cloe went 18 years… A silky terrier x.
Slowed down over time and started to wet her bed. Then her back legs were too week to walk. It was time. The vet was excellent. Buried under a rose bush in the back yard now.
We have fox terrier cross, that we got from a pound. Think he is 12. He used to care, but these days he has zero fuck to give. He crawls under our blanket at night when it’s cold and barks at me until I give him a pet. Also, tries to push my wife out of the way, if he thinks I’m paying more attention to her. Also just jumps on people’s laps and goes to sleep. Sounds like a cat. He used to like cats, until one swiped at him, now they are he’s mortal enemies. Yes, I think he’s around 12.
My brother’s dog just died last week at 19. Some urban fox got in the yard, Tobi-Wan-Kenobi or Toby Halfcock the foxy/russel cross picked a fight he was too old to win and had a big chunk ripped out of him… poor old Tow-Bar…
Went up to Nth-East Vic to be buried with his old hunting buddy, another foxy… both died within a day of each other!
My dogs are around 10 & 3…
We currently have a 9 year old choc lab and 2ish year old bitsa I found as a pup in the bush. The bitsa is fast becoming the best dog I’ve ever had. Super smart, incredibly loyal, very protective but a sook with my kids.
