Our Stymie, a border collie mix, was 18 1/2 years old when he had a stroke and we had to euthanize him. We were heartbroken. Neither of us wanted to ever feel like that again. After about 4 months, my niece called to tell me she had a special puppy that she had to get rid of as they had the parents and she wanted her to go to a good home. She knew us well and our love of dogs, especially our beloved Stymie. At first we resisted, but eventually we went to see her. Her name was Hayley. I took to her immediately, but my husband, Al, didn't want a female or one so small(about 30 pounds) or one that was almost all black. After going to see her a second time, he said "If you want her, go ahead and get her." She ended up being his dog. Her favorite thing was to jump up in his chair and sit straight up next to him in the crook of his arm. It was adorable.
Saturday we had to euthanize our beloved Hayley after 17 years. Again we are heartbroken. I don't know if I ever want my heart broken again. I love dogs, but this hearts so bad.