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Part of the reason for my reaction to his loss is the obvious, grief. Another is, that at 72 I have entered the realm of time consideration that has to do with the dog outliving me and it is a sad thing to see. (a Movie about this - Hatchi, A Dog's Tail) They don't understand that sudden separation and can interpret it as abandonment. There is also the fact that when my wife retires we will be traveling more. Lastly, while I don't regret a dollar spent, Jake's ailments in his last 3 to 4 years, mainly arthritic back and joint issues became an expensive reality of treatments and medications to keep him moving and as comfortable as possible. They ran about $350 to $400 a month.
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We just recently got my Father in Law a new dog and he is 90. He had a dog that at about 13 had to be put down. Wife said she could not remember seeing her Father cry before that. She took the dog to the Vet for him as he could not handle doing it. He at first said no more. Months later he changed his mind. We got a mix dog as puppy, spent a month or so with it training it to walk on a leash and then it went to him. He loves it even though it's of course hard to keep up with a puppy for a 90 year old. Several of the family help out. Take the puppy to puppy play time and walks. We made it clear to him that if he passes before the dog we are of course going to take it. That way he was comfortable having another.