Old dog

I had very mixed feelings about this dog. I went out for a lunchtime blip and saw an old couple walking along with two dogs, this one being a way behind, painfully slowly crawling along. My first thought was, this poor dog is made to suffer because the owners cannot bring themselves to put it out of its misery.

I ended up chatting to the owners when I asked to take a photo. It was a very old dog, suffering from arthritis. The owners were very old too, and wanted to do the best for their pets. It had been a loyal friend to them for a long time.

When I knelt down to take a picture this dog got really exited and I'm sure he was posing for a photo, he had lovely and alert eyes and I thought that he was actually quite happy, definately enjoying the attention. I started to empathise with the owners, who is to say when the right time is to let go?