My best bud passed away at home this morning...
His name was chiot (shee-oh) and he was the smartest pup I've ever known.
We got him as a pound puppy 13 and a half years ago when he was 12 weeks old and he was the first birthday present I ever gave my wife who I started dating just before he was born.
We've had ups and downs over the years, lots of gastrointestinal issues and vet bills, but he was the sweetest pup in the world.
My wife and I have known for a couple of months that he was on the downward spiral, he stopped wanting to go for walks in March, then became less and less mobile with less and less appetite over the last several weeks, developing a raspy cough and otherwise remaining totally silent. For the last few days we had to carry him outside and he had lost all his muscle mass. For the past few days we've been in the verge of making the toughest call, but nature took it out of our hands this morning and Chiot passed away peacefully at home in his favourite chair.
Our hearts are broken, but we are happy he died with his family around him and believe that although he was surely in some pain, for him this would have been his choice if he could talk.