We travel in an RV with our 4 dogs all the time. They are between 5 to 17 pounds so it is no problem traveling with them. They love to hike with us and visit friends and family with us. I am sure our friends and family that we visit are glad that the doggies have their own traveling home!

Thank's Herb for the optimism.
I hope you keep well and maintain that optimism for many more years.
Regards,
O.A.

Keep well and you will.

Hello mccannon01,
Good to hear from you. We have no kids and our dog is going on 13. I don't want her to go before her time, but after she is gone the freedom you have now, I hope to experience.
Regards,
O.A.

That could make a funny movie. "Bozo, The Politically Correct Dog."

Good for you.
To each his own.

I know. It's like watching a sick child.

No pets for the wife and I. Our children are grown up and living elsewhere and we are free to travel or just plain do what we've worked all our lives for. No kennels or shelters and no begging neighbors or relatives to babysit when we want to travel. We do travel often and it would not be "nice" for the pet. We also live on our flexible schedule, which isn't pet driven. We have many friends that have pets and they are always saying they would like to go with us from time to time, but when we invite them they normally say no because the destination lodgings do not accept pets or they don't want the hassle of leaving the pet behind. They made their choice and we made ours.

Edit: Added the last few lines because I was interrupted by the better half to do something before I could finish, LOL.

Wow. You almost make me forget how much attention dogs need. My dog has cost more at the vet than when I raised both my sons. But, like you she is worth every penny in all the joy she brings.

We have always had pets, horses, dogs cats, life is just better with them. We presently have a Sheltie because they are herd dogs and stay put. Fiercely loyal, ours took a coyote following our one cat, away from he front porch and clear off our property. Pets are productive in taht sense. Our old cat is a neutered Tom, who brings me live animals as payment for his meals, his favorite are snakes, tree toads, and then dead moles. I am sure he cleans up the neighbor s yards as well. The two youngest cats are mathcing long haired yellow and white. One has no grumpy bones in his body, pure sweetness,but he alerts me to bugs needing removed from the house. Hid brother, much more worldly, acts as back up watch cat, growling when anyone comes up the driveway, when the dog is sleeping. They all have their contribution and are an absolute joy to have around, never a day they do not cause a laugh. Maybe the mosty unusal, the dog was lying in the driveay while I rearranged rocks in the courtyard.The cats were supervising. A garter snake kept moving just where I canted to set down a rock. I looked at the cats and said, "I wish one of you would do something with that snake!" From the drive, the dog walked into the courtyard, picked up the snake gently, walked to a flower bed on the other side of the driveway, set it down, and went back to lying in the driveway. Shocked, I waked over to see the snake looking around, wondering how he got there. We also had a Black Racer spend an entire summer making our courtyard home. It woudl come and go, the pets would jump over hime if he was on the doorstep. He would come out and sun while I weeded. We also have a toad with his own midcentury style toad house who like to sit with the dog in the evening in the courtyard. One time we had a tornado warning, and I herded the cats and dogs into the house, and Mr Toad was lined up ready to follow them in, but he had to go to his own house. Pets are a responsibility, but they give back.

I have four rescued dogs. My first rescue was a reward to myself for quitting smoking, and it was the perfect reward! We hadn’t had a dog since our children grew up and moved out. We adopted Molly, a Lhasa Poo in 2008. She was 8 years old at the time and would have been put to sleep if not adopted. She has so much personality and she does talk to us in her own way! Since then we have adopted/rescued 3 more dogs: a 2 year old chihauhua, Dee Dee, a 1 year old Bichon Frise mix, Puppy, (named by our grandkids), and an 8 year old Malti Poo, Little Bit. All of these dogs know we saved them and are very loyal, and totally happy and adorable. We cannot believe people threw them away! All of these dogs have their own stories and two were abused and have now moved past it. They each have their own personalities. They have added so much joy, activity, laughter, entertainment, love and pleasure to our household.

With mine its getting up from a laying position. Sometimes, it give out and she falls back to her belly. Sad to see. She whines from time to time. Her breed has hound in it, so I think rear leg pain could be normal at her age. Still, its hard to watch and tougher to gauge.

A subject near and dear to my heart .a cat colonly that got totally out of hand ..https://www.facebook.com/Seaside-Heights-Anim...

I think dogs take on the personality of the owner by and large. BUT, they sure know intrinsically when someone is not a good person or doesnt belong there. AND, just the sight of a pit bull in the yard does offer some deterrent to someone wanting to invade my fenced in yard for the simple reason that dogs make their decision and then act without political correctness !!

My little girl (dog) seems to like small children a lot. As she has gotten older, she shuns most people and other dogs except family and little kids.

Pit bulls have such a bad reputation, yet there is one (maybe more) in our neighborhood and he seems fine.

That's the way I feel about my little hound.

I've had canine companions all my life. When I was a toddler I used to come home with a pack of dogs in trail. It's said that one's life should be measured by their canine companions, and I've been fortunate to have had some that taught me lessons about life.

I have a soft spot for poodles, especially standards. The one that stands out the most in my mind was a big cream male we called Bob, and we were fortunate to have his company for fourteen years. Bob had health problems from the start, but never let that hold him back. He had a natural sense of humor, clowning and grinning without prompting. My friends' children learned to walk by pulling themselves up on Bob's fur, and he especially enjoyed the company of toddlers. He was also an instinctive guard dog, letting unwelcome strangers know they would face unpleasant consequences if they overstepped the bounds he set.

I now have the company of a female one-eyed mini poodle who astounds people when she insists she wants something by distinctly saying "now." A new addition is a 15 year old terrier mix with cancer we rescued from a situation where she had constant conflict with a larger dog, and the poodle immediately welcomed her to the pack.

We are privileged to be living with our 4th. Samoyed in our life and she is the fun, joy and love our previous "daughters" were. wouldn't want to ever be without a Sam..gentlest,kindest and most loving people I know,

I have two pit bulls that protect my house, and one cat. They all get along amazingly enough. And they are different

We are long time empty nesters.
Tell Gustav to give you your nose back.

Get one.
It saves the money you'd spend on a therapist.

I envy your energy.

Having lost a son of my own, I think I'm in a position to sympathize. Like you I have lost many dogs over the years, but they certainly are a solace.

I love goldens!! A cousin has a beautiful golden as does a neighbor. They are the gentles of big dogs. But, I haven't the room for another dog, and I only get shelter dogs, and no one ever abandons a golden, or if they do it'll be snatched up in no time.