@Rosebud, we had to put our big boy down late last year. he started having uncontrolled bleeding, feet swelling. no energy.. vet said it was an anemic issue, and we could throw money at him, and maybe he would live another 6 months or so.
he was six, and peaked at 187 pounds, weighed 178 the day we put him down.
let me tell you, i cried so hard on the way to my dads to bury him, i had a hard time seeing the road at times. he was a dang fine dog, and will go down as one of the best.. we added his collar to the box of collars from friends long gone, and placed him near the other dogs buried over the years. even with the help of an auger(12 inch drill bit for digging post holes) it took me and pops 2 hours to dig the hole.
We added another dog before Boonie died, a stray pitbull. we named him Brodie, from the movie Jaws. poor boy is super sweet, and was so starved, he was skin and bone, hair was dull, falling out in places. he has filled out nicely, and is so happy to have a place to call home.
we got another puppy for inside the house to help ease the pain of Boone passing, a Doberman. named him Sarge. he is a fuzzhead, so goofy. very smart though....
you can see brodie in one of the pics with the other dogs, right after he showed up.. so skinny. dont have a good one of sarge on this pc. here is sarge and luna. they are best friends now..