Man’s Sad but True Goodbye to His Senior Pug Is Spot-On
Having a senior dog is so bittersweet. On the one hand, there's no one who will love you more than your senior pup. On the other hand...well, let's just say that your time together is precious. No one knows this better than one man, who gives his senior pug the same speech every time he comes home.
Garret has the same routine every time he says goodbye to his 16-year-old pug. And unfortunately we can relate to it all too well.
It's never easy to say goodbye to your pet, but Garrett's message feels a little...personal. In the video he shared, he joked that he gives the dog his "marching orders" each time they say goodbye.
"Stay alive until Christmas," he commanded. "Think that you can do that for me, buddy? Don't die," he added.
Related: Senior Pug's Reasons for Being Grumpy This Week Has TikTok Falling for Him
And while the dog didn't reply (obviously), we can tell that he understood and was going to try his best.
Other people in the comments section had to have similar conversations with their pets. "I told my 17-year-old Chi 'stay alive to be my Valentine.' He passed on Feb 15th," wrote one person. "AFTER Christmas. I was not clear enough with my Bruce and he died Christmas night," someone else teased. "I used to tell my dog 'if you see the light, run away,'" another person joked.
While another person had their own creative solution to keep their pup alive. "My Pug never died, he's just away at college. Keeps changing his major. I'll see him again one day," they teased.
When Are Dogs Considered Seniors?
One day they're puppies — the next, they're older dogs. If your dog is getting up there in years, you might be wondering when you can technically start calling them a senior. There isn't a definite answer.
Some people calculate their dog's age by the old wives tale — you know, the one that says that dogs age seven years for every human year? But that's definitely not the best way to go about it. The truth is that all dogs age differently and there are lots of factors that can contribute to aging. Like size! Smaller dogs tend to age slower than bigger dogs. Again it's not an exact science, but small breeds like Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, and Yorkies tend to be considered seniors at 11 years old. Dogs between 16 and 50 lbs. (like Border Collies, Beagles, and Dachshunds) tend to be considered seniors at 9 years old. Dogs between 51 and 80 lbs. are seniors at 8 years old and dogs that are more than 80 lbs., like Great Danes, Mastiffs, Irish Wolfhounds, are seniors at only 6 years old.
It can be a little scary to have a senior dog, but it just makes your time together so much more meaningful.
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