Hannah's Story: Max

That is me with Max when we first had him... Back in his hay day, and back when I was scared to death that he'd jump on top of me!

Max, my golden retriever, is getting up there in age. I hate to say the word, but after my walk with him today... He's old. My Mom has been saying he's 10+ years old for a couple years now, so your guess on his age is about as good as mine.

While on this walk with my dog, I noted that it took us twice as long as it used to take us to walk down the street and back --only, today was different cause we walked barely half the street.
Every yard or so he'd strain to lift his leg about 2'' to attempt a whiz, but I think about half of those times he forgot why he even "lifted" his leg though cause nothin' came out!
His eyes are kinda foggy looking... And whenever I bring him food, I walk about 15 feet away from him and slowly walk toward him so I don't freak him out, but every time he gets startled and jumps out of his skin a little bit!
His bark (: Oh his raspy little old man bark! I love it.
He smells. Bad actually. He's never smelled particularly great since he's an outdoor dog, but I used to associate his smell with burnt macaroni and cheese.... now it's just reek!
He sleeps 24.7. He doesn't even make it to his BIG dog house we built him a few years back cause it's all the way across the yard! So he sleeps under my window. But I don't mind, he doesn't bark nearly as much at night anymore, and it makes me feel some what protected! Definitely a comfort hearing Max roll over and hitting the house every now and then... Let's me know he's still there.

He hasn't had the BEST life in the world, we just never wanted to give him up to another family even though they had a large pasture, or a bigger yard to run around in... Couldn't give up Max. He's lived on a line that ran through the yard, he's been fenced in, and for the past couple of years has had a forrest to run through with an invisible fence. We've played with him, bought him toys, but a lot of his life he has just looked bored. But somehow, when you feel like the crappiest owner, you go out there just to talk to him for a few minutes, and he gets this big grin on his face, and he just loves you like you're the best owner in the world! I don't know why, but he's always here for me, even if I'm not always there for him.
He still follows me as I mow the yard. And rubs against my leg when i've come to a break point.
Even now, if you're taking a picture of ...say a flower, he will just bark at you until you notice him, and the moment you point a camera at him, he sits down, lets his tongue hang out, and you can see a smile there! He's pretty photogenic!

See? So happy!

Okay, fine... this might be the only picture where he looks sad.

He always listens to you, and keeps every secret!

But I just love my dog Max. He's the best dog in the world. I still think he's the prettiest golden retriever I see EVEN WITH his big tummy and white hair! And quite often, I feel like he's the best friend you could have. I will be so sad the day he dies... But until then, seeing him old, makes me happy! Cause he's lived long, and he's not in physical pain!