Keb, that first loss is terribly hard. You do have to harden your heart just a bit to get more pets, knowing they probably won't outlive you.

The Lab was healthy, except for the arthritis, and for the last couple of years he was profoundly deaf. The arthritis is what finally made it so difficult for him, he often couldn't get up and he kept getting stuck in places like under furniture. With past pets when they lost interest in food I knew it was time. With this guy, it was the forlorn intermittent bark he let out when he needed something (but couldn't hear if anyone was responding until we startled him with our touch). Labrador retrievers apparently don't lose interest in food; as I was half-carrying him from the SUV into the vet's side door, we passed a bowl of cat food on the ground for neighborhood strays and he headed straight for it.

I had two dogs for several years, then the Lab arrived needing a home when my friend was badly injured. I kept it to three dogs for the last dozen years, but for now, two is good.