By the guidelines set by other people, I would have put this old collie down perhaps two or three years ago. Now I know it is only a matter of days, and days are like weeks for a dog.

My guidelines for euthanasia have always been:

1. The dog can no longer stand or walk. For some people this isn’t a deal-breaker, because they do make wheel carts for dogs, but I’m not sure if, for me, the space, cost, and increased lifespan is worth it. I remember a family who kept a handsome German shepherd until he could only lift his head. The rest of his body was paralyzed. They called the humane society to pick him up, but wouldn’t sign him over. He lay in a strange kennel, unable to eat or drink for most of the day, because the owners couldn’t sign the papers. I swore I would never do that.

2. The dog stops eating or drinking. I’m not talking about depression or anorexia, but the total lack of interest in food of any kind, even when given to them by their favorite person, particularly a dog who had a good appetite.

3. The dog has lost the will to live and no longer struggles with old age problems. I’d also say that the light in their eyes changes, either to a dull stare, or to one filled with pain.

Like the zookeepers at the El Paso Zoo who had to make a judgment call for the 27-year-old black jaguar, Sheba - the AP article referenced above describes their grief - I will have to make a decision soon. Unlike them, I will make mine alone. All of my dogs have been rescues, usually from abusive first owners. Although it is unusual for a collie to live past ten or eleven, that doesn’t make it easier to say goodbye to a 15-year-old dog, but once you have taken an animal off of the harsh evolutionary system, you take on a certain responsibility that is not always easy.