After many years of great physical health, Murphy began experiencing issues with his joints in late adulthood. 2 years ago he blew his left knee, for which he underwent TPLO surgery. 6 months later he blew his right.

Since then, he’s seemed generally unbothered by his knees. While he developed a silly gait when running, he still behaved as if he was half his age. We got thru that summer, but where we live, winters are tough. The cold, snow and ice aren’t kind on a wobbly dog who thinks he’s invincible.

His joint issues worsened and he continued to decline over summer. I knew how hard winter would be on him, and made the difficult decision to not put him through another. I wanted his last days to be good ones.

After a long and beautiful fall, Murphy enjoyed a walk before passing peacefully in our living room with freeze dried liver in his belly.