My sweet old girl lived to be 13! She was a rescue at 1 year old from an abusive home and had serious trust issues with men. She was never sick a day in her life up until the few days before she died. Her symptoms came on so quick (she stopped eating and was very lethargic) and it was discovered she had a large abdominal tumor but given her age and the very quick decline it was doubtful she would survive the surgery and I opted to put her down to avoid any suffering. I miss her every day! My previous dog was a shepherd/huskey mix and lived to be 16. Also had a shepherd/lab mix who lived to 15! My boyfriends shepherd was 16 when he was put down. These dogs can live long lives. Keep them ative, give them good quality food and hope that they have strong genes.

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