He had been "head of farm security" for 14 long years, a long and full lifetime in dog years. For a couple of years now they didn't even expect him to last through the winter. He had gone blind and deaf and was so stiff with arthritis that he could only limp around.

But he still ate heartily and he still tried to pick up toys for us to toss for him (even though he couldn't run after them so we wouldn't toss them very far), and he still followed us around the property to keep an eye on us. He was my SO's dog and they loved each other, despite my SO moving away for college and only being able to visit intermittently.

On Saturday it was a bright, sunny day, the best day we'd had in a long time. Denny spent his days lounging around in the garden, following me around in the garden as I worked. Unfortunately, as the sun started going down, his back legs gave up completely. He couldn't get up, and when he did he could only walk a few steps before his back legs collapsed again. We had no choice but to put him down.

It was the last terrible thing that happened in a long weekend of mishaps (SO's truck breaking down again and having to be scrapped, a piece of equipment catching fire in the barn, SO's sister's pregnancy not going so well) and it was heartbreaking to have to dig a hole for a dog that had been nothing but loyal for so many years. I am so glad he got to have his last day basking in the sun, around people he loved dearly.