THE LIFESPAN OF OUR PETS AND WHAT FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR LONGEVITY
I OFTEN WONDER HOW MY CUSTOMERS CAN CHOOSE A LARGE DOG LIKE A MASTIFF KNOWING THAT THEIR TIME TOGETHER CAN BE AS LITTLE AS SIX YEARS. THEN I THINK ABOUT OUR PRECIOUS PAPILLON PARKER WHO HAD TO BE PUT DOWN AT SEVEN YEARS BECAUSE OF BLADDER, SPLEEN, AND LIVER CANCER. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT SMALL DOGS WILL LIVE A LONGER LIFE THAN LARGE BREEDS AS THERE ARE MANY FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO SAFETY AND GOOD HEALTH. I ALSO, IN MY PRIVATE THOUGHTS, QUESTION WHY AN OLDER COUPLE WOULD TAKE ON A PUPPY. NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE EXHAUSTING DILIGENCE THEY REQUIRE, BUT BECAUSE OF THE RISKS OF OUTLIVING THEM. THE EDITOR-OWNER OF THIS PAPER, MY FRIEND AND CUSTOMER, COMMENTED YESTERDAY THAT HE HOPES HE OUTLIVES HIS DOGS BECAUSE THE PAIN OF LOSING THEM WOULD BE UNFATHOMABLE. YET, I REPLIED, HOW WOULD THEY SURVIVE WITHOUT YOU? PERHAPS YOU SHOULD PRAY THAT YOU CROSS THE BRIDGE TOGETHER.
THERE ARE OCCASIONS WHERE A LARGE BREED CAN LIVE TO BE 18 YEARS AND A SMALL BREED WILL ONLY MAKE IT TO 12. BUT THE PROBABILITY THAT YOUR SMALL DOG WILL LIVE A LONGER LIFE IN DOG YEARS IS MORE LIKELY. THERE ARE A FEW YEARS DIFFERENCE, BUT THE AVERAGE FOR EACH IS SMALL-MEDIUM DOGS 10-16 YEARS, LARGE DOGS 10-14, AND GIANT BREEDS 7-10 YEARS. THE REASONS THAT SMALL BREEDS LIKE CHIHUAHUAS, CAN LIVE TO BE 20, IS STILL BEING STUDIED. SEE PICTURE.
CATS ON AVERAGE LIVE 12-18 YEARS, ALTHOUGH I HAVE HEARD OF CUSTOMERS’ CATS LIVING 20 OR MORE YEARS. MY CAT, LOUISE (NAMED AFTER THE MOVIE THELMA AND LOUISE) LIVED TO BE 24 AND MAY HAVE LIVED LONGER IF I HAD NOT CHOSEN TO HAVE A TUMOR BY HER ANUS REMOVED. HER HEART WAS HEALTHY BUT THE CANCER METASTASIZED. IN THE BIRD WORLD, LARGE BIRDS LIKE MACAWS OUTLIVE BY FAR, SMALLER BIRDS. MACAWS CAN LIVE 30-5O YEARS, AMAZONS 25-75, COCKATIELS 16, LOVEBIRDS 10- 16, PARAKEETS 5-15, AND FINCHES 4-5 YEARS. MICE 2-3 YEARS, HAMSTERS AND GERBILS 2-4 YEARS, FISH 1-10 YEARS, AND RABBITS 8-12 YEARS. A HORSE CAN LIVE 25-30 YEARS, ALTHOUGH 17 TO 20 YEARS IS MORE LIKELY. MY HORSE, SHEZA, WHO WAS BRED AT HIDDEN VALLEY AND WAS ORGINALLY OWNED BY MY DECEASED FRIEND, CHRISTINE SPEIGEL, WAS MY HORSE FOR TWENTY-NINE YEARS, TWENTY-SIX OF WHICH I TOOK CARE OF HER MYSELF. WHEN I SOLD MY HOUSE IN COLD SPRINGS, I MOVED HER TO VARIOUS STABLES. SHE LIVED TO BE 34 YEARS WHEN A VERY HOT SUMMER SPELL TOOK THE LAST OF HER FORTITUDE.
BOB, WHO TURNED 85 ON JANUARY 4TH, SPORTS A T-SHIRT THAT SAYS” I’M 595 YEARS OLD IN DOG YEARS” AS THE GENERAL NOTION IS THAT EVERY YEAR A PERSON LIVES WOULD EQUAL SEVEN IN DOG YEARS. NOT EXACTLY THE CASE. GENERALLY, WHEN A DOG IS A YEAR-OLD, THEY ARE LIKE A FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD KID. WHEN A DOG IS TWO YEARS OLD, IT’S REALLY LIKE A 24-YEAR-OLD HUMAN. AFTER THAT THE AGE INCREASES ESPECIALLY IN BIGGER DOGS. A SMALL 10-YEAR-OLD IS ABOUT 56 IN HUMAN YEARS AND A LARGE DOG WOULD BE 66 YEARS, AND A GIANT BREED, 79 YEARS.
GENETICS PLAY A BIG PART IN HOW LONG A PET LIVES, AS WELL AS HEREDITY AS IN PARKER’S CASE. POOR BREEDING PRACTICES BY “BACKYARD BREEDERS.” KEEPING YOUR PET’S DENTAL HEALTH, A PRIORITY, CAN REDUCE EARLY DEATH BY 20 PERCENT. PROPER NUTRITION, MONTHLY HEARTWORM, FLEA AND TICK PREVENTION, FRESH CLEAN WATER, ENOUGH EXERCISE, KEEPING YOUR PET MENTALLY ENGAGED AND RELAXED, WELLNESS CHECKS AT THE VETS, LIMITING THE NUMBER OF UNNECESSARY VACCINATIONS, AN ACCIDENT-PROOF HOME, ALWAYS CLEAN LITTER OR BEDDING, COVERING (EVEN MY HORSE) IN BAD WEATHER. CARE FOR YOUR PET AS YOU WOULD WANT TO BE CARED FOR.
