Someone asked me the other day “Why do you think Duchess has been able to live so long?”
I had to think about it since the average life span of a Labrador mix breed is nine to twelve years and she is seventeen now. That’s one-hundred and nineteen in “people” years!
Was it because she got so much exercise going on hikes with me? Was it because I fed her so well? Or could it be the fact that I didn't always have water for her and she had to develop survival instincts like drinking out of toilets?
The answer is no to all of these.
I figured out the reason she has lived so long when I was lying on the floor in front of the television one night. Duchess came over and “flopped” down beside me and looked straight into my eyes. Then, involuntarily, her mouth came open and a big smile came over her doggie face as she stared up at me.
At that moment I realized that she has lived so long because she constantly feels the love all around her. No one tells her. She hasn't read any mushy cards on her birthday. She doesn't celebrate any anniversaries. She can’t even understand a single word that is said.
But she feels the love.
I believe that is what keeps her going.
Day after day. Month after month.Year after year.