[nagdu] Guide Dog Age and Retirement

[rhonda cruz]

 hi my current guide dog is my first one.
 she is 6 years old.
 and still has a lot of working time with me.

 
On Jun 10, 2013, at 5:45 AM, Tracy Carcione wrote:

> Hi Ava.
> My Echo retired at 11 and a half.  She probably started slowing down a bit
> when she was ten.
> Ben will be 9 this October.  He's still trotting along at a good pace.
> Amba was still doing well at 9, before she developed cancer.
> 
> When Echo started to slow down, I put in my application to TSE, with a
> hold on it.  It was more than a year before I activated it, so I think I
> had to redo the physical.  I was glad to have most of it done beforehand. 
> I think it made the wait shorter.
> Tracy
>> Hi,
>> 
>> I have a question I hate to ask, but I guess my curiosity overrides my not
>> wanting to know.
>> 
>> How old were others' guide dogs when they first began to slow down a bit,
>> and how old were your dogs when you retired them? Does anyone have a guide
>> dog who is still working (or has been in the past) at 9 years or older?
>> 
>> My Lab guide Cocoa is 9 years old, and I know she is slowing down a bit.
>> Though she still loves to work, her energy level is slowly dropping, and I
>> am nearly certain she will retire perhaps by the end of this year, maybe
>> early in 2014.
>> 
>> My first dog retired at 6, but from a minor medical condition that didn't
>> affect her quality of life a bit, just meant guiding wouldn't be the best
>> idea.
>> 
>> Is 9 young for a Lab to begin slowing down? Is 9 or 10 young for a Lab to
>> retire? I will do what is best for Cocoa, and when retired, she will still
>> stay with me at home, though I may wait to apply anywhere for a successor
>> dog until (a long time from now) when she passes on, I'm not sure.
>> 
>> I just don't know -- 9 sounds so young, yet so scarily old, for a big dog.
>> 
>> Thanks.
>> Ava and Cocoa
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
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> 
> 
> 
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