re: Lost my lab: torn, broken, crushed: ETA Pics of Ol Pup

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I have no children. About to hit 40 and don’t want children. I decided a few years ago I don’t want kids because I fear they would have illness like I battled on and off the time I was 18-30. It was harder on mother and family than it was for me. I can’t imagine having a child that sick, multiple surgeries and spending probably half of a 9 year span in hospitals.

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Again like someone else said, I'm not telling you you're right or wrong here...but here's my story. I'm 49 and was career oriented always worried about having enough money to raise a kid. So we delayed all those years. Finally started looking into starting a family only to find out my wife can't conceive. Gut punch. Started looking into adoption. Contacted a few agencies and decided legalized child trafficking wasn't for us ($40k-$50k was too much). International adoption was out too for various reasons. Decided we'd go thru the state. It's not perfect...but now I'm 49 with a 13 year old baseball playing son...and I love being a travel ball dad. Another benefit of adoption: You don't have to worry about those genetic diseases.

I lost my 17 yr old chocolate lab back in September. On New Years our 11 yr old chocolate mix went into hepatic shock. I put that 80 pound dog between us in the bed so I could keep an eye on her...took her to the vet and found out her liver is 1/4 the size it should be due to cirrhosis. We got her as a rescue and she was jaundiced so we had an idea she'd had liver problems before. $150 worth of meds a month and $500 worth of vet bills and she's still with us (Thank you God). My 13 yr old loves that dog.

Also, dogs are not just pets..especially that long...they are family.