Confused/upset/annoyed

con1888

Thanks for that, hope you find your keys.

Kaelea

Thanks its only keys to the shed, but the guinea pigs are in there, I will be ripping the door off any time soon :eek:

Fosterdog

So sorry about your girl but it is a good sign that she's still as healthy as she is at that age.

I've known shepherds to go around 5-6 years and the oldest I've known was 14 years so really even if she was only 5 there was nothing to say she would be with you for years.

My current foster came into the rescue in such a bad way and they initially thought he was around 10 years but now he's healthy again and the vet can assess him fully he's now put at 5-6 years although an ongoing condition means he may not make it past a few years.

It may also help your girl that a she's a cross, she could be crossed with a breed that usually lives to almost 20 years and have very few known medical problems, you may be lucky and have the shepherd look and personality mixed with the health and longevity of another breed.

Fingers crossed that you have many more years of happiness with her.

krlyr

Don't mean to put a dampener on things when you're already reeling from the news, but I would see how things go before commiting to a puppy for sure. I grew up with GSDs and they all lived to around 13 with no problems but come that last year, most had big problems with their back legs etc.
I'd desperately wanted a puppy of my own all through my teens and when I was 16, my parents let me get one. We had an elderly GSD at the time and, looking back, I wish we'd waited before getting a pup - though the day I was meant to visit a breeder to possibly go on their waiting list, we got offered a pup through family that needed a home, so happened a little sooner than expected!
Anyway, the puppy pestered the older dog and we had to keep them seperate a lot of the time, especially when pup developed a habit of grabbing at the older dog's ankles or tail! Not good with an older dog with sore hips, so they needed timeouts from each other for both of their benefits.
Kia may be fine but I would just bear in mind the niggles and aches in an older dog, and the boisterous nature of a puppy, and see how Kia is closer to the time

con1888

Thanks for the advice.

I will see how Kia is nearer the time as a lot can happen in a year. If all is as it is just now she will enjoy a pup, she likes playing with other dogs and has a liking for other GSDS for some reason, when she sees one she runs right over to play with them. If her health has deteriorated though we would reconsider if a hyper pup would be too much for her.

We're not sure what she is mixed with, anyone care to hazard a guess?

krlyr

She looks quite Malinois/Belgian Shepherd in her face to me, e.g.
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/images23/GermanMalinoisXBelgianMalinoisGermanShepherdDiesel.jpg

Fosterdog

krlyr I was going to say exactly the same, you can really see it in the face/ head shape

con1888

have had that suggested to me before, I do agree looking at that picture. They are very similar looking to GSDs

mrspanda_2

Hi

We had the same experience with our rescue cat. Were told his age was about 6 but the microchip records we eventually got conflicted with this (and the vet estimated an older age) so now we know he was about 9 or 10 when we had him. We were very upset for a while, and felt cheated over missing out on 3-4 years. Our thinking on this has completely changed with time and we're very grateful to have him at all as he brings us so much fun and pleasure every day! Chances are he'd never have been rehomed if his true age was known (he is a black cat as well) and we'll probably go out of our way to rehome older cats in the future. OP, with time you may think differently too. It's not a nice feeling at first but you are giving Kia a loving home for the rest of her life, no matter how long that turns out to be :A