We'll keep you in our prayers. That said, with his age you need to be prepared for the worst case. We had one girl make it almost to 16 and another at age 8 looked older and more worn--just varies from one to another. We've also had some go before they were 4 with no warning signs. The biggest factor you always have to consider is not being selfish and keeping them past the time when they have no quality to their life. Our biggest concern now is that most of ours are elder. Our Great Dane is over 11 years old now and that is really ancient for that breed so likewise we are considering end time decisions for her as she has slowed way down and not behaving like she used to when she was younger.