Dog lifespans can vary depending upon breed. Usually, the bigger the dog, the shorter they live. We had a miniature schnauzer who lived to 17, but he was going blind and deaf and had to wear adult doggy diapers for the last few years.
The faithful dog that forever loves it's master no matter how long they've been apart is a classic (Odysseus' dog recognizes him after 20 years when no one else does) so I'm willing to go ahead and hand wave the timeline. It's symbolic. We'd much rather look at a handsome vigorous dog than a decrepit chihuahua.... and a Yellow Lab living to 20 is still more believable than a naturally longer lived cat that cares that much about a person...
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branchandroot
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Date: 2011-10-07 10:11 pm (UTC)The faithful dog that forever loves it's master no matter how long they've been apart is a classic (Odysseus' dog recognizes him after 20 years when no one else does) so I'm willing to go ahead and hand wave the timeline. It's symbolic. We'd much rather look at a handsome vigorous dog than a decrepit chihuahua.... and a Yellow Lab living to 20 is still more believable than a naturally longer lived cat that cares that much about a person...