Dogs

I love the look, and character, of wolfhounds but their lives are so short that I feel it's almost like having one of those short-nosed dogs that can't breathe. I suppose wolfhounds don't suffer during the main part of their lives, but there has to be something wrong genetically for them all to die so young. My uncle used to have some, and they never lived past the age of about 8 at most. My current (crossbreed shepherd) is 8 and she's in the prime of life, still playing like mad, albeit for shorter, more manageable lengths of time than when she was two or three. I couldn't bear to think she was at the end of her stretch now.

And she's very majestic looking when sitting up straight in the living room, which she does quite a lot. Just need another one to make one of those olden-day portraits of the manor house with two dogs, one each side of the fireplace!