Earlier this week a toy fox terrier that recently set a world record as the oldest living dog finally passed away from natural causes just five months shy of her 23rd birthday.
Pebbles, who lived in Greenville County with her owners Bobby and Julie Gregory, achieved the feat on May 17th of the year, and celebrated in style with a bubble bath and a special meal.
She may have weighed just four pounds but she had a larger than life personality, and would spend all day sleeping and sunbathing by the pool, before coming alive at night. She would wake around 5 pm for dinner – pizza and cat food were among her food preferences – and then be awake for the rest of the night.
She was also a big fan of country music, and counted Conway Twitty and Dwight Youkam among her favorite artists. She even had a tiny cowboy hat that she wore when the mood took her.
According to her owners the secret of her longevity was that she was treated like a member of the family, lived in a happy, positive environment, ate good clean food, and was given proper healthcare.
In the course of her lifetime, she had 32 puppies with her partner Rocky, who himself passed away six years ago.
She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.
Since the global pandemic, dog ownership rates have soared, and more and more people have welcomed four legged friends into their homes.
Many have found incredible joy from the experience as well, because a dog gives unconditional love, and will never judge their owners in any way. All they need is to be fed, walked, loved in return, and they make wonderful companions.
However, one of the downsides of dog ownership is that humans will normally outlive their adored pets (the odds against this happening are longer than usually found on platforms like bet365 mirror sites .
The average dog lives between 10 – 13 years, and some breeds like Boxers and Great Danes, have a much shorter life expectancy.
Some breeds like Chihuahuas, Poodles and Jack Russell’s do live longer, and it is no coincidence that smaller dogs have generally a longer lifespan, although Pebbles was very much an exception and not the rule.
Nevertheless, anybody thinking about owning a dog should go into it with their eyes open and realise that, at some time, they are going to lose them and, when that happens it can be an incredibly painful experience, and one that can haunt people for months, or even years.
Whilst Pebbles’ demise was hardly unexpected, the Gregory family will still have to come to terms with her loss.
Some cannot bear to own another dog again in their lives, whilst others will attempt to smother the pain by immediately getting another animal, trying to keep themselves busy because of the day to day activity of having to care for another living thing.
That, though, should not deter anybody from getting a dog because of the joy they bring with them whilst they are alive. And, even in death, Pebbles will continue to evoke many warm memories.