It is the nature of dogs to live much shorter lives than ours just eight years, on average and it has always been my belief that to love and own a dog is to understand and accept that along with loyalty, love, and devotion come the ever-present specters of grief and loss. This is as integral a part of the dog-loving experience as going for walks. To love dogs is to know death and to accept that there's never a time we are more morally obliged to speak for them than when they face the end of their lives.