In her book, Really Important Stuff My Dog Has Taught Me, Cynthia L. Copeland had this to say about how dogs age gracefully.

“Age neither defines a dog, nor overwhelms his thoughts.  Because they live in the present, dogs don’t see time the way that we do, regretting years gone by and obsessing over the days that are left.  An old dog doesn’t focus on what he can no longer do, but what he still can do.  Dogs cope, they adapt, they look for reasons to wag their tails.”