surprise canine mortality

[cimorene]

I read online the other day that 12 years is the median beagle lifespan. Perry's age was estimaged around 1 ½ when I got him in January 1999. Disturbingly, that means he's nearly 11 ½ now. (Slightly less disturbingly it means I've been doing the math wrong for the past few years when I told people he was 12 already, and the math is just addition.) I got quite upset about that at first, and almost cried (like I said: only dogs dying! Although also literature or tv about Dads and mentors dying can occasionally do the trick. Very rarely), but Wax expended some effort to convince me that he was very healthy for his age - which he is; old beagles tend to corpulence, and with that in mind he's not even that fat. It's still an alarming thought, though.



In other news I've been coveting this enamelled bird pocket watch for like a year but I'm not sure if I should order it or not. I mean, I have a phone. It's not like I need a watch anymore. But even if it didn't work it'd still be like the coolest thing ever.

[Poll #1293080]

PS at my homies who live in Turku-Åbo, don't forget Ikea on Monday! ROAD TRIP! :D (Although okay, Reso isn't that far away... it's more of a road... jaunt.)

ETA2: LOL, Ulrike just started buzzing Wax and Perry started going "Whoof", you know, not the big bark, the little offended puff with his back prickling up. THAT'S MY BOY. Hates Ulrike! Good taste! ("Maybe he just thinks Ulrike's coming to the door," says Wax. IN WHICH CASE HIS BARKING WOULD BE EVEN MORE APPROPRIATE.)

Comments

[thornsilver]

All "median" lifespan means that there are beagles who live shorter and beagles who live longer. It's not even "average"!

Just enjoy your dog.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

It's statistically as significant as average (although depending on distribution, it might be either more or less predictive, but in a normal or normal-ish distribution, the most common value would probably be somewhere near the median): it means that 50% live longer and 50% live less long.

[eleveninches.livejournal.com]

I cry when dogs die too.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

AHHAHAHAHAH your icon. XD

I cried SO SO MUCH when the dog died in Dead Like Me.

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

My aunt keeps beagles for preference, and hers have all tended to either develop all kinds of crazy medical problems and die pretty young, or go forever. So fingers crossed if Perry is in good shape now, he's probably got a while left in him. :)

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Eeep, crazy medical problems! Stupid inbreeding-related disorders. :/ Perry's probably not purebred. Perhaps it worked in his favour.

[reilael.livejournal.com]

I completely understand your alarm. I hate that our pets live such short lives. It feels like there's this horrible countdown just ticking away. =(

PS. Never ever EVER read "Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog" by John Grogan. It's a great book about an even greater dog, but it will make you cry like a baby.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

I know, and I had this totally wrong idea that the expected lifespan of a beagle was like 5 years longer than it is. I kind of thought I didn't have to start worrying for a few years. Now it's going to be in the back of my mind all the time..,

[dreamnnightmare.livejournal.com]

if the distribution is normal the median equals the average. What's really important in this case, besides the fact that Perry is healthy right now, is the shape of the distribution. If it's broad, then many beagles live a lot longer than the median, and that would be a good thing of course. But you can't use a population statistic to meaningfully predict the fate of an individual anyway. His current state of health is far more indicative. Another good thing.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Yeah, 'predict' was a misspeech. Of course, lifespan of beagles is still meaningful when guessing his lifespan. I would never expect him to live longer than, say, the longest-lived beagle EVER, and after he passes the median the chances of death are probably increasing instead of decreasing...

[dreamnnightmare.livejournal.com]

if you want a long-lived pet, get a large bird or a large reptile. Or even a large fish. Famous photographs of a British scientist and his pet raven. In one picture you see a young man; in the other he looks pretty darn old. The raven doesn't look any different at all.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

ahhahahahahhahahaa.

And... no. Cats live longer than dogs, though!

[cimness.livejournal.com]

And I must always have 2 cats and a dog. It's exactly the right number of petting zoo inmates.

[vellum.livejournal.com]

mixed breeds live longer than purebreds, indoor dogs live longer than ones in doghouses or kennels, smaller dogs live longer than larger dogs. perry seems he's got all three things going for him. same with my dog, if i could just keep him from being so fat.

[special-trille.livejournal.com]

I'm such a downer with my "nah" vote. I felt I had to since I'm in a decluttering one's life place which involves me not buying stuff and didn't think it was right to urge you to do something that I am avoiding doing myself. That watch is gorgeous, though.