Bless her, what a gorgeous girl. She'll be in good company on the Rainbow Bridge. Had no idea senility was common in elderly dogs. A very tough and very brave decision by Pippa's owner(s). She obviously had a wonderful life

What a beautiful girl and what a long, happy life she had. Love and hugs to Pippa's family. They are surely missing her very much.

The tough decision to let Pippa go was made tonight.She's at rest now after a long life of loving and being loved.

Angus was about 18 when he died, but I often wonder whether the quality of life for him in his last year was fair on him. Maybe our decision was for us, rather than him. Like a person with dementia he had good & bad days. He loved his food and belly rubs

We had a cairn terrier, Angus, many years ago. Was healthy, but increasingly bewildered, toilet accidents, etc. He was much loved & we coped and eventually died in his sleep. However if he was upset by his bewilderment we would have let him go.

Her owner's coming on Twitter, so pls address any comments with this in mind. She's a much loved little dog.

She's not in pain, not suffering, just slowly fading... the answer to this is personal, and different for everyone

The difficult judgement is this: when is it right to let her go. When is it justifiable to quietly end her life?

Pippa's very happy most of the time, she loves attention from her owner, and loves eating her food.

Drugs and diet can help a bit, but it's essentially a "wearing out" process in the brain -see http://is.gd/I2AO to learn more

Canine Cognitive Dysfunction - or senility - is VERY common in dogs. In one study 100% of dogs over 16 suffered from it