I hear that. 14 yrs is a good run for a large breed, you're lucky in that but I feel your pain on the slow decline. Ty will be 7 this month. I always sort of figured that he would have at least 5 more years in him. We took him to the vet because he was getting really finicky with his eating, he'd turn his nose up to dry food etc... we did some research and tried starving him into just eating the food. When that failed we hit the vet. He was 6 lbs lighter than 9 months ago on check in. The tech asked if he always had so much flesh in his neck. He's always had big jowls but she said they felt full. She left and while we waited for the vet I started feeling around his throat and his lymph nodes were the size of egg yolks. The vet came in, looked at his gums and said they were light, and it was a sign of anemia, and that coupled with the enlarged nodes pointed to a number of things. After blood work and doing slides on his nodes she confirmed that he had lymphoma. After 2 days of prednisone the nodes in his neck are shrunk back down. He eats pretty good, still plays and runs, still gets excited when I ask if he wants to go walk. He's still the same dog for all outward intents and purposes. His deuces are a bit loose lately but I attribute that to the diet, the steroids and the vitamin c. I'm going to just enjoy these days and hope they last a long time. So far this is the first day I haven't broken down and cried with the wife, but the day isn't over yet. I take solace in knowing that I'm making every day the best I can for him. I spend every night at home after work now, not wanting to miss out on a minute of time with my buddy. My only hope is that once he starts to get really sick that it doesn't last long and that I have the selflessness and mercy to take that last drive with him when it's time. It feels good to get this out on (virtual) paper. Thank you all for reading and for your support and kind words.