Muffy was the poodle at the shelter that I didn't want. My daughter talked me into it so I brought her home. That was 11 years ago...she was about 6. Muffy and I worked as a therapy dog team for about six years and I retired her at age 13 when her eyesight became impaired. She worked Kaiser pediatrics and pediatric oncology, several nursing homes and she was a READ dog. She was also Fido on a number of occasions with the County's Reading with Fido program. Most of all, she was my companion and even when she didn't really feel up to snuff, she knew when I was around and would come out to see me, wagging her tail. It's difficult to give up a dog like that.She was around 17 years old when she left us.