'Albert' my little 'Westie' has many canine acquaintances around here. One a super Irish Wolf Hound, I was very saddened to hear passed on new years day aged only 9. I last saw him a few weeks before and quite frankly he still looked very young. I understand that larger breeds have a shorter life expectancy, which is so very sad. He was nearly 3 ft tall and seemed to be laughing all the time and my little chap, always excited to see him, used to pull me over so they could have a chat and I always had a treat for him. I hope Albert lasts forever, he's seven on Monday and is forecast for 12 - 16 years. We had a trip to the coast yesterday, one of his favourite days and then a few pints in the local. He was asleep, curled up to me five minutes after his chicken supper, with yours truly about 15 mins behind him! Happy days.