I lost my trusty and faithful beagle. She was 15 and it was her time.... my poodle is 12 ... I have "sucker" written on my forehead and adopted another beagle from a shelter.... she's a blonde and 7 yrs young and she still has a ton of energy. It's taking awhile to get Jamie the poodle to adjust but we're getting there slowly. She's sweet and the volunteers at the shelter said that she had been there 5 weeks and people don't always adopt "older" dogs... anyhow congrats on your new 4 footed child! Deb