Death of the old dog

Today we had to make that heart rending decision to put the old dog to sleep. He had started to go downhill and was painfully thin even with his three meals a day and last night we got up 14 times to let him out and this morning he looked at me with woebegone eyes. When the vet arrived it was hard for him to stand for more than a few minutes although he managed a deep woof but his rear legs were trembling with weakness so we all knew it was the right thing to do . He went with his head peacefully in my lap lying on the dining floor next to his bed being stroked and being talked to.
The springer spaniel looks a bit bemused but we went out for a walk and enjoyed ourselves, although after the walk she had a good sniff around the house . Talking to the postman who is a great dog lover and owner he reminded me how awful it is when the only dog goes which is no doubt true but the old dog won't be replaced much as we loved him and enjoyed his company- keeping two dogs is proving a luxury we feel we can no longer afford.