Story and photo submitted by Kim
Trinity, my 15-year-old chow-spaniel mix, is lying a few inches behind my desk chair right now, as she has nearly every day at the office for 15 years. (Save for a year when I was at home with my newborn kids.)
Trinity has put up with a lot from me -- going from just the two of us, who would go to the dog park or equestrian center every day, to having a commute, having a husband, having one kid and then the other who loved to try to ride her (but who at least gives her treats and hand feeds her food). She has remained by my feet or by my chair for years.
Now, we get up and leave the house at 5:00 so I can be home for the kids in the afternoons. She lays in bed for as long as possible, but as soon as we get to the office, she runs up and down the hallway, sniffing for crumbs from my co-workers.
Her black fur has now gotten speckled with grey, and her sleep has gotten deeper, and she doesn't hear as much. It's harder for me to wake her up these days and she needs help sometimes getting into the car. But she is still by my side.
(Oops, my co-worker just got out the treats. So, there she goes.)