Our dog, Puccini, will turn 11 this year. She’s the smartest, cutest, best dog in the world – just like your dog, assuming you have one.

As she has aged, I am thinking more about longevity – not just hers, but mine, and the longevity of family members, friends, and clients. One of the many benefits of having a dog is you can see the aging process play out on an accelerated basis. That’s sad, of course, but also useful.

Here are lessons I have learned watching Puccini over the years. I hope they may help you.

• Our lifespan is finite. We will all die. We need to plan for it.
• We will need help in the last few years of our life. Our dog is all set: she has my wife and me. But unless you have planned, you are not all set. No later than your 70s, you need to decide where you will live in your final years and who will help you. It could be a retirement community. It could be at home, with hired in-home care. It could be with family – a wonderful solution but also a big ask. You need a plan that fits your budget and your circumstances.
• Toward the end, we all need a true advocate. Puccini has two advocates. But it can be trickier for humans, especially if you face end-of-life without a healthy partner.
• The final decline will likely be sudden, not gradual. Admittedly, with dogs, the final decline can be very quick -- days or a week or two. But the point remains for humans: if you believe you can time your entry into a nursing home to be just when needed, you will almost surely have waited too long to be in a desirable facility.
• There’s a chance our life may be far shorter than average, so you need to protect anyone who depends on you for that possibility. Three years ago, on a walk in a public park, Puccini was attacked by another dog. We got her to an emergency vet and were relieved to learn the other dog just missed severing a vital organ. But we all know the unexpected can happen. That’s where life and disability insurance or a large cushion of savings is critical.
• To steal from one of my favorite movies, La Vita e’ Bella. Someday, Puccini will be gone. But we’ll have many wonderful memories – and, fingers crossed, we still have plenty of memories to make. They may not be glamorous: walks, rubs, playing fetch, and digging for moles. But hey – she’s a dog. What did I expect?

You can learn a lot about life from a dog. I certainly have.