i know i've been alarmed before, years ago, when he was lame in the same park where i cried in his fur today, i feared he couldn't walk anymore. he was taking pain meds but his muscles were atrophied and his bones arthritic. i gave him curcumin and he did some therapy and he got better. he's still walking and running some, but he's years older now. hilde is about the same age, but she still runs down the stairs and eats garbage like a goat. but you can't compare dogs and people. i suppose the reason unicorns are so perennial is they don't exist, and cannot die, and are unlike any creature that does.