JulieMelton visit me at www.heart-and-music.com Keep smiling! Hello, all. Please pray for me and my guide dog Lear. over the past few months I've noticed him slowing down and getting older. Saturday the vet noticed a lot of weight loss and just a general change in Lear. His guide work is still careful, but he has less endurance than he used to and can't really do long routs without frequent stops. The vet tested his thyroid adn said it's low normal and probably doesn't account for all the changes in him. The bottom line is that I'm thinking about retirement. I need to call the school with a couple questions today, so I will see if a rep can visit sometime in the next couple months to talk about this further. In addition to praying, can some of you with dogs tell me how you knew when to retire your dog? I'm new to this, as Lear is my first dog. Thanks for your help and support.