Brian called this evening to let us know that he had to put Cyrus down.

When Brian brought him home, Cyrus was smaller than Slate, and that seemed to stick in his head, because he always saw Slate as a playmate. Luckily, she liked him as much as he liked her, so they got along fine.

I feel terrible for Brian, because Cyrus was the first dog that was his–not the family dog, his dog. He trained him, and generally adored Cyrus as much as Cyrus adored him.

Six is way to short a life span, even for a big dog.