We have an almost 15 year old Irish Wolfhound mix, Isabel, who I adopted at age 1. Her nickname all her life was "Izzy The Perfect Dog". She literally has been without flaws as our pet and companion. For the last six months, she has lost control of her bowels, in part because her hind legs are very weak, and she cannot get up from a sitting or laying down position on her own. Weirdly, she is never incontinent for urine. We are just tiring out of cleaning up poops all day long. We had her shaved in the rear, because cleaning the poo off her long fur has been a nightmare in itself, but even so, cleaning her up several times a day is also exhausting as well as, of course, pretty gross. We take her outside often, but her pooing is random - she can come in from an hour outside and poop a few minutes later. We do keep her confined often, but she is pitiful when she tries to cross the gate and to to another part of the house. We also need to carry her up and down the porch stairs -- she cannot do stairs. She is a big dog, so this is tough. Anyway, enough venting. I am really struggling with the idea of putting her to sleep, but I am feeling stressed and depressed at the continuous coping with poop. Isabel still has a good appetite. She likes to totter along on our short walks. She still likes to put her head between my legs for an ear rub. So it is hard to imagine putting her down. But I don't know how much longer I can deal with this. We have done the diapers --they help, but really it means dealing with poo in the laundry, rather than on the floor and Izzy smells all the time. Anyway -- any thoughts, or support would be welcome.