No dogs

The Complete and Total Loser does not want a dog. He is enjoying taking care of his sister-in-law's dog, but he does not want his own dog.
Two days ago, he was at a friend's house. The friend and her husband have six dogs. They are all tiny and some of them are rescues. Four of them are very old, for dogs, and one has cancer that will kill it.

Their original dog is a Jack Russell terrier and is wasting away with age. He stumbles on things, pees randomly, has arthritis. They care for him and make his life as comfortable as they can. The Loser remembers when he was a puppy and a young dog. He would fetch a ball non stop for hours at a time, a streak of white and brown as he sped across the yard. Happy as could be that dog. Now he has dementia and looked at the Loser with sad eyes. He seemed to be wondering why he was still alive. If he were the Loser's dog, he would have been put down a year ago, but the Loser knows that if he really were his dog he'd probably feel otherwise.
People who get dogs forget that they're going to be old for a long time.