I lost Star my 16 yrold GSP two days. Because of her age I can't say her death was unexpected but she had not been ill. She was comfortable and eating and showed no signs of any disease until the last hour of her life.  Although slowed with age she still pranced at meal time and ran the boundaries of our larger yard several times daily and joined into any watchdog barking duties. Her tail always wagging was usually a blur. The dogs were all out back stretched out in the sun when I opened the door to give them their afternoon treat. Star got up and started toward me stumbled veered off at a right angle and collapsed. I went to her and called her name the tail gave one slow wag from right to left and then back and then stopped and would be the last wag I would get from her. I rushed her to the Vet and an xray showed a tumor in her spleen and liver had ruptured and begun bleeding heavily. She passed away a few minutes later.
 When I got Star she was nearly 2. I hadn't intended to buy an older dog. I hadn't intended to buy a GSP at all. We (the family) had gone to look at some Wiemer puppies but out of two litters there were only a couple of puppies left unspoken for and I decided to pass on those. I was showing the breeder the pups I would have chosen had they been available, the most outgoing energetic alpha type. She told us that another nearby breeder might have something for us. Although he had no pups, that because of illness he was having to find homes for several of his shorthairs and labs. The gentleman showed us several of his gsps and then took us over to a small corral that had been wrapped with chainlink to in order  to kennel dogs. There were about six or seven dogs inside playing keep away with a round ring toy. One dog would rest it away from the others and then when cornered would toss it up in the air and catch then make a quick getaway. She kept the ring most of the time we were watching. That was my introduction to Star. When they let her out she wasn't overly friendly and quickly disappeared into the surrounding brush. She had an outstanding pedigree with several AFC and NFC dogs as well as many FC. But With her aloofness I wasn't sold and I took a week or more to make my decision. To say that she was less than happy with her new home is putting it mildly. Although she would never disobey a command and always come when called she would look away when you petted her and she didn't eat for several days. I told my wife I would win her over and bought a thick rib eye and put it on the barbecue. I cut several prime bites and took them out to her. I called her out of her house and handed her a juicy hunk. She took it and then looked me right in the eye and dropped at my feet and went back to her house. Well thats the way it was for several months. Then one day I let the dogs out of the kennel as usual and sat down on a lounge chair on the patio. Star made all her rounds and dunked in their water tank came running over jumped on me and stretched out full length. From that day forward she became very affectionate and accepting of her new home. She was a great huntress and the smartest dog I have ever owned. She could read my moods like a book. Her only fault, if there was one, was she tended to run big. She had a great nose and went on a hard point at 25yds or further. Her tail would bristle if the scent was really strong. There were three stages to her life and she was exceptional at each one. Her first several years she was a kenneled hunter , then most of her life a family dog and finally the last few years she spent next to me much of the time her head in my lap or nuzzling me. She was practically a lap dog. I am so glad Star decided to live with us. I am really going to miss her.