I'm 63 years old and do herding competition with my Australian Cattle Dogs. I lost my best friend, a red heeler, a couple years ago. Losing him tore me up. In November, I flew to Omaha, drove up to Sioux Falls and met the breeder of my new red buddy. Yep, he and my female keep me young. He's a handful but I couldn't be happier. Dogs don't live long enough. It would be a heck of a lot easier to lose them if they lived to be 50 or 60. Never think you are too old, your new puppy will love you forever. JMHO