Unless your favorite animal companion is a tortoise or a macaw, you know that when you bring home a new dog or cat, that they will unfortunately enter their senior years far too soon. Cats live on average 15 years; dogs, just 10-13.

But because I always try to see the bright side of things, and having shared my life with a senior dog (or two), I like to remind myself of the many ways my senior animals have actually made me a better person through the gifts they share so freely. Here are five incredible gifts of wisdom my senior animals have offered me through the years (do any of these sound familiar to you?) …