SEEING FRANCIS AND TOBY, both elder Cavaliers, gives me such hope. The first breakthrough came when I realized that Cooper isn't dead -- just OLD! My whole way of thinking about him changed, and the awful gloom that had been dogging my steps for months slipped away. He's an old dog living, living with a number of complaints and a significant disability, but he's living ... gladly, often heroically, and always in the moment.