I rescued Data from an animal shelter in 1996.  The shelter had his age listed on his cage as 11-13 years old.  I was looking for a small dog as I was going to be having surgery within the next month and I wanted a companion to be with me during my 3 month recovery.  I walked by Data's cage and said "Hey, Puppy" and he started dancing around on his back legs, jumping up and down, such a friendly little thing.  The shelter worker seemed very glad that I was interested in him.  He was obviously coming to the end of his stay and possibly no one wanted him because he was an older dog.  I thought he was precious right away.  I named him Data after the Star Trek character, because I had just seen a Star Trek movie and the name was fresh in my mind and it seemed perfect since Data's previous owner had let his hair grow in his eyes for so long that it had scratched his corneas and left scarring.  I thought of the Star Trek Data's unusual eyes and thus, the name.

He was always by my side.  The most easy going personality.  He was my little four-legged angel.  Consider adopting an older animal.  They can really enrich your life. Data was with me only six years, but those few years were a precious gift from God that I will always treasure.