Old age or sickness?

Question
My dog is 14 years old. She's losing a lot of fur around her bottom and is "leaking" around the house. She won't eat and only drinks a little, plus her breathing is very slow. I'm wondering if this is just sickness or she's dying of old age? Do I need to take her to the vet to be put down or if I can fix it if it's a sickness?

Answer
She needs to see a vet in either case. I have no way of telling if she is dying, but your vet can let you know what is going on.

She has lived a long time (she is about 89 in human years) so it's quite possible that if she is sick, and has been for  while, that she is slowly dying.

I have only seen dogs lose fur like that when they are in end-stage kidney disease, so it's possible that she is dying from that.

But you need to get her into the vets soon.