• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

How will we know when the time is right to put her down?

M

Mary-Beth

New member
My Beloved Jack was my first dog. I got her when I was 13 and we were inseparable until I moved out of my parents house. I left her there because they have a huge fenced in yard. She was my best friend. We used to go walking through the woods together, and fishing together. Just about anything I did, she was right there with me.

About a year ago she started acting kind of strange. She was always hungry. Whenever food was around she would drool uncontrollably, something she'd never done before. Then she started to go blind. I'll never forget the day my mom called me, crying, to tell me that Jack has a brain tumor.

Now she's completely blind and halfway deaf. She's always ravenous. My parents decided to feed her more (since she's going to die soon anyway) - which resulted in obesity - which resulted in arthritis. All she does now is eat and sleep. She doesn't seem to be in any pain though. Yesterday I was over there and I noticed one of her nostrils was plugged up with something hard and brown. I don't know what it was. My mom's calling the vet about it today.

I just went through my pictures and I only have two of her from before she got sick.

nails011.jpg


nails012.jpg
 
Sorry to hear that, M-B. I am of the opinion that since you're already asking, you will know. Some people wait past the right time because they are too attached to let go (in my opinion, people who drag their cats to the vet every other day for SQ fluids when they're in complete renal failure but they don't want to poke thier cats at home fall in this category). But if you are already thinking about it, I think you will know. I don't think it's usually very difficult to know. Either she will tell you, or you will just know. :)
 
I'm so sorry to hear your beloved friend. I don't think it is always easy to know the right time to euthanize a pet. We have had to make this decision with two cats in the past. The first cat was my husbands. She secluded herself in the basement. Paul felt that she was comfortable and doing what came naturally to her, so he did not want to put her down. Unfortunately she died alone in the basement and he regrets not putting her down earlier. The next time was more recent when one of our younger cats developed what we think was lymphoma. She lasted quite a long time, doing well. When it was clear to me that we needed to put her down I tried to get my vet to come to the house since I had been told she did that. Unfortunately I was mistaken and we could only get an appointment with the vet that we felt comfortable with in 2 -3 days. That night Baby was begging me to go out. My husband and I knew that if we let her out that we would not see her again. She was asking to go die on her own terms. I said my goodbyes and let her go. She came to us as a kitten on her own terms and she left on her own terms. I am sorry for myself and for my kids that we could not be with her, but I think we did do what she wanted. And please, for those of you that do not believe in letting cats outdoors. I understand all your points and respect them. Please respect mine.

Mary Beth I hope that telling you our stories might help and that you don't feel that I have hijacked your thread.

My thoughts are with you and Jack,

Joanna
 
So sorry to hear about your lovely dog. I agree that you will know when it's the right time because you are already questioning and would add that unless the animal is obviously suffering it will be your individual decision. It's never easy, I'm sure a lot of people on here will be with you every step of the way (in our thoughts, if not in person)
 
Mary Beth
First off what a beautiful dog. You will know the time is right. It almost seems like a switch is thrown. Last year, I had trouble dealing with the fact that my 15 year old lab needed to be put down. It was not until my wife, who is a vet BTW, forced me to sit down and think about it. Was I holding on to her for me or for her. Once I realized that I was being selfish, and only delaying the inevitable, did it sink in that the time was here. I saw that the light had gone out of her eyes weeks before but did not want to lose the only constant in my life for the past 15 years. Good luck on your decisions.
 
Mary Beth,
I'm sorry you are facing this decision. I know I am not looking forward to the day my wife and I have to make a similar decision about our Bulldog. I think as another poster put it similarly.......when he no longer seems to enjoy his life, you will know.

Chris
 
*biiiig huuuug*

I just went through this with my cat. He was 12 and a half and diagnosed with diabetes in May. We decided against starting the insulin shots (every 12 hours for the rest of his life) and regular blood and urine testing, knowing that his time would come.

That was last Tuesday when Cato was put to sleep.

I was a total mess but I know it was the right thing to do. He wasn't terribly sick yet and we wouldn't have put him or us through those dark times.

It breaks your heart but you need to decide when "it's time". Don't wait until your friend is so much pain.
 
You said she is not in pain? And she is still happy to see you? Well~ not yet then. But keep it in mind and watch for indications that keeping her around is more for you than for her. I had to have our Big Boy Atlas put down last Jan. It was horrible~ and I waited too long. I just could not bring myself to do it ~ and I was not willing to admit he was as old as he must have been~ I kept trying to get the vet to fix whatever was making him sick. It was selfish of me. By the time I took him in he was completely blind, He didn't know who I was, I'm reasonably sure he did not know who he was. He just walked in circles for hours at a time until we stopped him or he fell down, had no control of his bladder......and finally stopped eating entirely. When I thought about it~ I had not seen him wag his little stumpy tail in over two months, and I think it had been at least that long since he last acted like he knew who we were and was happy to see us. Don't let it go that far~ but as long as she is not in pain~ and is still happy~ well then not yet.

I'm so sorry you have to do this.
 
That is a really tough decision, Mary Beth. I got my dog when I was five and had him for 17 years. At about 14 he was partially blind and we began to have to give him an asprin or half an asprin a day for the arthitis.

Once he became about 16, he had lost his eye sight and would suffer from mini strokes on walks, but we still couldnt bare to do it. Still, a year later it was just time to do it. There comes a point where it hurst you more to watch them live and suffer, than it would to put them to sleep.

That dog was my best friend as a kid and I am sure you are going through the same thing. Good Luck.
 
I agree that you will know when the life the dog has is no longer an enjoyable one. Though it is a heartbreaking decision, you don't want your pet to suffer and you will definitely know if she is in pain and her quality of life is gone.
I'm so sorry Mary Beth, and I hope you will be able to keep her with you for a little longer. I have a little cat I am very attached to, she is my baby. At 7 years old she's not as young as she used to be and I know when the day comes that I have to make that decision it will be like losing a family member. I've had her since 2000 and she has been with me through life's ups and downs and always there to comfort me when I feel sad. I wouldn't want to keep her in this world if she was suffering because she would deserve better. The quality of life is more significant than the quantity, so if you need to make a sad choice just know that you gave the animal the best life you could and the ability to die with dignity instead of trying to postpone the inevitable... :cry:
 
Thank you everyone.
She still recognizes me by my smell. When I offer her my hand she wags her tail and rolls onto her side so I can scratch her belly.

I grinding my teeth waiting for my mom to call me and tell me what's up with her nose.
 
Sorry for the late update. I didn't really feel like doing it.

The vet said that the tumor is pressing on Jacks sinuses now, and that's why she has the brown stuff. My mom has started calling her snuffulupigus, which is funny in a horrible sort of way.

You can only see a little of the brown stuff in the pic below. My mom's been trying to keep it cleaned out.
 

Attachments

  • 100_1158.JPG
    100_1158.JPG
    72.8 KB · Views: 20
  • 100_1160.JPG
    100_1160.JPG
    43.5 KB · Views: 20
This is a question I hate to ask, but did the vet give you an estimate of how fast it will progress, how long she has left? I'm so sorry you are going through this, Mary-Beth
 
My mom has two heart worm pills left, and asked if she should buy more while she was there. The vet told her she might not even need the two she had left.
 
I don't know what to say, but thanks for the update, just as long as she is still comfortable you have time to say 'goodbye', bittersweet as it is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top