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<p>Yep. That’s the one.</p>
<p>Someone mentioned men crying, even sobbing. In my adult life I don’t think I’ve sobbed like I did when I put down my dog, a 14 yo lab, then my extremely vocal lap cat 6 months later. Each died of kidney failure. They received “dialysis” treatments for a while, till they got more and more frequent. They, and I, hated the treatments. When they look at you as if to say “not again”, it’s time.</p>
<p>The worst part of this ordeal is the time leading up to it. Knowing it’s the last time he’ll do this or that. At least for me, once it’s over, there’s actually a calm peace, almost like a relief. They just don’t live long enough though.</p>
<p>I cried every time I drove past the vet’s office for about a year after they had to put our guinea pig to sleep (yup, a guinea pig – this particular one was the most charming pet we have ever had…). Ex-H took our old dog to the vet when it was time, and I know he cried. He took the dog in when it couldn’t get up any more and meds weren’t helping. Dog was 100 lbs, no way for me to pick him up and take him out when H wasn’t home. So we knew it was time.</p>
<p>When they look at you with misery in their eyes, looking to you to stop the pain. When they can no longer do what they love to do and you realize that you are keeping them alive for yourself and not for them. That’s the time. My brother in law who is a vet told me when I got my loyal dog that when you take on a dog for your pet you must care for it always and part of caring for them is putting them to sleep when it is time. They can’t sign a right to die, you must do it for them. At 14 (my border terrier’s age) you know that there isn’t anything they can do to give back quality of life. He’s lived a good life and he looks to you to let him go with love. Be with him and make his passage gentle.</p>
<p>My advice is to think sooner rather than later when you know your pet is in terminal decline.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t know how you all have these big family good-byes. What we have done is made an open ended family decision that it’s time. Then, one day, sometime over the next few weeks, I’ve taken the pet to the vets for euthanasia. I’ve done it twice now and it is awful. Although as bad as it is, I think it’s easier than having one just disappear and not come home. That’s pretty rough, too.</p>
<p>When it’s all said and done, get a new pet.</p>
<p>Tears in my eyes reading these posts and remembering when the time came for my beloved weimaraner just before her 15th birthday. I had been telling the family for years to get ready, that she was incredibly old for her breed - and, when the time came, I was not ready. Still miss her. What a wonderful dog she was. It was the look in her eyes when I knew it was time for that last trip to the vet. My dog sitter came with me, the vet was so very compassionate - tough times to go through.</p>
<p>Oh, these stories are just breaking my heart. It is such a difficult decision. Just remember that you are working out of love and so whatever you decide, it will be the right decision.</p>
<p>I really appreciate the stories that all of you have shared. We have a yellow lab who is a couple of months shy of 16, which is incredibly old for any dog. It is a little like a running a dog nursing home taking care of her, but I do not feel that it would be right to put her to sleep. She still likes to take a slow walk (short), but not every day. She loves her food. However, she can not see too well (cataracts), and has lost a lot of weight. I don’t think that the food really nourishes her. She is not really house trained anymore. However, she really does not seem in pain. I think that she won’t be able to live too much longer if she keeps losing weight. Certainly, a dog that does not want to eat must feel really badly, but it has not come to that. If I thought that she really was suffering, then it would be easy to do something, but I really don’t think that she is.</p>
<p>Good luck to you in your decision. Thank God for all the loving animals that he has given us. (If you believe in that type of stuff.)</p>
<p>Try baby cereal made with a beef or chicken broth to help keep the weight stable. Sometimes it is bad teeth or difficulty digesting that keeps them from eating.</p>
<p>Thanks so much to all of you for your kind support and helpful information.
<< e-Hugs to everyone>>.
I am going to see how the next week goes. Contemplate over the decision some more to be sure… I will surely let you all know our decision.</p>
<p>Ouch. This could not be more timely. We have the sweetest lab in the world (I know–they all are) who has liver issues and was recently diagnosed with diabetes. We are happy to give him the insulin shots but he isn’t very excited about eating any more–and you all know labs live to eat. I know it isn’t time yet but I do wonder how I’ll know. When he stops wagging his tail when I see him in the morning? When he really loses all appetite? We’ve never been faced with this decision. I know it’s coming, but god knows, I don’t want to take one good day away from him.</p>
<p>We keep telling ourselves he has had a good life.</p>
<p>Knowing it’s the 100% right decision after a good long life… I thought that would make it easier when our 20 year old cat was diagnosed with kidney failure and the vet said there was nothing to be done.
It was horrible. I cried and cried. My head knew it was the right thing. My heart didn’t get it. I decided I never wanted to go through that again and that I would not get any more pets. (Our dog had died shortly before this.)</p>
<p>Fast forward two years. We have the nicest hound dog (adopted at 10 months from a shelter we found through the internet) and two SPCA cats who have taken over entirely. Not looking forward to the hard days in the (please let it be a long and distant) future.</p>
<p>We also had waited too long on another dog. I will never do that again.</p>
<p>One “trick” to get over it is to get a new dog before the old one dies. The new dog understands that the old one doesn’t feel well and is very gentle. Then, when the old one dies, you grieve – but you’re also thrilled to have your new dog. We’ll never forget our golden retriever, but the Australian Shepherd we got a week before she died did a lot to lift our spirits.</p>
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<p>Best laid plans. Our 18 year old kitty had chronic kidney issues which are progressive and ultimately fatal. It’s just a matter of a long slow decline. So we got a new kitty to groom as a replacement. Fast forward two years, the new kitty goes out one night and gets killed by some wild beast and never returns. By this point, we just couldn’t put the stress of another new kitty on the old cat. We finallly put the old kitty to sleep six months later.</p>
<p>After a couple months of empty nest, we got two new shelter kitties who are terrorizing us.</p>
<p>After a couple months of empty nest, we got two new shelter kitties who are terrorizing us.</p>
<p>I’dad. lol. My D “rescued” some frat cats (kittens who lived under a frat house) and they now live under my feet. I call them “Cat Terrorists”. Nothing delights them more than to push things off the table and watch them fall. They appear to be having a hard time grasping that the Law of Gravity applies to all things in the cabin. So they test everything. Over and over.</p>
<p>Oh, they figured out gravity. They just like to see gravity work on the old man who has to walk over and pick the stuff up off the floor and put it back on the table for them to push off the edge again. I like the way they just nudge it little by little until it’s teetering on the edge and then give it one little tap.</p>
<p>Get a laser pointer and terrorize them back. Walmart sells 'em in the cat dept. for a few bucks. They’ll turn circles chasing it until they fall over from exhaustion. Or, up and down the stairs chasing the little red light twenty or thirty times.</p>
<p>ok…well in our family the sickest thing ever is when my dad said how much he loved his dog:(…he said, well he’s blind and deaf…so no trouble for me…yikes. I had to almost force him to let me take the poor dog to the vet, because at 17…he was blind deaf…and way more…the poor dog wasn’t able to move…but my dad couldn’t let go of him.:(</p>
<p>It was heartbreaking, the day I just came and took the poor lil dog to the vet. Called dad to tell him…he was devastated. I actually dug a grave in dads backyard…where he could see from the kitchen window, and made a funeral pyre…( if pyre means a triangle of stones)</p>
<p>Course dad was not happy with that, cause it was a constant reminder…but trust me, I wouldn’t win no matter what I did…I helped him adopt a new 7yr old dog a few weeks later…he said he’ never love another dog…but they are like twins now:) And the lil dog he has is so adorable, I would take him anytime, if dad isnt able to anymore…though I think the dog is what keeps him going everyday</p>
<p>Loved & lost many pets here. Some I definitely waited too long - like Missy the 20 year old calico we had put to sleep last May (I’d had her longer than DD!), Jack the 16 year old tuxedo cat with chronic renal failure, Tut the 12 year old diabetic siamese mix, and Dreamer the 15 year old wolf hybrid with the large inoperable backside tumor. When I questioned why my pets never die on their own and leave this terrible decision to me, my vet put it best - “they just don’t want to leave you”.</p>
<p>If your dog is eating and maintaining weight let me strongly recommend starting with 1 tablet a day of Schiff’s glucosamine wrapped in 1/2 slice of american cheese:</p>
<p>[Schiff®</a> Glucosamine Supplements Pass Consumerlab.Com Voluntary Certification Program](<a href=“http://www.schiffvitamins.com/product_news.asp?id=190]Schiff®”>Home of Neuriva, Airborne and Move Free | Schiff Vitamins)</p>
<p>I know several large breed owners (including a co-worker with an elderly german shepard) who swear this has made a huge difference in a short time.</p>
<p>For me the unfortunate sign that the end is near is loss of appetite. There is usually an unlying cause and it’s rarely a good sign.</p>
<p>Lots of hugs to you both and to all those on this board who are owned by an animal.</p>
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Agreed … and typically this is matched with a dive in their response to seeing family members (tail wagging stops … don’t lift their head to check you out … the sparkle in their eyes is gone)</p>