About to lose a loyal friend

[GaryE]

deere755,

I just went through the same… Had to put my best friend down March 5th. It was not easy. Two things I used as a gauge;

First, did his bad times out weigh his good times? And was he ready?

Mine spent his last 24 or so hours not being able to keep anything down, lost control of his bowls and was having some sort of seizures. But in the end, he gave me that look asking me to help. I knew it was time….

I could not let him suffer any more…. Only you can judge if she is ready. I wish you all the best, what ever your decision.

Take care,

Gary

 

[NIXON]

As much as this pains me to say, Put Her to sleep . I know it will be the most heart breaking thing You have ever done.
But watching Her slowly go might even be worse.
I don't envy You Your choice , either way it will be hard .
All I can say is that I hope the memory of Your freind will eventually outweigh the loss You are feeling now.
All the best , John

 

[deere755]

Thanks for all the replies. I can't get a vet until morning. I did try to tonight, I am going to put her down. Like some of you have said there eyes tell you its time and its time for her. I want whats best for her she has protecteed my family for a long time its my turn to protect her from anymore suffering. I want to do whats best. I am sorry to hear some of you have recently had some losses too. Its a tough deal they become family.

 

[shvl73]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Its a tough deal they become family. )</font>

To me they're better than most and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[IslandTractor]

I had a similar experience a few years ago with a wonderful dog. In the end (about the same clinical situation your dog is in), we decided to schedule a visit to the vet. Before we took Rufus in, we had a party for him. Lots of old friends dropped by to say their good byes and he really enjoyed the attention. Immediately after the party we made a simple one way trip to the vet and stayed with Rufus while he was put down. Awfully sad day but on reflection it was the right thing for Rufus and I have never regretted it.

 

[dmccarty]

deere755,

If the dog still has to go the bathroom then there is suffering.

We had a dog that did not have a good leg to stand on. When her last good leg went she could not walk and we had to wait over the weekend until she could undergo surgery. The vet gave us a handful of shot full of pain killer so we could ease her pain over the weekend. But having to help that dog get up so she could go to the bathroom was horrible. She was very miserable.....

You will know when the time is right. Don't doubt it. You will know. When our last dog time had come we had the vet come to the house to put her to sleep. When Chase went to sleep our remaining dog started howling. It was not fun but it was time. Chase had gone through two bouts of cancer. When we found the second cancer the vets said she had a few months to live and since she was already under anesthesia did we want to go ahead and put her to sleep. We said no and she had another good six months or so before the cancer started to win.

You will know.

When I picked out a puppy 10 years ago I had a very hard time taking her home. I knew one day I would have to make a decision and that I would loose her. But they way she is going she should be around for another 5 years. Other than a bad eye she is doing good. She still has fun running off the deer and the coyote(s).

But one day we will have to make a decision.....

Later,
Dan

 

[billbill1]

You have made the correct decision, I hope you find comfort. It has been 10 months for me and I still think about my little buddy all of the time. We haven't replaced her and I'm not sure that we will. Very painful.

 

[Unclebuck257]

You have made the right decision for both her and you. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

I've been there too and you are definitely doing the most loving thing for her that you can do now. Get a copy of "The Rainbow Bridge" and read it too. You will cry for sure, but it will make you feel better in your heart with what it says.

 

[1bush2hog]

I have never read "The Rainbow Bridge", however, "Dog Heaven" is another 'light' one to read if you have lost your buddy.

Our dogs are like family - always have been and always will be. We lost one of our dogs to cancer a few years ago. He had cancer in his front leg and the vet swore they could get it all with an amputation. Unfortunatately, they did not, and our dog now had to deal with getting about on three legs as well as the progression of the cancer.

Like someone said earlier - we knew it was time as he had no more quality of life and his eyes told it all - After the vet came to our house and helped him, My wife and kids and I had a funeral in our backyard. Our other dog started howling during our ceremony a howl like we had never heard before. He knew his buddy was gone too.

After the devastation we felt losing Jasper, we also decided we would not get another dog for awhile. We happened to be at Petsmart a few months afterwards and there were pups out front for adoption. My daughter picked one up and I immediatley said no way - we ended up bring Harley home and although he looks totally different from Jasper, his actions and personality are so similar it is uncanny.

We were very fortunate that our emptiness passed soon even though the loss never will. We focused on all the good times we had with Jasper rather than the loss.

Hopefully everyone here who has experienced this type of loss of a pet will be as fortunate as we were.

We love our pets!

 

[BB_TX]

<font color="blue"> Rainbow Bridge </font> is a short poem and available on many places on the web. Well not a poem, but a touching statement. Looks like Dog Heaven is a book. I may have to get a copy of that as we also lost our dog of 16 years about a year and a half ago. Adopted a "mature" golden last year.