Pets (End of Life)

[jsm7302]

It has been a rough few months with my dog. He completely lost his sight overnight and we have spent the past two months trying meds and getting tests and second opinions to figure out what happened to him and if it can be fixed. Some meds caused incontinence, while others made him bloated and lethargic. Long story short, it can't be fixed and they believe he has a tumor growing on the rear part of his brain.

 

He is living a similar life prior to his blindness with an accident here and there and also a bit loss of energy.

 

Have you guys had pets euthanized before? Could you shed some advice or stories that may help with the decision? The vet told us his health will continue to decline over time but he isnt currently suffering or in pain so it isn't inhumane to keep him around for the time being.

 

10 year old black lab and he has been healthy his whole life until this year.

[Phil]

First of all, I'm so sorry to hear this. I'm a staunch believer that pets are just extended family, and end of life/quality of life conversations ought to be treated no differently than if you were talking about your own grandparents, as an example.

 

I had my dog euthanized years back because he had inoperable cancer in his snout. My mom had to do the same with her dog just a few months ago — same issue. In both cases, we had real clarity, which made the call to put them down a lot easier. But it was still one of the hardest calls I've ever had to make. I was uncontrollably sobbing in the room with him and it emotionally destroyed me for a while after.

 

But if you want my opinion, it's this: suffering is the first- and second-most important consideration. If he's not suffering, I'd personally exhaust my medical options (medication, re-training for blindness, etc.) before opting for euthanization, but that lasts for as long as he's not in pain. If the medication can't be balanced and you're constantly juggling side effects, that's a reason to reconsider IMO.

 

Again, so sorry this is happening.

[LindG1000]

I can't really say it better than Phil already did - this is really hard stuff to see family suffer, and I'm sorry for what your family is going through right now. I've had to put two pets down, and while both times it was absolutely the right decision, we had the full perspective of seeing pets that had inoperable tumors being unable to eat or walk. 

 

I'd say if it's no suffering, no pain...go enjoy your time together. Play in the dog park. Give the pup a steak or two. Let him run around some. Scratch his head while the Rangers play. Do the stuff that makes him comfortable and reinforces the great things about having a pet.

[josh]

all about the animals pain. 
 

We put down 2 child hood dogs and a cat. All were due to severe pain in the animals. 2 dogs were at the same time going through different issues, one was mostly due to old age and the body shutting down, other had severe stomach problems (most likely cancer). Cat had kidney issues and couldn’t do anything.

 

he also had dogs and cats that lived through some bad health conditions, but we were told - and assumed - the animal was in little to no pain. My parents dog is a mess, has had 9 different surgeries, can’t see, etc - but she’s finally got the right dosages to not be in pain.

 

 

[Pete]

As others have said, it's all about the pain. If the dog's not on pain, then it's all part of life. 

 

We have a dog who tore his ACL a few years ago and now most likely has torn the other one...he's unable to climb stairs about we have to evaluate the situation with a surgeon and a couple of weeks because it might not be worth putting him under again at 12 years old (he was just under in January for dental work).

 

Unfortunately it's what you sign up for with pets, you'll most likely outlive them and will need to help them die. What I will also say is that the pet deserves a little bit of dignity so if they're peeing on crapping all over themselves, then you should help them move on IMO.

 

Sorry this is happening. 

[siddious]

Phil nailed it. It’s painful to lose them but equally if not more painful to watch them suffer. 
 

it sounds like his quality of life is basically almost entirely diminished at this point. Make sure to spoil him rotten as much as you can while you can. 

[SaveByRichter35]

My 5 year old son and 3 year old daughter are becoming more and more aware of the fact that our 14 year old dog is not going to live forever.  Even though she is perfectly heathy, they keep saying they don't want her to die.  I keep telling them to enjoy her and love her while we can.  Give her as many hugs and kisses as she can take.  

This is a subject I am not looking forward to.  I am going to be a fucking wreck when this dog goes.  She is not a pet, she was my first child.  I'm so sorry for your current situation @jsm7302

[jsm7302]

I really appreciate the insight. Thanks guys.

 

We are enjoying his time while he is still around but the inevitable around the corner is tough to think about.

 

Thanks again for helping me make this decision and digest what is in store.

[BlairBettsBlocksEverything]

I haven't had to put down a pet since I was a teenager but it's definitely not easy. 

 

I remember seeing this on reddit and it made me bawl, but the words are always true. Dogs never die. They just take naps in your heart.

 

 

 

 

[NYR2711]

I’ve been dealing with something similar with my dog as well over the past couple of months. My pug is almost 17 now, and he has bad arthritis in his back legs. He took a fall, didn’t hurt himself, but it was enough to where he wouldn’t walk or stand. We took him to the vet, and they gave us medicine that only seemed to make it worse. Our vet also suggested for us to try CBD for him. She said she can’t legally recommend it, but that she was issuing it for her dog as well. I didn’t like the way the medicine made him, so we stopped the medicine and went strictly with the CBD, and I have to say, he has come leaps and bounds from where he was. He is now back to walking some, we were carrying him. A couple of months ago, I honestly thought we were going to have to put him down, but now, his only issue is that he needs help when he takes a poop, he falls over, so we hold him up, and he does poop in the house every once in a while, but he never pee’s in the house. He has become active again, and still looks for his food and treats. He turns 17 July 20, if you had asked me a couple of months ago, I wouldn’t have thought he would still be with us, but now, I’m not as worried as I was. But when he does go, it is going to be really rough on me. I’ve had him since he was 4 months old, and he has been there by my side when both my parents died and for everything else in my adult life that was major, getting married and having kids. He sleeps next to me every night, it’s definitely going to be hard.

 

I’ve had dogs since I was a kid. My first dog we had to put down because she had cancer, it was a couple of days before Christmas too. We adopted a German Shepard who became my best friend, and then a couple of years later we adopted a little yorkie that only had 3 legs and was blind. My Sheppard took to her as her guardian, and he was upset when she passed. When he passed, I was devastated. I still have all of their ashes. It’s hard because they are family members. They are like kids to me. I have another Morkie right now as well, he is 15, and I worry how he will be when my pug passes because they are inseparable. They sleep next to each other, and when one isn’t home, the other looks for him. 
 

You might want to try the CBD, they make specific ones for dogs and cats. It’s a little expensive, but it may help out. Like others have said, the pain is the one thing you don’t want them to have. I am so sorry you have to go through this, it really is a horrible experience.

Edited June 10, 2022 by NYR2711

[Keirik]

Threads like this are hard to read so I’m going to just give my advice and not go too deep into what others have said. Almost a year ago I shared a very similar story here with a rescue cat I had for years that trusted me and only me. Pets are family. No other way about it. For my case, it was something that happened fairly quickly and on Father’s Day 21, I brought him to an animal hospital for a good 1k worth of testing. They did exams, tests, etc but couldn’t tell exactly what was going on yet. They saw shadows here and there but weren’t 100% certain what it was, but said it didn’t look good at all. The vet said “well, we don’t know exactly what’s going on yet but another set of tests are another 1k to get more answers and even then we might not know. If you chose to end care, it wouldn’t be a cruel decision.” I forget his exact wording but I lost it. It was end game for me because I really couldn’t deal with the moment. My wife took care of the rest.

 

   However. I will say this. I regret it. I 100% agree with the pets pain dictates it. As I said, this is family. We all love and know when our pets are struggling. But we also know that their pain is our pain. We hurt along with them and we also make these decisions based on how painful it is for us to think they might be struggling, so we end care. But I did say I regret it. Why? Not because I wanted to selfishly keep him around for longer. I regretted it a bit because I felt afterwards that he was still fighting and I ignored it because I looked 3 steps ahead. I should have noticed it a bit more. He had more time because he wanted more time. He was scared. I could see that, but he had fight left in him. I felt that I robbed him a little bit of the time he had left, so just make sure you really pay attention to the animals signs. They 100% will show it to you and not just in one instance. You’ll know. But make sure they show it to you more than just a bad two days. Heck, we all have had a bad two days in our lowest of lows, even health wise.
 

   For the record, I won’t re-open this thread because I’d rather not go through those emotions again, but I thought I’d reflect on my thoughts and a slight regret I had. I hope the best for anyone that has ever had to deal with this.