Quote:
Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate
Thank you. I've been feeling guilty ever since I made the decision to put her down. Diablo was the first pet that I, personally, ever took in. Sure we hat pets growing up, but a few months after moving away from home and having my own apartment, I thought I'd take in a stray cat. So this is my first time making the decision to put an animal down. I know she was in pain and was suffering.... but I still made the decision to end her life. The vet did push me in the general direction, but didn't come right out and tell me to put her down. The logic side of my brain says it was the right thing to do, but the emotional side can't help feel the guilt of putting my friend down.
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I can say it's fairly "normal" to feel the guilt you have . . . . but it's very personal to you and that probably won't help much.
Unlike the fairly clear-cut situations with Abby and Keeper above, when we had to let our 10 year-old Sheltie go we were in a similar spot as to yourself. It took three trips to the vet before we could go through with it. There was no obvious day, none better than the other necessarily . . . just a slow, slow deterioration in quality of life through half a year. We could easily have waited, yet again, for ourselves, perhaps for more weeks or maybe longer. But that would have been about ourselves and not her.
In the end, it has to be a decision about the best interests of the animal and not about yourself . . . . and no one can rightly make a judgement about you and the timing in your situation.
It hurts and you may carry doubts for quite a while - that's "normal" - but be confident you did the right thing for your friend.
Cowperson