Euthanasia and your pet

[Igster]

This is the best and the worst thread on CP.

[Suzles]

So much love ...

[bigtmac19]

I'm so sorry HelloHockeyFans, for the loss of your beautiful girl.

[Old Yeller]

Originally Posted by Igster

This is the best and the worst thread on CP.

It really is.

Sorry HelloHockeyFans, that's really tough, although 16 years is a fantastic life for a loved dog.

Tiger, it's one of the toughest decisions you'll have to make in your life and that's probably where the guilt comes from... but you said it yourself "he wasn't happy or himself anymore", you made the right call.

[#22]

We had to bring our 7 year old German Shepherd to the Pet hospital this morning. She has no control of her rear legs and can't stand or walk.

She was her usual self all night, although we noticed she was favoring her left rear leg a bit. At around 03:00 she stopped walking and starting dragging herself by her front legs.

Right now we are waiting for X-ray & blood test results, but I'm fearing the worst.

This dog is absolutely my best friend and is by my side always. Whenever I get down or angry, she slides in and is able to calm me down and put a smile on my face

I don't know what I'm going to do without her

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by #22

We had to bring our 7 year old German Shepherd to the Pet hospital this morning. She has no control of her rear legs and can't stand or walk.

She was her usual self all night, although we noticed she was favoring her left rear leg a bit. At around 03:00 she stopped walking and starting dragging herself by her front legs.

Right now we are waiting for X-ray & blood test results, but I'm fearing the worst.

This dog is absolutely my best friend and is by my side always. Whenever I get down or angry, she slides in and is able to calm me down and put a smile on my face

I don't know what I'm going to do without her

Good luck, hope it's something she can get over!

[#22]

So the CT scan showed a pretty major lesion in the T12 disk causing major compression of the spinal cord which was causing the paralysis, as well as other signs of intervertebral disc disease and spinal osteoarthritis. Two of her other vertebrae have already naturally fused together.

The options were either surgery ($7-10,000, 2/3 chance of succes), or Euthanasia.

I decided to go for the surgery. It's a huge financial pill to swallow, especially in these times, and I can't really afford it, but I just couldn't give up on her yet. She's too young and too loyal. I'm sure this dog would give her life for me.

I just couldn't do it.





I just heard from the surgeon, and the operation went well. She will have to stay @ the clinic for 3-4 days, and then hopefully she can come home to fully recover.

We've given her the best chance possible. Now we have to wait and see

[Roof-Daddy]

Hope she pulls through for you.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Originally Posted by #22

We've given her the best chance possible. Now we have to wait and see

I sure hope that it all works out for you. Such a beautiful dog.

[killer_carlson]

good luck with this.

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by #22

So the CT scan showed a pretty major lesion in the T12 disk causing major compression of the spinal cord which was causing the paralysis, as well as other signs of intervertebral disc disease and spinal osteoarthritis. Two of her other vertebrae have already naturally fused together.

The options were either surgery ($7-10,000, 2/3 chance of succes), or Euthanasia.

I decided to go for the surgery. It's a huge financial pill to swallow, especially in these times, and I can't really afford it, but I just couldn't give up on her yet. She's too young and too loyal. I'm sure this dog would give her life for me.

I just couldn't do it.



I just heard from the surgeon, and the operation went well. She will have to stay @ the clinic for 3-4 days, and then hopefully she can come home to fully recover.

We've given her the best chance possible. Now we have to wait and see

Hope the surgery results go well. I would do the same thing. My dogs are family.

[bagofpucks]

We had a very similar decision with our dog over two years ago and he has been doing great since the surgery. $7K is not a small number, but I always think he would do the same for me if he could. I also joke with him that he needs to get a job...

Good on you for helping your friendbeast out. Good luck on the recovery to a beautiful dog!

[bigtmac19]

Good luck with everything. Such a beautiful dog. Keep us posted.

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by #22

So the CT scan showed a pretty major lesion in the T12 disk causing major compression of the spinal cord which was causing the paralysis, as well as other signs of intervertebral disc disease and spinal osteoarthritis. Two of her other vertebrae have already naturally fused together.

The options were either surgery ($7-10,000, 2/3 chance of succes), or Euthanasia.

I decided to go for the surgery. It's a huge financial pill to swallow, especially in these times, and I can't really afford it, but I just couldn't give up on her yet. She's too young and too loyal. I'm sure this dog would give her life for me.

I just couldn't do it.





I just heard from the surgeon, and the operation went well. She will have to stay @ the clinic for 3-4 days, and then hopefully she can come home to fully recover.

We've given her the best chance possible. Now we have to wait and see

Oh man, I didn't realize you were the same poster who started the cross country skiing thread. Glad it looks like the surgery is going to work out (fingers crossed), hopefully you'll be back on the trails with your skijoring buddy in no time!

[#22]

Went and saw Sascha this morning. She is pretty doped up on Fentanyl but she did recognize me and my son. It is still too early to know if the surgery was succesful.



My wife & I will go see her again tonight. We're only allowed two 15 min. visits in a 24 hour period, which really sucks but understandable. She's in the ICU area with multiple other animals and they all need peace and quiet.

If I could, I would spend night & day there with her.

[killer_carlson]

Re: Limitations on visits. When one of my little guys had an emergency session at the vet it absolutely killed me not being able to stay with him.

He made it through ok, but I was not a nice person to be around until he got home.

[indes]

I hope everything works out! Man's best friend isn't an over statement.

[Tailgator]

Hope it all turns out great! German Shepherds have always been my favourite breed since I was a kid. Loyal and beautiful. Best of luck!

[schteve_d]

I saw updates to this thread and didn't click as having been through it I do hate this thread. I just don't want to read about what goes on in it often, but I finally clicked and it's nice to see a story that will (hopefully) have a happy ending.

Good luck to you and your hound #22!

[#22]

After 13 long days in ICU, Sascha is finally back at home. Although she is still not able to walk, the surgeon is cautiously optimistic she will walk again given time. Bladder functions are normal, which was the main hurdle to overcome before she could be released.



It has been a very difficult couple of weeks. Watching my dog go through all this pain,not being able to be there with her, not knowing if she would recover, watching the credit card climb and climb, spending many sleepless nights wondering if I was being selfish by putting her through all this pain.

On top of it all, I had to go in for surgery myself last week to remove a gallbladder which was no longer being a team player, and spent 3 days sick as a dog from the anesthetic, all the while worrying if the swollen Lymph Node they took out while they were in there slicing & dicing was cancerous or not (turns out it is not!!)

Sorry, that just kind of came out. Guess I needed to unload a bit. Anyway, it's a bit of challenge getting her in and out of the house, seeing as I'm not supposed to lift over 10 lbs. for 4 weeks, but with the help of friends & family we'll get through it. I have looked up a bunch of rehab exercises, and with hard work and some luck, we'll get her to walk again.



It's good to have you home, girl!!!

-PS -
I just want thank you all for your positive thoughts. It means a lot. Special mention to bagofpucks for the "dog needs to get a job" line. It provided some much needed laughter more than once. I'm preparing her resume as we speak