Euthanasia and your pet

[Drummer]

Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary (see their Facebook page for more info) just had one of their dogs pass away unexpectedly at only 2 years old. I went to this place a couple of months ago and it was awesome. I recommend it to everyone.

[WhiteTiger]

She was a beauty! Sorry for your loss. =(

[JonDuke]

Cute pup. Sorry for your loss. Sucks anytime of year, but this time of year makes it that much harder.

[killer_carlson]

tough news. Sorry to hear that.

[longsuffering]

Originally Posted by Puxlut

RIP Gelli Aug 28 2004 - December 29 2014

Very sorry for your loss.

[bigtmac19]

I'm so sorry to hear this Puxlut. What a sweet face .

[Rejean31]

I found this post on a pet grief website and to me it sums up what we, as pet owners, must deal with at some point.

A note for those who have lost a cat, or are worrying about when that moment comes.

When we decide to share our lives with a cat, we are making a decision to break our own hearts. That's not melodrama. At some point, that bundle of fur will get under your skin. It doesn't matter how big and tough you are. I've seen British Army Special Forces soldiers cradling their beloved cats with tears in their eyes, hoping against hope that something will put off that fateful moment when they must part. I've seen busy mothers of five children who rule their household with an iron fist reduced to bawling children because they miss their cat. At some point, that cat will work its magic. Its eyes will connect with yours. Its head will rub against yours. Its heart will connect with yours. At that point, you secretly swear your devotion to the animal. It comes under your protection, and you will sacrifice anything to keep it safe. In return, the cat will share that look with you. The one that says "I love you too". That's a special gift, and unless you have been loved by a cat, it is a meaningless one. But if you HAVE been loved by a cat, then you know the value of that gift. It means that the cat will give you a lifetime of love. They will literally spend their entire life in your company. You will feed them, protect them, keep them warm and safe. And they will give you their entire life.
Their entire life. That's their commitment. And what is yours? Easy, you commit to the knowledge that at some point in the future you will be given a terrible decision to make. That decision will be the last you make for your cat. That decision will result in a transference of pain and suffering. You will take away all the pain and suffering of your cat, and you will begin a process of pain and suffering yourself. That's the price for the look. When they look in your eyes with love, that terrible decision is the price. It's a moment that all cat owners dread, but a moment that comes to us all.
So should we feel bad when our cat passes on? Of course we should. We are losing someone we loved, and someone that loved us. The grief will be terrible, but it will be transient. It WILL pass. You will then be left with memories. Some of these memories will bring you tears. Some of these memories will make you laugh. But the pain and the suffering will fade.
So when the moment comes, you have to find a strength within yourself. You're about to do something incredible. You're about to give a display of love and devotion rarely equalled. You will be given a decision about whether to allow your pet to suffer and thus save your own pain, or whether to remove all pain and suffering from the cat, and take it on yourself. If the time is right, you will know, and you will make the right decision. And then you should be so proud of yourself. In the midst of your own grief, and suffering, you should take such strength from the knowledge that when the moment came, you decided to choose your cat's welfare in favour of your own. What greater love can any pet owner display?
So for those that think they have to make that decision soon, take strength. Know that your moment has come. The moment where you wrap up all the love and devotion you have for your cat into one incredible moment and do what's right. For those on the other side of that decision, then well done. I'm proud of you, and your cat would be proud of you, too. Your cat is forever pain-free. You are in pain, but I promise it will pass. Don't worry, some of us know how bad that pain is. You are not alone, and we know how much it hurts. It's terrible, but it will pass. Then you will have the memories, which you should treasure.
I like to think one day I will be re-united with my pets. There will be no crashing together as we run towards each other as in the rainbow bridge poem. There will be no kisses. We will simply give each other that look. The look that says "I love you, and now I know how much you love me"

[Reaper]

I'm so sorry, Puxlut.

[Canehdianman]

*sigh* just got back from taking our 5 year old Labrador Retriever to the vet as he had a few abnormal growths in the past month or so.

They are all enlarged lymph nodes, which almost conclusively points to lymphoma.

Looking it up online makes me feel like he has a few months at most. We have decided that there is no need to prolong the inevitable unless he will have a good quality of life, and prednazone, radiation or chemotherapy don't seem to offer those.

Vet took a sample from one to get some tests done, but assuming it is lymphoma, does anyone have some anecdotal evidence of treatments that gave a decent quality of life for a reasonable amount of time?

[Kerplunk]

One of the dogs my family had also had lymphoma, and with treatment he held on for another year or so after he was diagnosed. Although the chemo treatments didn't hit as hard as would a human (I believe), I would say about 25% of the time he was pretty sick, usually right after a treatment; after that he seemed happier and playful. Once the medication was stopped, it went downhill pretty fast; less than a month or two. It was not a good time.

[Canehdianman]

Thanks Kerplunk,

We are getting referred to the oncology vets at either Western Vet or Care Centre, whichever can see us sooner.

We were told to expect it to be $6k-$10k. Expensive, but worth it to keep my buddy around in good health for another 10-14 months.

I'm hoping to get some honest answers about his quality of life before we proceed though.

[brocoli]

I thought this would be an appropriate thread to post it in, but I recently read a book, 'The Art of Racing in the Rain'. An easier read, but the story made me do what all your stories have. I highly recommend every dog lover to read this book. I absolutely loved it, despite knowing what the ending would be, but not realizing how wonderfully it was told.

Thanks for the stories guys. I'll continue to read them.

[/QUOTE]

I wanted to go back and thank you for recommending this book. It was excellent. I went through it in 2 days as I couldn't put it down. My new pup is just over one, but I know that pain of losing a best furry friend who was 13. It brought back memories both good and bad, but also reminded me to have patience with my new dog and enjoy everything that she is.

[manwiches]

So today finally came. I was fortunate his new parents were nice enough to consider me when telling me the news. I've spent a lot of tears this past week thinking about this, but today was nothing like I could have imagined. I'm happy I got to say good bye, but my heart is in shreds.

He has an appointment tomorrow, but today was my turn to say goodbye.

I wrote a letter to him to help me cope, and a picture of him last year, and have my last picture with him below.

Just need to share...

[cam_wmh]

Thank you for sharing, and so sorry for the loss of your fuzzy friend.

[Suzles]

So very sorry for your loss. You really loved him that is obvious. I'm glad you got to spend that last day with him.

[bigtmac19]

I'm very sorry for your loss!

[Reaper]

I'm so sorry manwiches.

[shane_c]

I’ve seen this topic on here for quite a while but have not read it. I knew the day would come I just didn’t think it would happen basically overnight.

We have 2 Siberian Huskies, one is 8 and the other will be 9 in May. The younger of the two is extremely fit and athletic. I’ve never seen a dog run as fast as her or have the energy that she does. She’s even been able to easily jump onto 6 foot rocks without taking a run at it.

On Saturday I had them out for their walk and she was her usual crazy self. Tons of energy and loving life in the snow. On Sunday we had another big dump of snow and at one point I looked out the window and saw her running in the deep snow and having a blast. On Sunday night I noticed that she was starting to act strange. She’d go and just sit it random places. At one point she came up and laid down next to me and I could see that even though she was laying there she seemed to be having some sort of tremor in her head and back leg area. But her mobility seemed fine. Before bed I sent her out to pee and she did that but would stop and sit every few feet.

When we got up Monday morning she was having great difficulty with her back legs and she couldn’t put much weight on them and they kept crossing over eachother as she tried to walk. We brought her into the vet first thing and they did X-rays and it appears she has a compressed vertebrae. They sent us home with pain killers and anti-imflammatory pills for the next 7-10 days to see if it helps. If it doesn’t we may be looking at back surgery at the vet college in a nearby province which sounds extremely expensive and I’m not sure what the success rate is. She seemed to get worse since we had her to the vet and now her back legs just flop around. She has absolutely no control over them. I’ve had to carry her around and she’s confined to a kennel overnight and through the day. Since she’s been a puppy she has always slept next to the bed on my side and they basically have the run of the house when we’re at work. If I help her into a sit position her legs just slide forward and she falls down. But she still has some sensation because if I tickle the fur between her back toes she’ll slowly move her legs. She also hasn’t urinated in over 24 hrs despite me carrying her outside a few times. I tried to manually get her to go by applying pressure to her bladder this morning but was only able to get a few drops out of her. It absolutely breaks our heart to see her like this, especially given how fit and athletic she’s been. She’s only on the first full day of her meds so maybe things will improve but I’m not hopeful. If not, we’re going to have a big decision to make because under the current situation she has zero quality of life and I don’t think back surgery would be feasible.

We have treated our dogs like gold and given them both a great life, they are our ‘kids’ and we don't want them to suffer. Should we have to make the decision to put her down we both know that we’ve treated them to the best of our ability and given them a great life and during their time they’ve given us so much joy.

[Royle9]

I hate when this thread is bumped, sorry to hear that Shane.. that's an absolute unfortunate circumstance.

[Drummer]

Originally Posted by Royle9

I hate when this thread is bumped

Tell me about it.