Euthanasia and your pet - Page 7 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Huntingwhale · 05-30-2010, 08:24 PM

ken0042 · 05-30-2010, 08:44 PM

I recently had a pet die at the vet's during surgery. I was told her chances of survival were about 50%, and I was given the choice of dropping her off the night before, or bringing her in first thing in the morning. I chose to take her in, and while we waited we got to have some final play time. Just before the vet took her she gave me a kiss goodbye, and that was the last time I saw her alive.

I am so glad I took her in and was with her for her last hour, but I really wish I could have been there for the end.

macker · 05-30-2010, 09:53 PM

I would go. Saying that I wasn't able to be there when we had our 9 year old dog put down earlier this year. My wife was there and I was home with our kids. My wife was a wreck but later told me that she was glad that she was there and that it was actually kinda nice in an odd way. I agree with what others said that you want to make this as comforting for your pet as possible. I have heard that some vets will even come out to your vehicle to make it as relaxed as possible. It was heart breaking for our kids and all of us for that matter. Glad to hear that you had 15 years with your Dog! It does sound like the right thing to do. Never an easy thing to do!

CMPunk · 05-31-2010, 02:09 PM

I can't believe I'm sitting here at my desk tearing up at the thought of putting down the wifes cat. I don't even like the damn thing...she's angry and unfriendly and just a general pain in the ass.I'm such a damn softie for pets

malcolmk14 · 05-31-2010, 03:11 PM

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/090122

I know it's old, but had to share.

CMPunk · 05-31-2010, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/090122

I know it's old, but had to share.

Vena · 05-31-2010, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/090122

I know it's old, but had to share.

Shouldn't have read that at work.

red sky · 05-31-2010, 03:47 PM

What the hell is this salty discharge?

SeeBass · 05-31-2010, 03:54 PM

no fair...you got me bawling

chid · 05-31-2010, 04:44 PM

That article was nice, but I am all teary eyed..

metallicat · 05-31-2010, 04:59 PM

God that's sad, but yet so beautiful.

kipperiggy · 05-31-2010, 06:43 PM

Thanks for your kind words everyone. Simba will not be alone as my stepdad will be with him and I'm pretty sure my mom will be too..but I need to talk with my sister to see what she wants to do. It wouldn't be right for me to be there but not her (just how we are).

Sharing this with others is comforting though. Because I'm always questioning if it's the right thing, if it's really time, maybe he'll rally again.. but I guess it really just is time.

Hemi-Cuda · 05-31-2010, 07:21 PM

a little off-topic, but i find it so strange that we as a society have no problems with euthanasia for our pets, as a way to ease their suffering and give them a peaceful way to die. but when a person asks for that same privileged, suddenly there's a huge debate. you'd think it would be even more clear cut, since a person can actually tell you if they want to die or not

Buzzard · 05-31-2010, 07:22 PM

I thought that I'd posted this before, but searched and couldn't find it. Anyway, I've had it sent in emails and stumbled across it different times. Each time I read it, it puts this huge, annoying lump in my throat.

A few weeks ago I was listening to Charles Adler on the radio at work and he read it aloud. It especially got to me that day as I'd been home a lot over the winter with our dogs. They aren't used to being by themselves these days so I couldn't help but think about them as he read it. It turned me into a big pile of mush. I hate when that happens.

I'm sure a lot of you have read it, but here it is for those that haven't.

How Could You

Buzzard · 05-31-2010, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/090122

I know it's old, but had to share.

Great story.

Stupid bug kept getting in my eye while reading it though.

metallicat · 05-31-2010, 09:51 PM

If you don't shed a tear or two from reading those last two links, you aren't human.

kipperiggy · 05-31-2010, 10:02 PM

Oh my goodness 6 years old... I would have only been 12 years old if that was the case for Simba.

And as for the second link, it makes me cry but also a little mad. I've always thought since I've grown up that if you make the commitment to a pet then you keep that commitment. You don't give him or her away unless it's something like a life-threatening allergy. Even when my family was considering moving to a new house (never did) we never once considered giving Simba away. We did consider giving him to my grandparents or my dad at one point for a valid (different) reason...but I'm glad we didn't, because I probably couldn't have done it.

Pinner · 06-01-2010, 03:09 PM

A short story from our local paper, it's not as much as a tear jerk-er as the last one.

THE DOG THAT CAME WITH THE HOUSE

Our dog came with our house. The previous owners had recently been talked into taking the four year old abused dog from the SPCA, even though they already had two of their own. Their new place barely had room for two dogs, let alone three. We gleaned this information during our initial tour of the house and pulled it out like a trump card when we learned someone else was making a bid. We named our highest price and then I impulsively said, “And we’ll take the dog too.” So under the list of fixtures that would remain with the house the real estate agent added “the dog named Cheyenne.”

I’m not sure if it was the price or the relief in the unloading of Cheyenne that made them accept our offer, but within 24 hours the agent phoned to say the house – and the dog – was ours. We later found out that three black chickens, a cat and a volunteer position to clean the community park also came with the house, but this story is about Cheyenne.

When we arrived at the house on our possession date there was Cheyenne chained to her dog house looking frightened and confused. Her neck hair bristled and she growled at me with her throat but pleaded with her eyes. I tossed her dog biscuits and talked softly until she slowly wagged her tail. It took a bit of courage on both our parts to allow me to unhook the chain from her collar and set her free.

What does a dog think when her family and fellow canine companions leave her behind and strangers start moving into the house she feels bound to protect? In Cheyenne’s case she thought the strangers packed lots of dog biscuits and dog biscuits are good.

For a long time garden hoses and electrical cords sent her scrambling into her dog house shaking with fear, telling details from her life before the SPCA that made me furious to think about. She wouldn’t shake a paw or fetch sticks, but whenever she lay down she would cross her front paws one over the other which we all agreed was the cleverest thing we had ever seen a dog do.

She had incredible energy and a ferocious appetite for food. You could toss her a hamburger and she would swallow it in a single gulp, making me fear for her digestive system and wonder if it was possible to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre on a canine. She also had an alarming passion for racing vehicles up the driveway. Our house sits on top of a steep incline, which makes it a challenge, especially when it’s icy. Throw a dog into the mix and you can imagine the excitement of arriving home. I can’t count the times I had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting Cheyenne, only to find myself sliding all the way back down the hill, while Cheyenne stood triumphantly panting out her victory at the top.

One day Cheyenne was wolfing down food and participating in heart stopping races up the driveway and the next she was refusing to eat and moping about under the deck. I was totally unprepared when the vet checked her over and said, “We can give you some pills that might buy her a couple more weeks of happiness, but that’s all we can do for her. She’s 14 and that’s older than most German shepherd crosses get.”

It’s strange, but it never occurred to me that she was old. That our time together was going by faster than a dog doing crazy laps around the house. I bought the pills and stopped at Safeway on the way home to load my cart with soup bones, hamburger and stew beef. The pills briefly renewed Cheyenne’s interest in eating, but she would never race us up the driveway again. Only five days later she sniffed her bowl of favourite food apologetically, lay down and looked up at me with those same confused, pleading eyes I saw 10 years ago when we first moved in. This time setting her free wouldn’t be so easy.

Pinner · 06-02-2010, 11:27 AM

The website for the author of the story above.

She's a humor columnist, enjoy some of her stories.

http://www.shannonmckinnon.com/

OilersBaby · 06-04-2010, 07:08 PM

awe i cant stop crying..just read the story "how could you"? poor doggies and kitties. my heart goes out to them. Jasper, my Jack Russel just passed away from cancer and had to be put down because he was sick and in pain. I cant imagine someone willingly giving away their pet and making them be put to sleep. We had no choice with Jaspy and with Kristopher, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge and went to doggy heaven about 4 years ago as a 11 year old doggie whose liver had failed. Now I have molly and if she died, I think I would too