When to put a dog down

[marthachick]

We have a Sampson too, Sammie. He is a 11-13 year old hound mix from the pound. We do not know his exact age at all. We are beginning to get to the point of wondering when it will be time.

He often has a very hard time getting up. He can't get up stairs without major effort and sometimes needs to be picked up (he's 80lbs.) Sometimes his rear legs give out on him and he falls into a sitting position. Occasionally his front legs will give out when he is sitting and he lays down. He often stares into space, just stares. Or at us. He does not run and play but he never really did. We have had him for just over 2 years so he was old when we rescued him. He does not act like he is pain at all. My dad thinks he would never show us that he is hurt. He eats fine, most of the time. Some days he would rather not but he always goes back to normal the next day. Recently he has started having middle of the night accidents. His water intake has not changed nor has his going out habits so that is a bit concerning.

We just don't know. I am going to make a "checkup" appointment for him in the next week or so just to have him checked out. The new accident thing is a little worrisome. He also gets very restless at night sometimes and will breathe funny but not on a regular basis.

Took our Samson back to the vet today. The eye drops weren't helping at all so we're discontinuing them. The steroids didn't seem be helping his breathing/coughing issues to they put him on a fluid pill and blood pressure pill. The vet said if these didn't help they could anesthetise him and do tests and do x-rays but with a dog his age sometimes the anesthesia isn't good for them because sometimes they don't wake up. We're not sure we want to put him through all that and then there be nothing that would help him. Sometimes I think we just prolong the inevitable if we do things like that and if they're not really living, just existing, it's just not good for them or us. Guess we'll just pray the new meds work.

Good luck with your Sampson and hope you get good news for him.

 

[clh2]

Sometimes you just know. My best friend would not have any of her pets put to sleep except one. All them have died natural deaths. Her poodle died within 6 months of mine and her was in pain and she knew it, but still could not bring herself to put him to sleep.

This is just plain sad. For all of you who have a difficult time making this decision - please keep in mind - it is a difficult decision. It is going to hurt you. But the reality is - whether you take care of putting your dog down this month, next month or the following month, it is going to hurt you the same amount. Just think of the "extra pain" your pet is enduring because you can't bring yourself to take care of this decision.

And - I'm going to make one more comment...(a general comment, not specific to this poster i quoted.) Dogs love us unconditonally - they do this day in and day out. This is the special gift that dogs give us. The one thing a dog asks in return is for us to make this decision on their behalf - so they do not suffer needlessly.

Sorry to all of you who have had to make this decision, or who have it looming on the horizon. This is just a painful decision. but please - please do not make your pet suffer needlessly. We owe our pets more than this. (Sorry about the "dog slant" to my post, I'm just a dog person.)

 

[cme]

We put our flat-coated retriever, Indigo, down this morning. We still can't believe she's gone. Our hearts are broke. When we took her to the vet this morning we knew it was a possibility, but she was only showing outward signs of being sick for 3-weeks. We didn't know the cancer was spreading inside her faster than we or the vet ever could have predicted. My philosophy when this happens is that we have to put our pets needs ahead of ours. She was suffering and looked to us to help her unconditionally just the way she always loved us.

 

[EllenFrasier]

If the dog is whimpering, then it is obviously in pain. How is it staying alive if it will not eat or drink? Hopefully she is taking it to the vet and getting some advice from them.

The last dog we had put to sleep was our Cody boy, a Golden Retriever. He was 13 years old and had severe arthritis and a tumor on his liver. For the last six months or so he needed help getting up on his feet, but once he was up he could walk outside to do his business, etc. and liked to hang out under the table. He still drank and ate his dog food and made a trip out to the dining room when we had dinner so he could get some handouts.
Then one night he didn't come out to the table, so I went to help him stand up. He didn't want to come out, so I let him rest. That was the first sign that he was going downhill. A couple of times, he did not make it outside and just peed where he was laying - that was sad for him and for me. Then he refused his food and refused water. The next day I told my husband it was time and we made an appointment at the vet. Our kids went with us - we had Cody before they were born. They wanted to go and I let them. I swear Cody was almost gone before we even got there. I had to carry him into the examining room. It was over quickly and I held him in my arms as they put the needle in. We kept telling him how much we loved him and that he was a good boy, because it was so true. My kids were okay until we got to the waiting room and then they burst into tears and so did I! We more or less ran for the car and Dh took care of everything else.
For months I would look for him under the table and expect to see him lying there - even when he was younger, he loved to be under a table. He was my best buddy and I still miss him.
As hard as it is to say goodbye, we owe it to our pets to let them go when it is time. We could have let Cody die of natural causes, but it might have taken a week or more and who knows what discomfort he was in. Your friend needs to re-examine her pet's quality of life if he means anything to her at all.

 

[JoiseyMom]

How do you know...sigh, you know, it is very hard to do. I have done this twice.

Our 6 year old Golden was diagnosed with cancer. We had him on meds and he seemed ok, no pain. Once he stopped eating and seemed larthargic I made the call to the vet. It was horrific. Then he seemed to rebound, so I canceled with the vet. He was ok for another few weeks, and then no more rebound.

Last year we had to put down our 14 year old chow mix. Talk about hard. He was old, always had rear leg issues. Was having trouble walking, was going in the house, eating was sporadic (even with people food). We took him to the vet, upped some of his meds..but within a few weeks, it was just too much.

I know how hard it is. Your friend needs to put his animals needs before his own. It is very selfish not putting them down when they are in pain and there is no longer a good quality of life left.