My dog has been put to sleep (1 Viewer)

[Rain]

Man, all I can say really is that I'm very sorry for your loss.

I hope you do consider adopting another dog in the future, though. You could save a life and what better tribute would there be to your departed friend?

Best Wishes to you.

 

[MarkHastings]

I hope you do consider adopting another dog in the future, though

Yes, and try not to think of it as "replacing" your last dog either. The new dog is adding to your future life and not replacing the past.

 

[MatthewA]

Getting another dog all depends on what the entire family wants.

Thank you for the moral support you have given me.

 

[StephenA]

Sorry to hear about your dog. It's ad losing a family member, whether they are human or animal. When I ever lose my dogs Trog and Jade, I'll be terribly sad, because I'm so close to them.

 

[Richard Travale]

Matthew, I'm really sorry for your loss.

We are in the midst of making that same decision about our 11 year old Rottweiler, Scheiden.

As for getting another dog, do it only if it feels right. Right now I can't imagine getting another dog and all the heartache that goes along with it (this is my mindset right now of course). If in a few months it seems like the right thing to do, then do it.

 

[Daniel Swartz]

I'm terribly sorry for your loss. I know exactly how it must feel.
I lost my dog to an inoperable brain tumor in June after months of agonizing radiation therapy. After a long struggle, she had to be admitted to the hospital on my birthday and we were forced to put her to sleep the next day. It was bizarre because I was in CA for a week prior and just happened to fly home that day. In a way it was kind of poetic. Like she was waiting for me to come home....
Biscuit was a 12-year old Chow Chow. She arrived as a Christmas present in 1993. We were inseparable for the next four years and I think I missed her the most of all when I had to leave for college.
Sigh. Circle of life... Gone but never forgotten.

Note the milk mustache. =)

 

[Rain]

Matthew,

Feeling like you never want to have another dog after you lose one is very common.

I wasn't trying to suggest that you do it tomorrow. It takes time.

Let me share a story...

I'm working in a pet food shop at the moment and the manager there lost a beloved dog a few years back. He and his partner never thought about getting another dog for a long time, but recently he decided to take in another dog that was in dire need of a home.

Now whenever I ask him about how the dog is doing, his face totally lights up. It's nice to see, but it sure doesn't mean that the friend he lost earlier was any less cherished.

Best wishes to you.

 

[Richard Travale]

Now whenever I ask him about how the dog is doing, his face totally lights up. It's nice to see, but it sure doesn't mean that the friend he lost earlier was any less cherished.

Damn Rain, that sure choked me up

 

[Elliott Willschick]

My very first dog died a little over a year ago. She was only 7 and very sick but she was suppose to live for the summer. I turned down a summer job to stay home and care for her as I knew it would be my last summer with her. A week after I turned down the job she passed away. My parents suggested we get another dog that summer, not as a replacement, because it would be the only free time I would have to raise a puppy for a long time.

The new dog never replaces the old dog. It will never make you feel better about the dog you lost. It's like having a different friend. Just be careful because you may end up comparing dogs at first. My mother did that for awhile as our new dog misbehaved a lot. You have to appreciate them on their own merit. However, if you do not feel ready for a new dog then wait. Only you know when it's the right time to get another dog.

 

[Brad Newton]

Matthew,

Sorry for your loss. I have had pets since I was a kid. We lived near the highway, and as you can guess, many of them wandered into the road never to return. That was years ago, when there wasn't much traffic. A few months ago, our shih-tzu was having back problems, and we thought for sure that she was going to require surgery. We were scared to death. The wife took her over to meet with the surgeon, and was supposed to leave her. For some reason, whe couldn't leave her. I was kind of upset, because I wanted to get past the problem. Both the surgeon and our vet had said she needed it. All I can say is that I am glad that she didn't leave her. She is getting along well right without the surgery, and seems to be improving daily. We do not let her jump and run around like she used too, nor do we let her climb up and down steps. We carry her. Thing is she likes to be spoiled............and we like to spoil her. I can't imagine being without her. She truly is our best friend.

 

[Scott Thomas]

Matt, This reminds me of the time when my grandparents had to put their Yorkshire Terrier to sleep. I remember that Kimmy (male) was about 11 years old and he started getting anixous, The vet says that he was just too old to understand what was going on. My grandfather took him to be put to sleep, it was very hard my grandparents. Now they dont own a dog. but they still have a picutre of him.

Very sad indeed

 

[sarah1973]

i have a dog called jessie she is 11 and 2 weeks ago i was told she had a brian tumer and they can not do anything for her she sleeps all the time do not know what she is doing and is weeing in the house so i got to deside if i wont her to be put down

 

[Cees Alons]

Hello Sarah,

Welcome to the forum.

That's a sad thing and if your dog would not be in any pain or could behave normally and be happy, there would be no need to put her down, even with a tumor.

But as you say, she's mostly sleeping and doesn't realize any longer what she's doing, she doesn't have much of a healthy life anymore. Dogs normally hate to urinate inside the house, so if she's doing that, she may be very disturbed and sick, or terribly weak and tired. I'm sure she has had a wonderful time with you, 11 years is a considerable age for dogs. For some it's even a very high age.

If nothing can be done for her by the doctors, and because she may be embarrassed, confused and so terribly sleepy, it might be a graceful gift to her to have it ended in a quiet and nice manner. She probably will not even notice it.

We had to have this done to our cat, a (male) housemate of 21 years to us. But we were also sure to have avoided him getting in pain by the illness later. And we knew he'd had a lovely life and had been loved and giving love during that great life with us.


Cees

 

[Bob Graz]

Our 10 year old Cockapoo has been battling kidney disease for half his life. He's on a special diet, two blood pressure meds and Maalox.
He continues to do well, but it's a progressive disease (and it is worsening). At this point he's a happy dog. When we talk to our Vet, that's what we talk about. Is what we are doing helping to keep Bandit a happy dog? As long as the answer is yes, we keep going. At some point in the future when we have done all we can and Bandit is suffering we will do what's right, because that's what he expects us and wants us to do. It will be sad and I'm not looking forward to it, but when we look into his eyes and don't see that sparkle, I think we'll know when it's time.

 

[Peter-PP]

I'm so sorry to hear that, you have my deepest sympathy. I grew up with all kinds of animals and unfortunately I had to face so many passing of my dear friends and it was not easy losing any of them.

 

[Michael_K_Sr]

Well, I had to make the terrible decision yesterday to put my 13 year old Lab Jesse to sleep. She may have had a mini stroke back in April that she had shown a remarkable resiliency to come back from. Still, she had been suffering from a condition akin to multiple sclerosis for dogs that was starting to rob her of the use of her rear legs. Two weeks ago I came downstairs to find that she couldn't get up and fell over when she tried to walk...the same thing that happened back in April. I took her to the vet and he gave her a steroid injection and some oral steroids, which had worked when she had the similar episode back in April.
The steroids did seem to work. Within a few days I was stunned to see her making her way (albeit slowly) up the stairs so she could rest in my bedroom. But by last weekend she started to go downhill. She was having a harder and harder time getting up and moving around. I was carrying her in and out of the house usually. She also started going to the bathroom in the house, which she hadn't done in years. Early in the week I noticed she wasn't finishing her dry dog food in the morning. I resorted to letting her eat it out of my hand. She also spent much of her time panting, even though I keep the house air conditioned and she wasn't moving much. Thursday she just had the hardest time getting around. I brought her into the back yard and she just stood there in place until I brought her back in. That night she just laid on the floor looking at me with her big expressive eyes and I just had the feeling that she was so uncomfortable. I brought her up to the bedroom and laid on the floor next to her crying because I knew what probably was going to happen the next day at her follow up visit to the vet's office.
Yesterday morning I helped her up and as she struggled to make it to the stairs, she just pooped and collapsed in a heap. As I carried her down the stairs and outside she continued to poop as we moved. When I got her back inside she wasn't interested in eating and wouldn't even eat a dog treat that I offered her every morning. She had never done that once in her life. I pretty much knew then that the end was near. I had to go to work but I had a family member check on her during the day. She struggled to get up the first time, but wouldn't eat anything. On the second visit, she just wouldn't get up at all. I cried on my train ride home from the office, got her outside and laid down next to her in the grass and took some pictures of her. Then I got her in the car and took her to the vet.
We weighed her at the office and she had lost four pounds in only 11 days (she was only 56 pounds to begin with.) She also was panting heavily. I had a talk with the vet and he said he could increase the steroid dosage, but he was skeptical it would improve her life much. I looked at her and wondered if that was the kind of life she would want to lead...having me carrying her in and out every day and being unable to run around like she always had. I decided the answer was no. After I made the decision and the vet walked out of the room, she finally seemed at peace and stopped panting. They brought in a blanket and I moved her to it. He shaved her leg and gave her an injection. After about 30 seconds her body went limp and I laid her head down. They then gave her a second injection to stop her heart. I just laid down on the floor next to her crying and thinking about all the great times we had together. I spent another 10-15 minutes in the room with her before saying goodbye for the last time. She was always so strong and active and had become shell of herself. We had always had dogs growing up, but this was my first dog that I was completely responsible for that i had to put to sleep. It's an awful thing to have to go through.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Went thought this with my cat last year, my condolences. The ache subsides in weeks to come, focus on the good times, it'll pull you through the rest of the pain.

 

[Michael_K_Sr]

Thanks, Patrick. It's still pretty raw. I have another Lab at home but he's even older...dread the thought of going through this again.

 

[montrealfilmguy]

I'm so sorry for your loss.
If you haven't heard of this documentary before,it is one of Roger Ebert's very favorites.
It's called Gates of heaven by Errol Morris.
Ebert's review
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19971109/REVIEWS08/401010320/1023
This is also the film that had Werner Herzog eat his shoe
embedding is disabled on this so ...

And a clip from the film.
At the 1:00 mark there is a grave with the inscription : I knew love i had this dog.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I hate even typing this, but my dog has suddenly been acting differently tonight. She seemed fine all day, but her nightly walk really tired her out and she's been lying down with her head about an inch from the floor, awake. She hasn't been real responsive. When she got up to drink, she seemed to drink fine, but then she sort of fell over instead of lying down gently. I took her to the vet a couple of days ago for a routine checkup, and everything seemed fine. The blood work came back okay. The doctor was very confusing, rambling, but she said something about she was on the "high side of normal" when it came to renal function, and that she wouldn't worry about it at all if she was a younger dog. She's a 16-year-old lab/golden mix. I've had her almost half my life. When they get to be that age, you know it has to happen sooner or later. I've been scared about it for probably six years now.
The only thing that was done at the vet, other than drawing blood, was a topical application of Frontline flea medicine. She had never had fleas before and never had any treatment whatsoever. I'm kind of hoping it's a reaction to that and it'll pass. I would think if it was cancer or something, the blood work would have shown something amiss. But, some sites say giving Frontline is a very bad thing, and others say that's nuts. I called animal poision control line, and they were skeptical that that would be the cause. It's what I'm clinging to right now. I just hate that these things always have to happen on f****** Saturday night, when the vet doesn't open until Monday. Last year, my cat took sick on a Saturday (actually, she had been ailing before that, though a trip to the vet's proved fruitless), and it was a bad 24 hours waiting for the vet to open. Instead, she died at home, about an hour before the vet opened. That was the most heartbreaking thing. I just don't know if I can trust the vet about the Frontline thing, because I doubt if she was admit to that even if it is the case. Frankly, since my dog has gotten older, she hasn't seemed to be very interested in treating her. It may be an old dog to her, but she's every bit a family member to me.
I'm not really looking for advice, but I'm sitting here in despair. I'm hoping my sleeping pills will kick in soon. Best case scenario would be she will be better in the morning, but then it's another long wait until Monday. There's an emergency pet hospital around here, but they charge $500 for an examination and they even pretty much turned me away when I took my cat to them on that last Sunday. I just don't know. All I can do is pray for her to get better or to at least not suffer. She has never harmed anything or anybody. If a dog's health was related to how sweet they were, she would never be sick a day in her life.