Euthanasia-it's just a ****ing dog

[PessOptimist]

Hey there denizens of the message board. I know I am a curmudgeon, and since I have voted for republicans in my life, a cruel uncaring bastard.


I am asking for opinions on a personal issue here. I know that some of you are urban dwellers like I am now and some of you are country folk. Some have or do own livestock and some think cows grow precut at the meat counter. I have worked on farms in my younger days.


I have not had to face this for more than 30 years. Then the decision was a no brainer. Now I know what to do but worry about when. I haved changed in the last several years.


The only female in my life for the last ten who has wagged her tail at me and licked my face is dying. She will not eat the food she has been eating for the last several years and I think is playing a game about what she will eat. More power to her I guess. Pay back to the oppressors!


She is a 12.5 year old yellow Labrador Retriever. She has a cranial mediastinal nueroendocrine tumor for those of you with a medical bent. For the rest of us it means there is a growth the size of a baseball in her chest, pressing against her heart and lungs. The prognosis is death. We can opt for invasive surgery where they may opt to put her down on the table ($12k) or four radiation treatments ($800 each) with no guarantee of longer life. Google the life expectancy of labs.


What I am asking is opinions. Any opinion will do. I believe I know what has to be done but am unsure about when is the right time. She is breathing with difficulty now but still wags that tail high sometimes. She had a great time on the 2 week+ trip we just took. She always has been a good traveler, sleeping when it is boring and getting up when there is something to see. She can no longer climb stairs or get in to the car by herself. I truly believe she enjoyed the trip.


OK, I am baring my soul about my love of an animal and opening myself up to much criticism. Go for it.


Those of you with experience in this matter, what I am asking is when to put aside my selfishness and do what is right for this dog? I have taken all the available “quality of life” quizzes on line and don't think it is time yet.


Thanks

PessOptimist

[JimmyJoe]

I too had a Lab. She died about 5 years ago. She was only 7. I miss her.

[coolhand]

I've been in a similar situation with one of my pets, although he was much older. Just like us, as animals age their tolerance to stress drops, and surgery and/or radiation treatments are stressful and potentially fatal options at an advanced age. It may make us feel better to think we're trying to save them, but there's a price to pay regardless.

I think FMW is right, make her as comfortable as you can, but if pain becomes an issue, I think she'd appreciate an escape.

I hope the situation goes well under the circumstances.

[nasa1974]

A tough decision. One that we had to make three weeks ago. Jake was a sheltie/collie mix and was a rescue 16 years ago. We guessed that he was around two when we got him. The vet thought he was older that 18 when we took him in for his final visit. Two years ago arthritis was starting to affect his hips and he had a hard time taking stairs, so I built a ramp out the back door so it would be easier for him. The last year he got cataracts and he was losing his hearing. The last six months we had to carry him in and out of the house because he could only walk a step or two before falling down. He couldn't stand long enough to eat or go to the bathroom. We couldn't leave him alone for more than four hours or he would have an accident in the house.

My daughters where 9 and 11 when we got him and they shared their secrets with him. They decided to have Jake cremated and he still protects the house sitting on the mantle.

It's a tough decision.

[KevinD]

I'm in a similar situation with my 15yo Dalmatian mix. His hips are bad and he soils his bedding daily. Sometimes he can't get up on his own and needs some help but he's just as happy now as he was when he was a pup.

I always said that his time was up when he couldn't get up on his own...and now that that time is here the decision is no easier. I don't know if I'm lucky or not that my dog doesn't have a tumor in his chest. I think if he did the decision wouldn't be as hard.

My best to you and your friend. She's not just a dog.

[WorkFE]

My wife and I lost a yellow lab about 2 years ago. She had tumors everywhere. Most were outside the bone structure and easily removed. She had one that was internal, similar to your situation. Eventually the scar tissue made it impossible to remove and stitch one near the surface so I had her put down.
You are on a short time frame. I got another dog while Sandy was still alive. We consoled each other.
Dogs have a pain threshhold that is far beyond our wussy systems. It has been my experience that when a dog (or cat) is ready to check out they will hide from you. Like a wild animal walking away from the heard and passing away out of sight. Obviously domestic animals normally don't have that luxury but the house and back yard is their wilderness so you have to look for anomalies within that condensed view.
IMHO you will know when the time is right.

[WorkFE]

They decided to have Jake cremated and he still protects the house sitting on the mantle.

Thank you for admitting that NASA. I thought my wife and I were a little nutty for going that far. Nice to know we're not alone.

[Buster]

There is nothing more painful than watching a loved one suffer (two legged or four pawed)..it don't matter, the hurt we feel for their hurt is the same..I agree with FWM, make her feel as comfortable as possible even if it means a few painkillers once or twice a day..then when she is beyond helping herself anymore, time to reliever her of the misery..I always feel our dogs and cats friends are just as much entitled to all the care and love we can afford...they loved us all their lives, so love them back unconditionally too..

I hope when she goes, she goes peacefully and you can get right with the inevitable and the loss of your great friend.

[JTH]

There is nothing more painful than watching a loved one suffer (two legged or four pawed)..it don't matter, the hurt we feel for their hurt is the same..I agree with FWM, make her feel as comfortable as possible even if it means a few painkillers once or twice a day..then when she is beyond helping herself anymore, time to reliever her of the misery..I always feel our dogs and cats friends are just as much entitled to all the care we can afford...they loved us all their lives, so love them back unconditionally too..

I hope when she goes, she goes peacefully and you can get right with the inevitable and the loss of great friend.

Sry Buster, stepped right over you.

Your dog is most happy when she's with you, and that's the most important gift you can give her. I imagine she will tolerate almost any amount of pain just to be with you. My harsh advice is to put her down now so she can go out with some dignity, dignity befittting of someone who served you well for so many years. It sucks, but you are the shepard and you have God-given responcibilities to tend,, and they outweigh your own personal needs.

[Birchtree]

Personally I would not prolong the inevitable. Spend a few weeks during the mourning process out of respect for a family member and then begin another search. There is another dog out there that needs a good home and a second chance for love. I'm not embarrased to tell you that I cried for three days when I had to put down my 16 year old siamese cat. I bought my tonkinese for my wife and now were're all fine. Have you ever read the rainbow book - all pets are waiting for the return of their owners on the other side of the rainbow bridge. Mindylou earns her keep by working as my investment adviser. So I suggest you don't delay - get ready for another start. You'll see, life goes on and there will be many more good times with another partner.

[alevin]

PessOp, I had one of my kids develop heart congestion also, from a different source. I didn't know until the very end when he suddenly went into crisis, but I'd noticed the higher faster lighter breathing for months, just never remembered to ask the vet, thought I was imagining things.

It was a mercy to let him go with vet's help that very morning the crisis hit. The crisis event was hugely traumatic to both him and me, and I thank the Lord every day that I found him where he'd dragged himself, before the dogs and magpies and ravens found him still half-alive and unable to move. He barely had enough heart/lung capacity left to call loud enough to me to help me find him in the neighbors yard where he'd dragged himself.

My other kid's decline was much slower, and the dragged out process became so wearing on me and expensive that I began to lose my love for him. When I realized that was happening, I knew the time was coming soon and psyched myself for what I had to do. I picked a time before the holidays so that I would be able to grieve in private as long as I needed to before the holidays hit. And yes I had him cremated and kept him with me on the mantle the past 1.5 years until I was ready to completely let him go return him to his favorite place in the flowerbed and bush that he loved as a scratching post this summer. I had them both for 12 years, 2 brothers. they saved my sanity during some very hard years.

One lesson I learned from that experience with the vet was, stay right there with him til he's gone. Don't leave him with the vet unsupervised. the vet may not necessarily be as tender and careful at the end if you are not there watching. And this was a good vet I had trusted for many years, and a cat person.

[CountryBoy]

PO'd,

I just put down one of my dogs just a few months ago (Cancer and diabetes) and it was damn hard to do. It still hits me hard to think of her. Let the Vet decide and just don't let her suffer in pain. Other than that, all of us dog lovrers know what you are going thru. You know her better and if you don't think it's time, then enjoy the time left with her.

I posted this on the other board, but I wanted to add, that if you can handle it, you might want to be there when she is put down. It's hard and if you're like me, you be a blubbering fool, but he's part of the family and it'll help you get over the grief.

Sorry man,
Rus