Time to put the dog down.

renodoc · #1 07-06-2005, 11:50 AM

15 year old lab/border collie mix that has been with me since she was a pup. Most loyal female I've ever known. So frickin old now, can barely walk and hardly eat. Just a bag of bones.

Who's done this? Sucks.

swede123 · #2 07-06-2005, 11:56 AM

It totally sucks, but once they are in so much pain they don't enjoy life it's for the best. I got a cat when I was six and he lived for 18 years or so. At that point he was going blind in both eyes, was sore all over and didn't seem to have a high quality of life anymore. Still, holding him while the Vet gave him his shots really really really sucked. At least your dog got to live out her full life - 15 quality years is better than you get out of most dogs.

Swede

stigmata · #3 07-06-2005, 12:03 PM

Yeah I've been there and it does suck. Because its an animal you try to just carry on with things - I found myself later that day crying in the SuperMarket [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] But it was my childhood friend and I'm beggining to feel sad thinking about it now.

OtisTheMarsupial · #4 07-06-2005, 01:33 PM

I have put animals to sleep, but only when they were in obvious pain.

Is she in pain or just old? I wouldn't do it if she's just old. If she can still walk, I bet she's not in too much pain. Or does she howl at night from pain? If she eats at all, that's a good sign.

Does she still get happy and excited sometimes? If so, I would wait. Dogs don't usually live much longer than 15 years, but she might have another year or two in her. What does the vet say?

If you do decide to do it, my heart is with you. Actually, my heart is with you either way - caring for an ill or elderly animal is difficult, too.

It's an extremely sad thing and unfortunately a lot of people simply won't understand.

Talk2BigSteve · #5 07-06-2005, 01:45 PM

I had an English Sheepdog named Dutchess that I got when I was 22 I had to put her down last year. She had Cancer, was weak, lost her appitite, and just was in a ton of discomfort. It is hard to do, but it is the right thing to do.

Steve

TheIrishThug · #6 07-06-2005, 02:43 PM

y r ppl so willing to understand that a dog has reached the end, yet if its a person everything is different even if their living conditions r the same?
note:this isn't me stating my stance on assited suicide for either side, just an observation.

Talk2BigSteve · #7 07-06-2005, 02:59 PM

[ QUOTE ]
y r ppl so willing to understand that a dog has reached the end, yet if its a person everything is different even if their living conditions r the same?
note:this isn't me stating my stance on assited suicide for either side, just an observation.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking the same thing, and was going to make a grandma joke but thought better of it out of respect for the OP.

Steve

Blarg · #8 07-06-2005, 03:02 PM

I've had a few die on me. It's pretty heartbreaking.

Sometimes people prolong the life of the animal probably not so much out of a direct concern for the animal, but instead to put off having to confront the pain of putting it to death. We had a German shepherd with hip dysplasia that eventually got very painful for her as she got older, and we probably should have put her down sooner. We loved her so much, though, it was so bizarre even to think of being without her. So it took us too long, and probably subjected her to a lot of needless pain. She couldn't move well and didn't have much energy or joy toward the end. And frankly, most of us in the family were extremely busy -- working lots of hours, going to school, too, sometimes even trying to have a social life. So since she had limited and painful mobility and couldn't really do much "dog stuff" anymore, and we weren't even around to hang around her all that much, what she had was a lot of spare time without as many people in it as she was used to, but with a lot of pain in it. Her going on and on month after month in pain probably wasn't that huge a boon to her. Maybe we should have put her to sleep earlier.

Anyway, I'd urge anyone in this situation to not be too quick to think they're doing their dog or cat a favor by not putting it down when "the time has come." Be sure the favor being done is not just the one you're doing for yourself at the expense of your beloved pet. It's possible to love them every bit as much even if you're making the great sacrifice of giving them up and being without them forever. And sometimes much more responsible, and kinder.

Blarg · #9 07-06-2005, 03:10 PM

Which reminds me of an old joke.

A girl drops her cat off with her brother when she's going out of town for a few weeks.

She calls him a week later to check how things are going. "Your cat's dead," he says. "It ran out and got hit by a car."

She starts crying and can't believe how callous and uninterested her brother sounds about it. "You should have broken it to me easier than that," she tells him.

"What do you mean?," he says.

"Well, you could have said, Fluffy's stuck in a tree and we can't get her down. Then when I called the next day you could say, we're going to get the Fire Department to get her. And then the next day you could have said, well, Fluffy fell and died while the firemen were trying to get her. You know, built up to it or something, so it wouldn't be such a shock right away."

"Oh," he says. "I'm sorry. I guess I didn't think about your feelings."

"That's all right," she says, sniffling away. "I guess these things can happen. So how's everyone?"

"Grandma's stuck in a tree and we can't get her down."

-Skeme- · #10 07-06-2005, 03:14 PM

Sorry to hear that. I had a cat who was like an older brother to me when I was younger. Was always there. He made it to about 16. He was losing weight, fur and basically his sense of anything. Was very weak and tired. Apparently he had Leukemia for the past few years of his life, we just didn't know. When he was visibly sick and we had the tests done, we couldn't afford to have him put down. Pets are great until you have to part with them.. really the only deterrent in getting one.