Letting your dog die naturally versus putting them down (labrador, barking, mice)
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My English Setter had turned 13 and I knew it was not going to be long for him. He had collapsed vertebraes and tumours in his mouth and along his gums. I often had to carry him outside for loo breaks and back indoors upon finishing. Then he quit eating and eliminating altogether. This went on for a week and he was slowly becoming bloated. He was his jovial self throughout, did not complain once...but one day, he came to me in his slow, halting manner and lay his head on my lap...and all I could see and 'hear' is his request for it all to end. I rang the vet who told me he would meet me at the clinic on his weekend off (this was late Friday) and I spent the time grooming him as he loved and holding him.
I never did receive a bill for that...but a sympathy card arrived a week or so later. The vet had let me mourn as long as I needed at the clinic and wept right along with me, then helped me wrap Jo in a blanket. I drove some 60 miles to bury him in a field (with permission) that he loved to run in.
I look now at my eldest Lab and see the gray about her muzzle and her eyes are not as clear, her hearing is fading and she is slowing a bit...and while I do not dwell on her ending; I do hope it is one of peace and without pain. If I can assist her in this, then I will. It is a small thing to do for all she has given to me.
The vet had let me mourn as long as I needed at the clinic and wept right along with me, then helped me wrap Jo in a blanket. I drove some 60 miles to bury him in a field (with permission) that he loved to run in.
It is so important to spend time with the body afterwards. So often we are numbly escorted out of the office. It all comes as a shock and then later the grief comes in giant tsunami waves.
When human loved ones die, we get to spend time with the body. It is a normal part of the grieving process. We need time to see goodbye, hold the pet in our arms, and see that they are at peace.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Woof Woof Woof!
I just ran across a retired woman and her dog on a hiking path. We got to talking and she said she grew up on the farm and they never put dogs down. They just let them die naturally, and often the dogs passed away in their sleep.
When my dog was dying, I often wondered if I should have spent the time with her holding her and being with her instead of rushing off in a panic to the vet to spend a few hundred having her put to sleep.
I've known many people whose pet died naturally at home and it was usually very peaceful. Humans pass away at home naturally.
What are your thoughts?
I had my last dog put down because she was confused and obviously in a lot of pain. I think it would have been poor stewardship to let the illness run its course.
We had a lab growing up that lived to be 16. She was arthritic and wasn't exactly spritely, but she was happy and relatively comfortable. Always good for a smile and never stopped soliciting belly-rubs. She begged at my parents' bedroom door one night until they let her in. It was unusual since she usually slept on her mat in the kitchen. They awoke the next morning to find that she had died in her sleep. I guess she knew.
As I mentioned earlier, I helped my best friend, Barnie to leave this life....and although it was at the vets office, I held her, stroked her and constantly spoke to her as she slipped into a deep sleep and as she took her last breath....so she wasn't alone at all. Afterwards, the vet staff allowed me to take my time and certainly didn't rush me out. I did have her cremated and her ashes are here at the house, on my mantle with a cross draped over the urn and a photo of her. I too hope that her ashes will be mixed with my own, when my time comes.
We had a lab growing up that lived to be 16. She was arthritic and wasn't exactly spritely, but she was happy and relatively comfortable. Always good for a smile and never stopped soliciting belly-rubs. She begged at my parents' bedroom door one night until they let her in. It was unusual since she usually slept on her mat in the kitchen. They awoke the next morning to find that she had died in her sleep. I guess she knew.
I truly believe that they do know...some will 'run away' from home, others will do like yours did.
Our family dog, Spooker...took off one day, totally unexpected as he had never done that before...but he was up there in years and it's suspected that he left to die. I didn't quite understand it at the time, since I was young, but I have come to understand it as an adult. I feel he knew and that's why he left.
I believe in euthanizing when the pain level is too much, and the poor baby doesn't have a decent quality of life.
I had to do this for my kitty back in 2002. She was 18 1/2 years old, and was in renal failure. She was losing weight rapidly, and the last two days was starting to show signs of pain. I took her to the vet frequently to check her blood counts, and the vet told me it was time. I hated it, and still cry sometimes when I think of her and that I had to do this, but I also know that I gave her a wonderful life and didn't force her to suffer anymore. The vet told me "you don't want to see what happens to her in about a week if you don't let her go". That was all it took for me.
I can understand how it is a very hard decision to make, I felt like I "killed" my cat for months, and I was guilt stricken. She was my companion and like a child to me since she was 6 weeks old. But sometimes we have to make difficult decisions that are not always pleasant for us.
I dont believe in letting your beloved pet suffer and have a low quality of life. Who's it really for anyway? It's not for the pet thats suffering. Its for the human thats holding on to something that not really there anymore. Its sad and yes it hurts but the pet and family are better in the long run.
Since we CAN euthanize animals when their quality of life has become unbearable, I think we should take advantage of that. I would never let my animals suffer. Not the way we force people to suffer.
Totally agree. I've always had dogs, which always have lived long lives -- and I've never had a dog just slip away painlessly.
If the dog is terminally ill, there's usually pain and misery involved.
If the dog is very old, he-she often is seriously distressed, even panicky, due to cognitive problems and confusion -- from age, or cumulative mini-strokes or seizures -- plus incontinence and inability to move without major pain, or to move at all.
People often forget that dogs aren't us: They live entirely in the moment and in the physical world, not in their heads. They don't "understand" illness (and they don't fear death). When they're seriously ill, and their bodies fail, they can't distract themselves by reading, phone calls, going online, music, meditation, prayer, et al. They're just utterly, utterly miserable.
It's not merciful to keep a dog alive when he-she can't enjoy anything, or even move, and-or when life consists of unremitting pain and confusion.
We have taken several loved dogs and cats to the vet to be put to sleep and stayed with them before, during and after the process. A couple of them we weren't able to be with because of circumstances we couldn't control. We let our little Mini Schnauzer go too long though. She had Cushings Disease and was at the emergency vet as well as the regular vet for treatments...they told us she wouldn't get better, but we elected to take her to MSU Veterinary Hospital for a last ditch effort. When we went to see her it was obvious she wasn't going to make it and we brought her home against their advice. That evening she was in pain and suffering so my daughter and I rushed her to the emergency vet and held and kissed her while she was mercifully put to sleep and sent to doggy heaven. I get guilt stricken every time I think of letting her suffer those last few days and hope she forgives us...we did it out of love, but I fear, a selfish love. I will never again wait for natural death for any of my remaining six pets. I hope to do the right thing for them, not for myself.
I am hoping to be "put down" if I am ever in the situation where pain is unbearable. The hardest thing to do when your dog is suffering, but why let them suffer? Tough choice either way.
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