Posted on 12/23/2018 6:35:14 AM PST by Chickensoup
When do we put Rover down?
I have always thought that when an animal becomes sick, old, diseased, and is in pain, senile or unable to manage that the kind thing to do would be to euthanize it.
However, it seems that I am in the minority with that opinion.
Our good dog of 15 years is now senile, is anxious and barks, has poor vision and little hearing. He barks almost constantly, cannot remember where he is or where we are. He is a sad old mess.
I have been advocating putting him to sleep.
Others in the family see me as advocating family murder.
I thought that was odd, until I discovered that acquaintances have approached the family members with NURSING HOME options for the pets that one can no longer care for. At a price.
that none of them can afford.
As the primary care taker of this animal I see that continuing his life is causing him undue suffering. I am also frustrated at the limitations on my life. I suppose I am selfish.
I now know people who have animals with joint replacements, insulin, cardiac meds and other complicated measures. I find it surprising. Perhaps I am just too old?
There was a time where the decision to put down a beloved animal was considered an act of courage. I thought it was a part of the process of maturation and acceptance of life's limitations.
Now I am faced with people telling me that the dog deserves to live out all of his natural life in whatever condition it presents.
Am I so out of touch? Is animal euthanasia no longer a decision?
well said, thank you
I brought him to the Vet. Any decision except having move on would've only brought misery to him, and perhaps a situation where he couldn't get emergency care when he'd need it.
My advice....you and your canine companion know when it's time. Don't prolong the inevitable and irreversible. Thoughts are with you as you make this difficult decision.
should we put them down too? lol
The thought of an “Old Folks Home” for pets is cruel beyond belief. They won’t know why they are being taken to a strange place. They won’t have any idea why their family, their “pack” has rejected them.
As for when to put them down, I’m struggling with one of those myself. Ralphie is 16 years old. He can’t get up the stairs any more, and frequently misses the pee pads around him. He also has a bad cough that is moderately controlled by medication.
But HE still wants to live. As long as he does, I’ll do what I can.
A couple of years ago, I had another dog, Jacob, who had gotten old and infirm. He did what he could do for as long as he could. One day, he looked at me with a look that told me he was done. He had been an outside dog, living in a fenced area (with an inside heated area in the winter). I picked him up, carried him inside, and laid him down on a soft doggie bed. Every chance I got, I petted him and told him what a good dog he had been. He stayed there about a day and a half before he quietly died.
They’ll tell you when it’s time.
Here is my criteria:
If he is very aggressive. A biter who attacks others, especially children.
If he has become incontinent. Pisses and poos everywhere without regard.
If he is in chronic pain. Can’t eat on his own or the dog is unable to follow you around the house, so he just cries when you leave the room.
Any of these are signs he should be put down. The pet does not have a pack of coyotes to do the job. So you have to be the humane coyote and put him out of his misery. Nature would have surely done the job.
By the way, don’t do any vet operation that is not sure to work. And to work quickly. Dogs do not like and simply don’t understand surgery. They think they are being attacked by their own family. So don’t even think of life increasing or exploratory surgery. You are just torturing your pet.
People own dogs and keep them as pets. Is a dog any different than a pig, or a sheep, or a cow, or a horse, et.al. that are considered food? Consider the life span of the cow when you eat veal. In Asia our dogs would be considered food. Rabbits in Europe are food. A dog year is 7 of ours. 15 yrs = 105 in our years. That dog had a great life. Putting him/her down in his current condition is doing him a favor. How would you feel having all those problems at 105 and being dependent on your family? I’d be in my garage with the car engine on.
Our cattle dog at 16 had tumors throughout his body. But for awhile he could still go outside, eat and drink a little and respond to our petting. Then one day he started screaming in pain. My guess is that a tumor had blocked his GI track. It was horrible. Mr. Mercat wanted to wait but it was too horrible. So we took him to our vet. I felt the life go out of him. I still miss him. Our cat went from being fine to having something go wrong with his spine. Evidently this often happens to older cats. Again, I was with him. We now have a 15 year old dachshund. He’s blind, a bit senile, has to have his bed close to us at all times. When we’re gone he howls. But he still enjoys his one mile walk and his food. Just waiting. If he can go outside and is not in serious pain he’s got a home with us. Then he can join the other pets in our back pasture
My wife and I love dogs. We rescue and foster them continually and often foster dogs that we decide to share our home with permanently. They become family members who give their love and loyalty unconditionally. We have always tried to stagger our dogss in age so that when an older one must be let go we have others to care for rather than an empty home.
Recently, cancer took three of our loving companions in an 18 month period. It took a toll on both of us and it showed. I found great comfort in this message a friend sent -
Jim, me and the Lord have this "agreement" ... or at least I like to think we do. It goes like this: When my time comes, just send my boys over the green hills of Heaven for me. Send 'em running and tell them to come get me.
When I see them, I'll know it's my time. I will be so happy to see them and I'll come willingly. I won't try and hang on anymore. I've missed them all that much. I can still see their faces in the forefront of my mind as if they're still here with me. I've missed them all so much that when I think about them, I just become a blubbering messy blob. I know some of you will think "what? You're the biggest hard-ass I know!" and maybe that's true towards people, but towards dogs? They're my soft spot.
I know you get this when I say it: they're all unique and special in their own way. They're like a critical piece of a puzzle that's our lives. They "complete" us in some way that other people cannot. It's a special bond. There's nothing (and I mean NOTHING) that replaces that bond. Not even another dog. That's why we remember each one of them so fondly. It's why I still cry on the days that all my former companions passed from this life, and why I look forward to seeing them all again someday.
I actually got in an argument with a friend over this. He said Dogs won't be in heaven, neither will cats or any of our other pets. I looked at my friend and asked him how our loving Father in Heaven would deny us the very unconditional love he placed into our canine companions in Heaven? What kind of loving Father would do that?
Not the God I know and love, that's for sure.
So, Father send 'em over the green hills of Heaven when my time comes. And let us rejoice in each others company and play for awhile before we approach the gates of heaven together.
Oh I know it is time.
But it seems that there is a different world out there about this decision.
Pet Nursing homes? REALLY??
My 11 year old yellow lab is going blind, can hardly walk, and falls down the stairs when going out to do her business.
I still don’t know when (the day), but I know - soon.
I’m sorry for the position you are in.
CBD stuff for dogs helps some dogs who are suffering.
The fact that you struggle with this shows you have a wonderful and loving heart and I pray for you to know peace in the time to come.
It’s never, ever easy to say goodbye to a loved member of your family.
As humans we have the responsibility to be humane. And it really comes down to the quality of life that your dog has and what suffering it is undergoing.
From the way you described your dog, I would say that it IS suffering. Your dog has trusted you to make its life decisions for 15 years. He will trust you now for this final decision.
Putting down a loved dog is hard.
too stringy
That could make for some awkward situations.
With the other dogs in our past, it was never hard to tell - 1 couldn't breath from a tumor, one had a stroke paralyzing much of his body, etc.
This one though, my husband is having trouble with, probably because he thinks he's too old to get another pup, but he has to handle all the clean up (I have low white blood count from chemo and can't take chances).
Chickensoup, I'm with you, I don't think they enjoy life anymore when they have so little control of them; it's merciful to put them down.
My DH though, not yet, not yet... At least he knows nursing care the the dog is out of the question!
I don’t know how helpful this will be.
Our “Rocky” (1/2 German Shepherd, 1/4 Grand Pyrenees, 1/4 black lab - giant, majestic dog!) seemed to tell us.
He was 17 yrs old, which was quite old for a large dog and had been active forever, since we lived on 3 acres in the country. He was huge, with black fur except for a white tuft right below his collar - looked so menacing that people wouldn’t exit their cars when visiting. But he was a true gentle giant, never snapped or bit a soul. So gentle that our chickens would hop on his back for a ride!
But after months of slow decline, the unthinkable happened:
when he would try to stand up, his legs would swing out from underneath him and it would take him a few tries to stand upright and stabilize. He seemed humiliated and frustrated. After a couple of weeks of this, we spotted “the look” signaling he’d had enough. To prove his point, he virtually stopped eating. He looked at us and said “Please make this stop.” And so we did. You will know it when you see it.
And all of a sudden my monitor is acting funny and I can’t make out a thing. I still have some of his leftover dog food from his dish and a tuft of his hair in my jewelry box.
I’m sorry you are going through this.
It’s easy for someone else to tell you to keep the poor suffering thing. So easy. Tell them to care for it.
Put the poor thing out of it’s misery.
I meant to copy you on #28 and forgot to paste.
One good solution is "dog sharing" with a child or grandchild. Get a younger dog both you and that person bond to, someone you see often. When you can no longer care for the dog, it's established what its next home will be.
Will any of these other people have power over your life when you experience what River is experiencing now?
Do you all live in the same geographic area?
Will they take care of Rover when you take trips or go out?
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