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?
Snicker
You will know it’s time when he tells you it’s time.
If he has already told you it’s time, then you already know.
It is at this time that we send them home.
It is not murder.
All of your family members are wrong.
I will tell you exactly what it is.
It’s love.
Go with him and be in the room with him when he goes home.
Don’t leave him alone with strangers, because that is the worst possible thing.
Let yours be the last face he sees.
This is our duty.
Nursing home?
No,no,no !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If he seems to be miserable and suffering put him down.
He has had a good 15 years.Lucky dog.
,
Sometimes adulting is hard, Letting a loved one go, whether four-footed or two-footed is hard. It's supposed to be hard!
If it isn't, you're a sociopath. And you ain't a sociopath.
We had to make the decision to let my Dad go. It was hard, even though towards the end he was (barely) able to tell both Mom and I he was ready. I was there when he faded away. The ICU nurse said it was the most peaceful passing she'd ever seen. I know we made the right decision, but I still miss him.
In some ways it's even harder when a beloved pet is at the end, as they don't have the words to say it's time. You have to trust your gut on this one.
Been reading your posts for years, I know you'll make the best decision possible, even if you don't know you will.
I know the answer, I am just stymied about how to get this to happen. The other memvers of the family dont want to face it and are being upheld by friends and pepole they know who encourage them to keep Rover alive.
For us the decision point was whether we were prolonging Dad's life or prolonging his death.
Still wasn't easy.
There isn’t a vet in this area who wouldn’t treat to the max. All the vets have bright shiny hospitals and mortgages to meet.
It is my son’s dog but he cannot have it in his home at this time. It is a country dog and son lives in city, no yard, and works 12 to 14 hours a day.
Son cannot face it.
Turns me into the monster that wants to kill his dog.
“Then from the back row, a grand daughter out of her mind with no mental control begins to shout....It’s grand ma. We have to do what ever can be done to save her. Yes, dialisis. We must by pass her kidneys to save her. Yes, even for a few days if it will save her, we must do what ever that needs to be done. I don’t care a whit for what the doctors think, their collective best judgement. It’s granma we’re talking about.!”
That’s a granddaughter we could all do without.
.
If it wasn’t officially my son’s dog and more broadly the family’s dog, I would have been at the vet yesterday.
Yes. It's not the they are suffering, quite the opposite.
It's that they are dangerous. How many people could a rabid dog kill, compared to yet another democrat started war?
Their own selfishness is causing an animal that they claim to love, to suffer because they cannot face the facts.
This is a terrible way to treat a beloved family member at the end of their days. Shame on them.
You are in the right.
I have a cartoon of a man approaching St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. In the cartoon, a dog is bounding towards the man.
St. Peter is saying something to the man along the lines of “So, you’re little Bobby? Rex here hasn’t stopped talking about you for the last 60 years or so!”
_______________________________
This broke me up
Yes my ex did that.
Poor animal ended up with something exploding inside.
Horrible for kids
I told my kids, when it’s time for me to end my days in a nursing home, don’t put me in a nursing home.
We had an Irish Setter who had been run over at one point when we were growing up and the vet did surgery and she lived about 15 years but at the end she was going blind and would whimper when she walked from arthritis with each step. Getting up from a nap was obviously painful for her. Dad saw her one morning and asked if my sisters boyfriend would take her to the vet and put her down, he didn’t want to do it but the dog was hurting and had lived to watch all of us grow from small to high school and college.
I put an old yellow Tom cat of my own family down, didn’t want to but he had lived 12 years and had become a diabetic and was wasting away, no kind of life. I love cats and didn’t want to but he wasn’t the same Sam kitty as my little girl called him so I ended his suffering.
What are they supposed to do with you?
Thank you for the kind words.
I am the adult and I have no problem sending Rover to his reward.
It is all the other family members, ALL ADULTS.
and their friends: ALL ADULTS.
that are bollocking up this issue.
Well said but I think it will be beyond the comprehension of the OP. Some people get it and some don’t.
They make fun of people who humanize dogs, cats, horses, birds, etc. They have no idea what they are missing.
That bond is like no other. It’s different than a human to human bond but just as real and just as strong as you clearly understand.
The Hunt (Twilight Zone, 1962)
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