My BIL did that to their elderly little Scottie Dog. It’s just too cruel to let them suffer when it’s not necessary.
In 2017 I took on two Senior Basset Hounds, Sisters. One died a year later from Lymphoma (put her down) the other a month ago from a deteriorated disc in her back that paralyzed her. We also had her put down. They were 14 and 12, which is OLD for Bassets.
I’m glad I could give them a good end-of-life out here on the farm. They were City Dogs and were never off-leash and always slept in their kennels. They had acres to roam on out here, bunnies to chase and plenty of fresh air and sunshine. Their original owner was in her 70’s and died unexpectedly; a friend that is a Vet Tech BEGGED me to take Pearl and Belle.
Wish I had the heart to help some more senior dogs, but it’s so bloody hard...and I’m really tired of cleaning carpets, LOL!
Meh. Who am I kidding? Another dog in need will show up soon enough. ;)
Good for you for taking senior dogs!
My daughter took in a 7-year old retriever whose average life span in 7 years. She’s 14 now, has slowed a bit, but is still going strong. When she adopted Della, the shelter gave her everything it had (donations) - bags of food, leashes, bedding, they were so grateful someone would take in an aged black dog.
I had to put my beloved shih-tzu down last week and it was beyond traumatic. I only got 10 years with him, but these things happen. I looked over the shelter dogs and so many of them were elderly, it broke my heart. One I really liked was 9 years old - but I told my husband I couldn’t go for that one b/c I’d just lost my pup at 10 years and couldn’t handle going through it again so quickly. So I opted for a 4-year old rescue that I’m picking up today. I also have a new shih-tzu pup reserved for mid-August.
A neighbor just put down his 16 year old dog that went everywhere with him - he told me dogs are like ticking time bombs, you only have them for 10-15 years. Yes, but those are wonderful, wonderful years.
I cannot imagine my life without dogs.