Man's best friend: When is it time?

Note: Johnny died on the way back to his home planet.

 

Great post, Moddy.

All the best to the Whitman family. Know how hard this will be for everyone in the clan.

We have what I call a cat-dog--a cat with more dog like tendencies. Almost lost him at 12 last year and it was heart wrenching. He made a miraculous (and costly) recovery, but glad to still have him around for a few years. But, we learned from that experience that the clock is ticking, and if he makes to 15, 16, 17 and faces the same health challenges, it will be time to say good bye. Fortunately, we got a second chance to prepare for the inevitable.

 

This thread strikes home for many of us, Dick ... we recently had to put down Grover, our lab/rott mix who is pictured as my avatar. We adopted him from the shelter when he was 7, and had four good years with him.

He got sick around Thanksgiving, with the same lack of appetite/digestion problems you have described, and the vet prescribed some kind of steroid. He gave us a few days worth to see if they would work, and they did for awhile, getting his appetite back and getting him through the holidays.

But after Christmas, he began to have trouble walking, especially using his back legs. He couldn't do even a short set of stairs and had trouble going out without us helping support his back legs, which he hated. Although he still had a tail wag for us and enjoyed being around people, in the end he just couldn't walk, so it was time.

Our vet was nice enough (for a small fee) to come out to the house for the injection. We made sure both our teenage kids were around to say goodbye, and although it was emotional, I'm glad it worked out like that.

We have adopted three older shelter dogs in the past 10 years — all eight years or older, and medium-sized or larger dogs. You realize they won't be around as long as a puppy, but there are a lot of nice, older dogs whose owners either can't afford them or they're not healthy enough themselves to keep their pet. These dogs already are trained, and it feels good to give them a home — even though the last days are rough.

It will be tough for your family, Dick, but probably the right thing if your dog is suffering and can't get better.

 

This reminds me of something a friend told me when she was considering putting her dog down. She used a local service that she contacted a few weeks before the actual decision, and the woman she was working with basically walked her through it via email or phone calls until they knew it was time. Then she came to my friend's house when it was time. It sounded like it made the process much easier. And I don't think it was much more expensive than the vet.
I was lucky enough that my vet was open 24 hours when I had my girl put down. So I went home after work, spent some time with her and took her in very late at night, when there was nobody else there, and it worked out as well as I could have expected.

 

Thanks for your kindness, all.

We went to the vet last night. Pretty solemn visit, but it was time to stop guessing and get an expert's opinion.

He said she has lost significant muscle mass in her lower back, and is actually likely suffering from some spinal/nerve issues that are causing the hind legs difficulty. At least she was able to stand, with assistance, and walk last night. That was an improvement over the morning.

He prescribed a week's supply of potentially helpful medication, and suggested we give it a shot, and then reevaluate in a week. If it hasn't gotten better after that, then we'll know.

 

Hoping for the best, Dick.

 

Man, getting really dusty in here.

Got a story to share, but I am not up for it at the moment. Maybe later today.

Best wishes, DW.

 

Dick, all my best wishes. When our dog went, it was very sudden, so while it was traumatic, there wasn't the long agony of making that decision. I still think of him every day and he's been gone almost eight years now.

 

Adding my voice to the chorus, Dick. Thoughts and prayers.

 

Thanks for the update. Thinking of you, your family and your pup...

 

I know it's inevitable eventually. I mean, she's 15. A 15-year-old-lab. But although I understand the argument that it's better to pull the trigger a day early than a day late, it's still a tough call for us to make when, like I said, she's still eating pretty voraciously.

My wife started crying at the vet's office when telling him about the pressure from our mothers to put her down. My mom means well. She's a dog lover and she has moral clarity on this issue that I just don't have. When a dog is "struggling," it's time. She could make the decision - and has, multiple times - and be devastated to lose the pet, but not spend a second second-guessing herself. She has internalized this criteria.

My wife's mom, on the other hand, couldn't give a shit about the dog. She's a good person, and cares about her family. But dogs are basically filthy animals to her. All she knows is that this elderly dog is causing her working mother daughter added stress.

It's tough, especially because they duck off and "tsk, tsk" to each other because we haven't put her down yet. Every time my mom is around, she starts in with, "You know, it's probably getting to be time ..." For months now.