At what point did u decide to put down your pet?

really sorry to hear this Reeko. The $64,000 question for sure. Sometimes an animal will surprise you and bounce back, other times it becomes very clear pretty quickly. I'm sure lots of folks here will chime in, there's no real absolute right and wrong here. I once carried a dog a good six-eight months past the time I should have put her down; more recently our dogs have died quietly on their own. Each one is different.

Anyway. happy to chat by pm if you need.

 

Oh man, that is so sad Reeko. 5 years ago I had to put down my kitten who was about 8 months old who had Feline FIP, over 2 weeks she went from being happy and fun to barely being able to breath, I should have put her down a few days earlier but I thought maybe she would beat it.........selfish on my part for sure. Took her in and held her while they put her down, as she closed her eyes I started bawling

 

I'm sorry, compadre.

'Luckily' I haven't had to make that choice as an adult, two of my giant-breed dogs diet of gastric torsion and I had a lab that I think ate something that killed him. We do have a 19 year old Jack Russel that is blind, deaf and is having joint issues but other than not giving a **** and defecating inside if we don't let him out in a timely manner, he's doing ok. His time may come but I don't want to think about it.

We're here for you, bro.

 

Sorry to hear this. It is rough. I have had 3 dogs die in my life.

One dog choked to death while no one was home and that was really sad for me. This one was the worst one. Came home from work with my then-infant and saw him laying stiff as a board in a puddle of drool.

Another went from seemingly doing A-OK (but being very, very old) to ******** out blood and being on death's door really quickly, where we went from thinking all was well at 9am to putting her down around 5pm the following day.

The last was actually the oldest of all 3 (and was my first ever dog) but was always super healthy. But over the last 6 months of her life she was really slowing down and I had to increase her medications and I started cooking real, human-grade food for her (the food seemed to really help). Still, the end was coming. It was undeniable. Her passing was probably the "easiest" because we all saw it coming. Eventually, when she just didn't have the energy to stand up anymore and it looked like she was in real pain, it was time.

So I can't give a great answer but when it was time for the last 2, we knew it. There wasn't a question about it. I suspect it's the same for many.

I will say, the process of putting a dog down is very well done. The dog feels no pain. I just had her in my lap where she was already struggling to stay awake, where she often laid down and fell asleep anyway, and she went to sleep peacefully maybe 10 seconds after receiving the shot. It's hard to imagine a better way to go. (One of my first reactions was getting kind of pissed off that we can't do something like this for humans, but that's irrelevant here.)

 

For us, we put down our poodle when she was clearly no longer enjoying life because of congestive heart failure. I'll leave out the details. It was an act of mercy.

 

Just be there with them when you inevitably have to. Its hard. But its solace for them.

Bring a big enough cooler for the transport back and pick out a nice area in the backyard. Sorry to be so frank, but this is from experience.

 

Our dog was losing weight fairly rapidly. I tried to make her as comfortable as possible and just love on her as much as I could.

Had some bloodwork done and it was cancer. At the time, I had her longer than I had my two sons. She was there every step of the way as they grew up.

After a while I concluded that I was doing what I thought was best for me and not my dog. I didn’t want her suffering anymore. When I took her in, they explained what would happen, that it would be instant. I still was not prepared. When she collapsed in my arms, I cried like a baby.

Sorry you’re going through this. My advice is get her checked out if you haven't, and then you’ll have a better idea.

 

Yeah, dogs love you unconditionally and it’s hard not to reciprocate. There’s a reason why they’re called man’s best friend.

 

I have to echo @donkeypunch 's post: Be there for her in the end. Don't let her die alone at the vet's or at home...

 

my 16 year old dog could barely get up, had stopped eating for two weeks

a painful decision, but not a hard one

 

I just went through this last year. My dog had cancer, but at the time we weren't 100% sure yet although doctor was certain since most cases tended to gravitate to cancer. I did the surgery to remove his spleen and have the tumor removed and he was pretty good for a few weeks. A couple of weeks later it was confirmed that the tumor was cancer and well, a couple of weeks after that my boy went downhill quick. I got home and found him in a corner pretty sad with pale gums. I got him to his mattress and homie tried to stand up and he collapsed. At that point I knew it was time.

Took him to the vet and spent over an 1.5 hr saying my goodbyes and crying with him. I held his paw until his final breath.

When it's time, you'll know. You know your dog better than any of us. Dependent on prognosis you'll know how to proceed. It's tough though. Best of luck homie.

 

Always had cats growing up and we waited too long for every last one except the stray we adopted that got run over while asleep under a neighbor's car. My mom still lives in the house I grew up in and I've got a feeling that the vote between the four siblings is going to be to sell when the time comes. That buyer's gonna have a whole cemetery full of cats to deal with out back behind the garage.

 

I've never had to do this and I have two dogs right now.
One is 8 and the other is probably 5-6......
i am dreading having to make this decision.

 

put down my dog last year. things went south really fast that last year. lost most of his vision and started to lose his balance. the night before i put him down, he was no longer able to stand on his own. he was 16.

 

Damn..

Really sorry to hear that and I just posted last week about having to put down my 20 year old cat. Definitely listen to the advice that the vet tells you but unfortunately the answer might be in what you've described. My cat also was was having trouble moving her back legs and she couldn't pee. It was hearing that and the recommendation from the vet that I made the decision. I would've been willing to consider giving her some more time if it was just that she was having trouble walking but that she couldn't urinate and wasn't eating that was the deciding factor. That meant that she was going to suffer and die in a day or two painfully.

I also fully agree with what other posters have said. Be there at the end.

I can tell you that it's difficult and painful. My eyes are welling up just thinking about it but it was the most important thing I could do for years of companionship and love from my pet. My cat was in pain already, we were in a strange place with strange people so she was also very scared. While they administered the drugs she was struggling in my lap and trying to hide in the crook of my arm. I was the only thing there that was giving her any comfort. There was no way I was going to let her experience her last moments of life in terror, alone and on some vetinary stainless steel table.

If you love your pet do that last thing for them.

 

Since my cat was old I was preparing myself for it. I even said a few hours before I saw that my cat couldn't walk that when she couldn't go up the stairs hard decisions would have to be made.

It still didn't make it less painful.

 

wow is this a common disease? parents finally are letting me buy a cat, but been reading up on cats been giving me second thoughts with allergies and ring worms and now whatever feline fip is.