Had to put my dog down last night.

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Dreamerguy
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Had to put my dog down last night.

Post by Dreamerguy »

Quite an emotional roller-coaster. Our little dog went from being reasonably normal to barely able to move and not being able to eat anything since Sunday. Had her on IV and massive amounts of anti-biotics at the animal hospital but she wasn't improving. She was only semi-coherent. If I left her she would basically starve to death which I didn't think was a very good way to go. The hospital seemed to want to keep her hooked up for one more day but she was 12 and a half years old and already had a major surgery in May - I just couldn't see her coming out of it and even if by some miracle she did, I suspect we would be reliving the scenario in a month or two. One of the hardest parts was feeling bad for my daughters - The oldest always considered the dog to be hers and the youngest basically grew up with her. My oldest daughter wanted to bring the dog home for the afternoon before taking her back for the final needle - which she did, but it was heart-wrenching. All the family was there when our dog was administered the needle - my eldest daughter held her. Even my son, who always pretended to not care too much for the dog, was pretty choked up.

Perhaps they are trying to be helpful but I wonder if these animal-hospitals are overly optimistic for a positive outcome. People I talk to who have owned several dogs, say that older dogs who won't eat or move for several days have almost no chance of recovery. That's apparently how they typically check-out.

Dogs are one of the only creatures that are always thrilled to see you and accept you unconditionally despite your faults. Not many other people come excitedly running to the door when I walk in. Heck, most of the time you are lucky to get a smile.

I'm not sure why I'm posting this. Maybe I just have to get my thoughts in writing. Maybe I could use some advice from others who went through it - particularly regarding what might be a good way to help my daughter's through it.

All in all, it has been a very positive experience for our family to have a pet and I think it has been wonderful for the kids. But we wont be getting another pet. We want to start traveling more and soon the kids will likely be moving out on their own and probably getting their own dogs. Maybe we will babysit.
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Oscar Namechange
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Had to put my dog down last night.

Post by Oscar Namechange »

First of all, I am very sorry for your loss.

I went through similar with our Scully a few months ago. She had chronic arthritis. We called the vet and he said he could pump her full of pain relief but we'd be back In the same position a few weeks later. Like your daughter, my husband wanted to hang on, but It was me who convinced him she'd had enough and her vet assured him It was the best decision. At 15, she wouldn't recover, only worsen. My husband was very against letting her go as he wanted to hang on to her because he couldn't bear to be parted from her.

Common sense prevailed and we let her go. I told my husband he would actually feel very different In a few days. Two days later he said to me ' you were right, I was being selfish and we did the right thing'.

So my advice with your daughter Is explain to her that the average life span of a dog Is 10 to 12 years. Keep reminding her she's done a wonderful thing for her dog by allowing her to go where she will feel no pain.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. R.L. Binyon
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valerie
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Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2004 12:00 pm

Had to put my dog down last night.

Post by valerie »

I'm so, so sorry you lost your girl. Please know you did

the very best thing you could. Your girl dog knows you did,

too. She's running around in heaven with all the good ones

I have known, and they are all young again, and healthy.

It hurts so much, and is so hard to get through. Different

people try different things. I've found that I just have to

try to make my way through as best I can and wait for time

to pass. Talking to other people who loved her, sharing

stories of puppy antics, that kind of thing, can help.

For your daughter, you might try an age appropriate book,

or these tips:

Helping Your Child Grieve the Loss of a Pet

I'd rather put an animal down a day too soon than a second too late.

I think the animal hospitals sometimes just grasp at straws. One of

the very best guidelines I ever heard from a vet was if the animal still

has 3 things it likes to do (those can be any 3, eating, sleeping, ride

in the car) then it's not time yet. But your girl lying in a cage somewhere

didn't have that.

And you all stayed with her!! That shows the love and caring. Hugs to

all of you from this animal lover. Hang in there.
Tamsen's Dogster Page

http://www.dogster.com/?27525



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Snooz
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Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 7:05 am

Had to put my dog down last night.

Post by Snooz »

It's so hard to lose a pet, they just don't live long enough. I'm sorry for your loss.
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LarsMac
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Had to put my dog down last night.

Post by LarsMac »

I have never had to go through that with any of our pets. Though I do know the pain of losing them.

I am sorry for your loss.
The home of the soul is the Open Road.
- DH Lawrence
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Wandrin
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Had to put my dog down last night.

Post by Wandrin »

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. I know from experience how and how deeply that can hurt.
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tude dog
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Had to put my dog down last night.

Post by tude dog »

Over the years, wife and I had to put down a number of dogs.

We all know at a certain time it is what is best for our friend which doesn't make it any easier.

Cherish the memories.
What happened to Kamala Harris' campaign?
She had the black vote all locked up.
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tabby
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Had to put my dog down last night.

Post by tabby »

I'm so sorry you and your family went through so much emotional upheaval in the last few days and you have my sympathy. It's a heartbreaking decision even when you're confident it's the right one.
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along-for-the-ride
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Had to put my dog down last night.

Post by along-for-the-ride »

I found this touching eulogy and thought I'd share it with you. :yh_flower



Eulogy For A Dog And Her Gifts Of Loyalty And Love

July 04, 1986|By Tom Hennessy, Knight-Ridder Newspapers.

If you are not a pet owner, you may not understand this. You may read it and speculate about the sanity of those of us who do share our world with animals.

This is an obituary for a dog. It is sadder than its principal would have wanted it to be. For next to people, her favorite thing was fun.





Her name was Phydeaux, and she spent 12 1/2 years at our house. The other day she was given the great gift of being put to sleep before the spread of cancer could cause her a single moment of undeserved pain.

The sum of her years is this: She was a smallish dog with enormous love and loyalty.

It comforts her human survivors to know that her time was graced with things that loving dogs should have--ice cream, car rides with her face in the wind, and five kids, now grown, who shared with her their hugs and their beds, especially during summer storms and cold winter nights.

But for all that she was given, she returned much more, as dogs generally do. Phydeaux was the one friend the kids and their parents counted on at such times when humans are apt to feel they have no other friends.

She had an uncanny sense of knowing when her owners needed her most and was alway ready to play the comic when a smile was their urgent necessity.

In exchange for all she did, she sought nothing more than a pat on the head and the tacit understanding that the living-room couch belonged to her, despite whatever words were said to the contrary.

To our knowledge, she harmed no one, and, in fact, gave others such joy and love that she must have been welcomed quickly and warmly into whatever paradise awaits the members of the animal kingdom.

Her only offense, if it can be called that, was an occasional cross bark voiced in protection of her owners and against the things they most dislike

--ringing telephones and strangers knocking on the front door.

Phydeaux`s adversaries were few; once in a while a stalking cat, and, during one vacation in the country, a chipmunk that teased her unmercifully from the other side of a plate-glass window.

Her achievements are noted here with modesty and entirely without her permission. They included the lifetime consumption of a half-ton or so of rawhide bones and membership in our local police K-9 Corps.

The membership was honorary. If she actually had been a working police dog, she would have befriended every criminal to cross her happy path. Her inability to make judgments about humans was one of her best qualities.

On occasion, she also sat up and begged. This, however, was less of an achievement than a concession to please her human partners. In general, she had great contempt for cute doggie tricks. And that was another of her great qualities.

She won no blue ribbons and, most likely, would have rebelled at the idea of competing for one.

Phydeaux was born Jan. 4, 1974, the smallest, shyest and, her owners believe, most loving member of a litter of six pups. They claimed beagles and fox terriers in their ancestry and this should have endowed her with a prowess for hunting. But as a hunter, she was an unqualified flop. Phy preferred to enjoy the world rather than battle it.

She demonstrated this in a Michigan field one evening when a fox bolted from the woods and scampered within a few feet of her upturned nose.

But Phy never saw the fox. There was a sunset in her eyes.

Her last testament consisted essentially of the universal legacy of all dogs--memories that will be forever cherished.

We buried her in a pet cemetery without ceremony. She had no tolerance for anything that smacked of ceremony.

In conclusion, this obituary is written without apology to those whose knees have never served as the resting place for the head of a tired old dog. They wouldn`t understand.

Good-bye, old girl. You were one hell of a pal.
Life is a Highway. Let's share the Commute.
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jones jones
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Had to put my dog down last night.

Post by jones jones »

This is never easy and is almost always a very traumatic experience. Now that you have "verbalised" your feelings, the healing process will begin.

My Doberman Zee Zee was diagnosed with diabetes and I spent six months injecting her with insulin. Then one day as I was about to inject her she turned her head and looked back at me. The look in her large brown eyes seemed to say: "Please, let me go now."

It was then that I realised I was keeping her alive for my own selfish reasons and that despite the medication, she wasn't living, she was just alive.

The next day I had her euthanized ...
"…I hate how I don’t feel real enough unless people are watching." — Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters
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AnneBoleyn
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Had to put my dog down last night.

Post by AnneBoleyn »

My deepest condolences. The loss of a loved one is always sheer agony.
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Oscar Namechange
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Joined: Wed Jul 30, 2008 9:26 am

Had to put my dog down last night.

Post by Oscar Namechange »

Along For the Ride....

Thank You for that eulogy... It was very touching especially the part of a tired head on your knee. Mulder Is 15 now and never a head on the knee type dog but he has started to do this with me. He just comes along and puts his head on my knee and I just know he's tired.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. R.L. Binyon
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