My heart goes out to you and Chica. It is a hard decision, but one made with love. It is a very special gift we can give our beloved pets, the gift of love and as comfortable of an existence as possible. my thoughts are with you all. Dottie

CR I know this wasn't any easy decision for you to make.
I have to agree with your decision for Chica. She will know only love for her time left, not fear.
Hugs~

I completely agree with your decision. Sending hugs to you and prayers for Chica.

Doing the best for your babies...right to the end...I wouldn't have expected anything else.

You've done good..

I'm sure if Chica could talk, she would say...Thanks mom...I love you!!!

(((((HUGS)))))

CR, You've made a tough decision and my heart goes out to you. I also understand the need to not let a beloved pet suffer and that's a very hard thing to do when you will miss them so much. ((CR, Chica & family))

CR,you have made a very loving descion to not put her the the whole ordeal.I would do the same thing to Drake.No need to suffer needlessly,when it wont help in the end.I hope her last days are pain free w/her loving family.

Hugs,Shelley

CR, You and hubby had a hard decision to make and as for me I think it was the right one too. Sending warm hugs and special thoughts for you, Chica and your hubby. Jane

I have been in that heart wrenching place where you are now, and expect I will be there again some day. We love our pets unconditionally, like they do us, and we will do almost anything to post bone the goodbye when the end is near, except letting them suffer when there is no hope of recovery. In that case we would be doing it for ourselves, not our beloved fur babies. They have no fear of death, but certainly are aware of our love, even at the end. We made the same decision when our setter Shannon became ill. When the vet told us the painful treatments would only work for a few weeks, we discontinued the treatments, and brought her home. We took turns being with her around the clock the last few days of her life. The last day she was in what seemed to be a coma. We struggled with our decision, and whether it had been the right one. The answer for us came when right before she took her last breath, she looked up at DH, who was with her then, and licked his hand. I hope your Chica's passing will be as peaceful. You so absolutely are doing the right thing for her. My thoughts will be with you as you go through this painful process.

Elisabeth

Bless your heart, CR ... it's a tough decision to make, isn't it? When Rocky had diabetes, he went downhill so quickly, we rushed him to the hospital and he was there for four days while they stabilized him. He wasn't eating, and was so sick .. I made chicken 'n dumplings and fed him the broth, that's all he would eat. At one point we cut them off from doing any more, and took him home, thinking he would at least die there, with us.

That baby lived another three years! On several different medications every day of his life, but he never complained and lived like a DOG the whole time ... barking at the squirrels he couldn't see 'cause he went blind, chasing the crows in the field when he heard them cawing.

Dogs are so stoic, we can't really know how bad they feel at any given time. To some extent it's a guessing game, what path should we take, which is the best for THEM. When Rocky did pass on, he'd had the best life we could give him, and HE knew, without a doubt, that he'd been greatly loved.

And I think your Chica knows it too.

I too completely agree with your decision and I thank you for making it. It was wise. Be it human or furkid, we make our choices based on our love for them.

I agree also. Love her with the time you have left.
Leslie

CR,you have made a very loving descion. In my opinion you made the right one. Take this time to give Chica all the love you can.
Hugs to all of you.

Linda

(((CR))) You have made the right decision for your situation. No one else can tell you you didn't make the right one. Bless you for not putting her through anymore pain.

I think you made the only decision for Chica. My heart goes out to you.

(((((CR, Larry and Chica and all the rest of the bunch)))))

I hope her pain is easing and I know that she knows how much you all love her, CR.

I'm so sorry for what you and little Chica are going through. You have made your decision out of love. Enjoy what time you have left with her.

You are the only one who knows what is right for your sweet Chica.
I agree with you though.
I'm so sorry that you are going thru this.
Rita

CR, I'm going through the same thing right now with my 12 1/2 year old black lab Cosmo. The problems he has been having for the past 8 months were attributed to arthritis of the spine or so we thought. He started developing other symptoms, so 2 weeks ago we took him to a neurologist who said it was most likely a tumor in the cervical area of the spine. We ended up doing an MRI and it confirmed an agressive cancer throughout his spine. He is only given weeks to live. Needless to say I am still numb from the news, I just can't believe it is all happening so quickly. I'm angry at my vet for not taking my recent concerns more seriously, but he's been our vet for 26 years and I trusted him. I feel like I let Cosmo down and it's consuming me.

He is on pain meds and prednisone to make him comfortable. We could put him through chemo and radiation, but that would only give us a few extra weeks. We decided against it. Like you I don't want his last days to be filled with fear and more pain. We are keeping him as comfortable as possible. He is no longer able to get up on his own, so with the help of a sling I am able to manuever him.

I just can't bare to lose my best friend.

My thoughts are with you!

This thread has me crying,,CR and Matti5, my heart is breaking for you both. When Bear was diagnosed (1/30) with his bone cancer, we looked at our options. Everything would have only prolonged his life for a little while and while I would love to still have him with me, I know that his last month and a half with us wasn't filled with trips to the vets, shots, chemo, and amputation. His days were filled with extra hugs, treats and belly rubs. He knew he was a cherished member of this family and that is what comforts me when I think of him being gone.(March 16th 2009) I will hope that this will also comfort you both in the days ahead,
Hugs to CR and Chica and to Matti and Cosmo.

littlebit

I think you are doing the right thing.
As long as Chica is comfortable it is alright.
If and when she is NO comfortable that's when you will
do the right thing by her.
I look upon this as if she had late stage cancer; you COULD do radiation or chemo and buy a little more time but that litte bit of time would be sheer misery.
Let her and you enjoy the remaining time with her.

Lori

Thanks everyone for all the support! I really was debating on posting this or not,was afraid no one would think we did the right thing by her.She slept last night right beside me with her little head on my arm.She usually sleeps at my feet.I felt she was letting me know it was ok.I expect every morning for her to be gone but so far she's still there for her treats when she comes in from her morning potty.
Hugs to you and Cosmo,Matti5 and to all the others who have had to make decisions like this.It's tough,it sucks and it just isn't right that we have to decide on treatment that hurts them or death a little sooner than it would be.I'm told that when it's time she will most likely just go in her sleep.Myself...I hope she goes when she's chasing the mail lady or someone else in uniform 'cause she dearly loves to do that! Doesn't bite them,just follows them to the gate barking and ranting,then prances proudly back to the house like she's so proud she chased those intruders away! LOL!
And Patti,Chica can talk,she says "Yum! Yum!" for a treat!It's very plain and amazing!She learned that when we first got her I'd ask if she wanted a Yum,yum....and she started saying it!
It's late here 3:30 in the morning and I'm rambling,can't sleep.
She's such a sweetheart,I wish you all could meet her.I'm so glad we took her when Larry's Mom died.

Keeping you in my thoughts.

(((Chubby and Larry and Chica)))
I know what a hard decision that was. I think you are such a
wonderful person to think of Chica first through your pain!
Mac sends Chi hugs and sniffs for Chica!