How do you know when it is time to put your dog down? :(
amykath
8 years ago
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amykath
8 years agoUser
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When you put manure in your yard what do your dogs do?
Comments (3)No odor. But that may also mean no nutrients. My uncle, an old farmer when I was growing up, spread manure on his fields and tilled it in within 24 hours of spreading it so the nutrients would not be lost to the atmosphere. He said what you smell from manure is nutrients going out into the air....See MoreNeed some advice--how do you know when it's 'time'?
Comments (9)Thank you, everyone. Animal lovers are the best! There's another beautiful kitty at Rainbow Bridge today. You're right....you know when it's time. I probably should've taken her last night, but she still responded, and having seen her this way before (albeit before getting this old and such), I thought if there was the outside chance she was in recovery from her episode, I wanted her to have it. But this morning, I knew. I was supposed to drive hubby to the airport this morning, but told him I didn't want to make her wait any longer. He drove himself and I took her to the animal ER. I think it was easier, just me and her. I can deal with my own grief, but I wouldn't have been able to with his (his mom's dying too), so I guess it worked out as it should. I held her, cuddled in my arms, as the vet gave the injection, and they gave me a few minutes afterwards too. It was a peaceful room--sofa, low light, waterfall and soothing music in the background. I guess being an ER, they're more than prepared for this type of thing. If it'd been any other morning than Sunday, I could've made arrangements with my own vet clinic to have someone come to the house, but it just didn't work that way. I did call the ER and ask if they knew a vet on call who would make a housecall, but there's none in our area. Oh well....it is what it is. Now she doesn't have to make the looong move with us. Casey will always have a piece of my heart and always be my baby. She'll be the standard against which all future pets are measured. Now to have to answer family and friend's question "how are you doing?" I hate crying in front of people, but I can't imagine even mentioning her name without crying for awhile. Anyway, thanks SO much for all your support these last few months. I'll check back from time to time because I got used to following everyone's stories with their pets, etc. (even if I don't post much). I'll let you know when I get a new kitty to love, too. We'll get settled in our new location first, maybe take a trip or two since we haven't in about 4-5 yrs (since Casey got older and more "needy"). Gotta first find some wondeful neighbors I can trust to care for my pet when we're away....we have the best here where we are--I was sure going to miss them. Later, Tracey...See MoreTime to put dog down?
Comments (25)Two stories: We had a cat with an inoperable tumor on her face. It wasn't a huge tumor, but it caused blood to pool under the skin, and it would ooze from her face all the time. It got to a point where I was draining her face 2-3x a day to keep it from swelling with blood. I was miserable doing it, but my husband insisted he wasn't ready to put her down because she was still eating, drinking and had a lot of personality. For three more months I drained her face, until I finally talked him into putting her down. It was the best decision I made. A couple years later, our dog was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor on his backside, just below his a**s. We kept an eye on him, and the tumor. He was a very happy dog - just a lovely, lovely animal. When the tumor got large enough that it was starting to interfere with his ability to go to the bathroom, I told my husband I was putting him down. I said, "I'd rather he go now, when he's still happy and enjoying life, than to wait three months and have him be miserable like the cat was." He acknowledged I was right. As much as I loved our animals, I did right by our dog, and did NOT do right by our cat. That poor cat didn't deserve to bleed from her face just because my husband couldn't let go, even if she was still frisky and eating/acting normally. I will NEVER let a pet live like that again....See MoreElderly dog: How do you know when it's time?
Comments (68)I am so sorry to hear about Gracie. Sue, my rottie (also named Grace) had an adrenal tumor but it presented as cushings-- it am sure you have read about it but cushings causes a crazy food drive which combined with the anxiety can make for aggression. Luckily my rottie never had aggression-- at 115lb, if she was aggressive, I would have had to stop all treatment. Her food drive was something else though. I remember one day my father brought me a frozen container of homemade vegetable soup. I set it on the counter and walked outside with him as he left. In the short amount of time to walk him to his car-- maybe 10 min MAX? Grace had gotten the frozen quart container off the counter, broke through the plastic and ate all the *frozen* soup! Another time, I walked into the kitchen to find her on her hind two legs with her snout in a pot of simmering roasted veggie and lentil soup-- hot! This girl loved soup! LOL Because the tumor (like cushings) was producing large amounts of corticosteroids-- the hormone responsible for the fight or flight reaction. Like I said, Grace wasn't aggressive but she had a high level of anxiety. She couldn't just relax. She paced constantly.. and when she could relax enough to lay down, any sound had her back up. She wasn't sleeping. I wasn't sleeping. It was exhausting for her.. and for all of us. Because surgery wasn't an option for the second tumor, we put her on an anti-anxiety pill. It was a huge help and might be something to discuss with your vet. Grace actually lived MUCH longer than the vets expected and I believe the anti anxiety pill made that possible. It did nothing to cure the tumor-- but it helped keep the symptoms under control....See MoreSueb20
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