Having to Euthanise.

[lockedhearts]

When we had to have Corky put to sleep after several agression attacks on the dogs he was raised with, I honestly had to leave him and let the vet do it. But I have had to have a couple others put down for health reasons and the sedation to me is less stressful on them and you ( if you plan to be there)
Sorry it has come to this for you, being responsible stinks sometimes

I think you are making the best, albeit hardest decision.

 

[Brindlebtch]

You can ask the vet for a large dose of sedative in pill form to give him before you get to the vet. Give it to him about an hour before you go and then he will be nice and calm. THe vet can give him further sedation if you think he needs it.....

I'm so sorry Ropo...I know it's hard.....

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Is there any way to get over the feeling that I am an awful person? This animal trusts me...I know it must be done, but I just feel horrible about planning a death, where I make the final decision.

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

Quote:
You are doing this for the right reasons. IMO he doesn't have much quality of life with his behavioral issues--he's not normal. I think you are doing the right thing by him. I hope that helps you.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Was it hard to look into these trusting brown eyes, see that goofy grin, and know that I would be the one taking his life?

Unbelievably. When he had his MRI done, he spent the whole van ride looking at my husband and I out the rear window as we followed in our car. He hid his head in you, wiggled his rump high, and followed you around the house. He was a very, very, sweet, loving dog. It was not his fault that he could switch, within a second, into an extremely frightened or unrecognizably aggressive animal. That didn't stop the fact that he posed an extreme danger to others. It didn't stop the fact that his quality of life was rapidly declining. You are doing a good thing here. You are not handing him over to someone he doesn't know so that you can avoid this painful situation and decision. You are making the responsible choice.

Seeing how peacefully our boy went out, talking to others who had to do the same thing, and knowing that we had tried everything helped me feel less like a horrible murderer. It still hurts though. The going to the door to let in a dog who is no longer there. The image of his happy grin. Reminding myself about his howling and hiding under the bed, the fear, the shaking, the seizures, the time I just barely kept him from taking out an eye, the deep bite he gave our other dog...can help balance it. But really, the fact that he had a safe home, that he was loved and part of a family, that he had someone he did trust to hold him when he died...that helps me deal with it more.

 

[BorderKelpie]

I had to make that call, too, for aggression issues. I tried for 8 (LOOOONG) years to manage that dog. It was no fun for me, the dog, or the kids.

I know it is a horrible choice to make, but it is often the only choice.

 

[theoldchick]

Euthanizing a pet is a heart wrenching decision. And taking a pet's life should never be easy. Pogo has been a member of your family and since you tried Prozac, I believe you've done all you could him. There are several options available for euthanizing aggressive animals. Oral sedation given an hour before arrival to the clinic, Intramuscular injections to sedate the animal, then the IV injection which stops the heart.

Oral sedation calms the pet, and hopefully makes the pet more tractable for the IM injection. One side effect of the oral medication is that the drug lowers the blood pressure and makes the vein difficult to find for the IV injection. There are several IM medications out there to sedate the animal, and the drug varies according the clinic. Each vet has their preference, and in some cases state laws may regulate how the procedure is done.

Staying with your pet or not staying with your pet is a personal decision. Some of clients wish to stay. Some don't. Some don't want to see the injections but want to see the body and spend a few moments to say goodbye.

Euthansia is a difficult decision and it should be. So sorry you have to make this decision.

 

[sonew123]

Im so sorry

we made that decision 7 years ago with our lab ( he wa deaf/blind hips giving out on him and quality of life going downhill fast). We picked and set 4 dates with the vet before we actually stuck to it. I just couldnt do it...It seemed every time that day would come he perked up and seemed better? Or it was my guilt making me see things that weren't actually occuring? We brought him to the vets with our bed comforter wrapped around him. The smell of the vets made him very nervous so we had our vet come out to the van. My husband and I both held him as he was given one shot and he passed within a minute. Sadest moment in my life and first time I had seen DH cry for hours on end-he was our life for 12 years and our baby before our babies were born. We made the right decision and so are you as a responsible dog owner-it sucks and it is hard and Im so very sorry you have to go through it!

 

[lockedhearts]

You are not an awful person, I felt that way about Corky, even as I sat and held Lucky with his stitches in his neck where Corky tore in to him, coming very close to his jugular vein. I cried that day after I called the vet and told them I had no other option for him (he had stayed the weekend at the vets office, after the last attack) I felt like a trader, we saved that puppy from certain death at 8 weeks old, someone tossed him out in the middle of the road, in the rain. He had some deformities as well, so placing him in another home was hard to do.

After it was all said and done, our house was peaceful again, even with 5 other dogs. I began to think, I thought about the fact that had we not picked him up that day, out of the road, he would have never had any life at all. At least he had 2 happy years, being taken care of and being loved.

Focus on that, you gave this dog another chance, you did all you could.

 

[Brindlebtch]

You are not an awful person Ropo! Of course you are not! You are doing the right thing for this dog. He trusts you to do the right thing, too, and this is the last best thing you can do in his interests.

You have made the right decision. You WILL feel guilty and try to second guess yourself, but YOU HAVE MADE THE RIGHT DECISION.