I hope I made the right decision...

[Linn Bee]

We found a stray puppy in the middle of the road who had been dumped on the coldest night of the winter. He was so small at the time, he needed bricks added to help him climb the steps.

Because of his long hair and our weedy property, Bucky became an outside dog. At about 15 years old and I took him for his first haircut to get rid of all his badly matted hair. He looked just like a dalmatian puppy with the long shaggy hair gone. We got home and he walked into the house past me - as if he'd always been inside - and turned to see if I dared kick him out.

At 17 years old, I spotted him standing in the driveway staring off in the distance. An hour later he was still standing there unmoved. We went out and got him. We suspect he'd had a stroke. He couldn't hear. Couldn't walk. Couldn't climb the stairs. We put him to bed.

The next morning he moved slowly, but he seemed better. I watched him closely for signs he was in pain. By the end of the month he was back to puppy-like antics. He came on vacation with us 'cuz we didn't want to leave him home with only neighbors stopping in for feed and water. He was with us about two more years before he walked off somewhere to die.

I am so glad we didn't put him down when he had his stroke, although I would have if I'd seen any sign he was in pain. We had two more good years with him.

Whether your dog will recover or not, it is nice to know you gave her that chance.

 

[Baymule]

Our Lab got so bad that we were going to put him down. He couldn't even walk and just cried with pain. We finally made the gut wrenching decision to put him down. Naturally he got better over the weekend. When we got him to the vet, we decided to give him another chance. The vet gave us pain pills for him as needed. He had more good days than bad and we had him another 6 months. This gave my husband the time he needed to come to grips with losing his dog of almost 15 years.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=611066

It is hard to put your dog down when she has rallied like she has. You can't stop the inevitable, but you can enjoy the time you have left with her.

 

[BusyBlonde]

You did the right thing.

My ex and I decided that he would get our two dogs (since we decided he'd get the house) and I got the cat. When we separated, I think Maggie (the golden retriever) was five or six years old.

When she was 11, my ex was moving to a townhouse 10 hours away. It had no yard, no fence, and he didn't feel he could keep her. My now DH and I took her in.

Shortly afterwards, she developed a condition where she lost her equilibrium. It wasn't a stroke (I can't recall what it was now), but we gave her seasick pills for a couple weeks. She fully recovered after a month or so.

Maggie lived to be 13, surpassing jaw cancer and other golden retriever problems. I don't regret any days we shared with her.

 

[MrsCountryChick]

YOU DID THE RIGHT THING!

My beLOVED Rotty (of only 6 1/2 yrs old) when we discovered a lump on the lower side of his chest.......my heart sank! Over the wkend until his appointment he started having shortness of breath. When we took him to the vet, they checked him over, did xrays & bloodwork. Ultimately diagnosing it was Osteosarcoma (bone cancer)....my hear was BROKEN!

Our vet told us if we wanted to 'wait' to make any final decisions she could give us some pills to help him breathe better...the medicine was prednisone & we paid $45.00 for 2wks of medicine for him. We took him home to LOVE him. My husband searched online for a Great cancer Specialist center....& also searched online EVERYwhere for herbal, organic & vitamin help that he could benefit from. We went to the Specialist & she seen his rest results & examined him. Ultimately saying there wasn't anything further they could do that would benefit him, but suggested to keep him on the medicine since it helped him to breathe normally. The vet called in the medicine to Giant Eagle where a 90 day supply was only $12.00 for us!

My WONDERFUL Hubby ordered the K9 cancer treatment herbal, vitamin & mushroom extract pills. They weren't cheap, due to my Rotty weighing over 100lbs & they are taken by weight. He Loved taking every pill cuz I wrapped them in either cheese or lunch meat.

He also got him a Large container of Nupro Dog Supplement (Gold can & it's liver flavored, that dogs Love)....which is gravy powder to make a water/dust gravy for adding to dog food for Show Dogs with minerals & vitamins for their Health, skin & coat. But EACH & EVERY day he was Happy, appeared Healthy, acting like his normal self. Toward the end he did need alittle help getting up the back door steps. My WONDERFUL Husband Gladly paid over $350.00 a month for Each month his medication that kept him "Healthy," able to LIVE with the cancer.....& he bought him large packs of dog rawhide bones from Sams Club, so EVERYday he had a new bone. His coat looked shiny everyday like I'd just bathed him with Special shampoo! So that Nupro DOES work! He Even GAINED weight during this time! Amazing to GAIN Weight LIVING with Cancer!....so I think while a ~*clinical*~ look is important, it matters how What the *Quality* of the Dog's life is........If the dog or any animal isn't suffering there's no reason to put them down. Especially if you're willing & able to care for them.

I think sometimes Medically while things look one way, the SPIRIT will tell you if your dog is suffering. I am VERY PROUD that my beLOVED dog lived 5MONTHs PASSED the 2wks the vet gave us to "decide" what we wanted to do! Everyday he was Happy, living withOUT suffering! He lived just passed his 7th year Birthday! While my many years with my Husband (since high school), the BEST Most Meaningful thing he's ever done or gotten me was to Allow us to care for my BeLOVED dog those extra months of his Life. To me that means the World! I feel good knowing he lived the end of his life Very Happy! He fell asleep one last time here at our home & woke up in Heaven.

I will FOREVER have an empty place in my Heart for that dog!

Is it possible that your brother is too close to the situation to Really be able to judge the dog's health? Sometimes ppl would rather dismiss issues that are heart wrenching instead of taking the Long emotional look at the true details. If your dog was the family dog wouldn't your brother also care for the dog then too? I mean no disrespect by saying any of this. But maybe if it were a new client he would have his eyes open to more of a 'medical' look than just dismissing the dogs health altogether saying to put the dog down that nothing can be done to support the dogs health? Feel GOOD you're doing the RIGHT thing!

Be Thankful each day you get to spend with that Great Dog!

Your dog is LUCKY to have someone CARE so much!!!

 

[Brindlebtch]

You did the right thing.

 

[rmh0508]

I have a old (13+ yrs) dog who has had seizures since she was 2. She is on Phenolbarb (sp?) to help control them. She still has them every week or 2 but quickly comes out of them and is her same old self. She still goes trail riding with us, chases the cats and is the boss of the big dogs (she is 9# they are 40 and 80#). Personally I think you did the right thing. I would consult another vet. If one of my close family members was a vet I think I would take my animals to another vet just because dealing with family on certain issues will never end well. I would take her to another vet for another opinion. I had a dog who was born with a very bad heart murmur. He was not supposed to make it till 2 yrs old. Well he made it to almost 5 before he got sick, once sick he went on the proper medication with a prognosis of maybe 6 months tops. He made it 14 months. He was his happy same old self until the day he died. The night he died I was going to bed and he didn't come with me (he always slept in my closet) The next morning I went down and he passed in his sleep on the couch. He was in the exact same position as when I went to bed. I do not feel that he passed in a painful manner and I do feel that it was quick. His treatment was costly but I have never regretted a day or a dollar of it and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

So yes I feel you made the right decision and YES please get a second opinion from a vet who is not your family. Right now if she is fine though just wait it out a while and see if she has any more seizures. It may be a freak one time thing and unless she has several in a short amount of time a lot of vets won't really want to treat her. But should it become a problem the phenolbarb is cheap I pay $7 for a 2 month supply. Good luck and do what you feel is right and don't second guess yourself. I hope your girl if feeling better. Hugs and prayers...

 

[Sherry]

At 7 years old my boxer had a stroke. I figured it was "time" but decided to wait a bit as I wasn't ready to let her go. She made the recovery and I got another 5 years with her.

At 12 1/2 she started having petit mal seizures, then one night she had a grand mal. She and I travelled back home that weekend, spent time with the family, especially my sister who had given her to me. No more big seizures, but several small ones. Took her in to see the Vet on Monday, she could barely walk. Vet tells me I should start thinking about euthanasia. I told her I don't want to do it too soon, Vet replied "you don't want to wait too long either".

I took my old girl home, thought and cried long and hard about it. Made the appointment for Wedn evening.

On Wedn I fed her her favorite meal of a McDonald's cheeseburger and fries. Got down into the floor and held her, thanked her for being such a wonderful dog and friend, told her I was going to let her go. Told her that I love her, and that I would miss her terribly but it was ok for her to go.

When I took her in on Wedn, she walked into that office with a spring in her step I hadn't seen for quite awhile. I think she had been ready to go for awhile, but waited for me to be ready.

Her passing, and the way it was handled by my vet, Dr. Mayo...I walked out feeling I had just witnessed something very beautiful.


Turned out, unknown to us, she had liver to pancreas to brain cancer. Nothing had shown up on the bi-annual xrays we did every year since her stroke.

Bottm line, I think you know when it's the right time...she'll tell you.

 

[dainerra]

honestly, I'm on the fence. Yes, she has recovered for now. But, as your brother the vet told you, she has a serious heart problem. Sick and than rally, sick and then rally is how it will go. Your dad isn't able to afford the medications she needs to keep her healthy. She has now started having seizures. I can only assume that there will be no money available to treat her for that either?

Keep her comfortable and happy. Don't let her suffer because of a hope that she will continue to recover. When she lets you know, don't hesitate and hope that it will go away like the effects of the seizure. Also, untreated fluid on the heart is a pretty nasty way to die. My step-dad died of congestive heart failure. He said that it would feel like a giant fist just squeezing his heart. Not pain, like a heart attack, but almost like drowning.

If treatment for a serious condition is too expensive, then you have to make more difficult decisions. How long do you let the condition continue before it just becomes cruel to keep them alive, even if they are otherwise healthy. If I was your vet brother, I would have advised "find the money for the meds or euthanize her now" THAT is probably where he is coming from.

 

[Kaitie09]

I had a golden retriever with a brain tumor and he had seizures. He would have one, and then slowly recover, and then was better for a while, until he had another one. We always kept him alive because he improved after them. He lived for over a year with these seizures until he had one big one and did not come back. In between, he was very happy, and was a normal dog, but we always gave him some extra love. If she is not in major pain after them, then you should give her lots of love, and just learn how to act if or when she has another one.

 

[Cowgirl75446]

I think you made the right choice.