Rant about Euthanasia

[Cyprus]

I don't fear it either, except that in reality there is no coming back from it. Once dead, a soul is born into eternal life, whether he spends it suffering or rejoicing is God judgment

Whatever lets you sleep at night

 

[PirateGirl]

@Michellep224 Since your dogs already have an established relationship with the vet, I recommend you personally calling the office and asking to speak to the vet to discuss all possible courses of treatment for your dogs and the pros and cons of these treatment options. You should be able to do this at no additional expense. You will feel better and be able to make a better informed decision. You will likely need to bring the dogs in for a check up to move forward with any medications and/or tests, but there is no reason the vet cannot outline options for you now so you can formulate a treatment plan going forward.

 

[Twoleggedmotherhen]

This is a personal decision, but you have to look at the quality of life.
6 months ago we put our 12 year old Miniature Pinscher to sleep. He was diabetic (4 units of insulin 2x a day) for a little over 5 years. Was blind for 4.5 years. He didn't act any different, but saw his hair was coming out in huge amount and had a bad smell. Gave him a bath, hair fell out and within an hour the smell was back. Took him to vet. His skin was dying due to the diabetes. His body was saying it is time. Vet thanked us for doing what was best for him.
Point is you have to do what is right and not let them suffer cause you don't want to see them go yet.

 

[casportpony]

You should be able to do this at no additional expense.

Most vets will do this if the animal has been seen in the last year, but if it's been longer they will almost certainly want to see the dog, especially if it was on drugs that require routine kidney function testing.

 

[sourland]

Most vets will do this if the animal has been seen in the last year, but if it's been longer they will almost certainly want to see the dog, especially if it was on drugs that require routine kidney function testing.

Some of the pain relief medications require periodic kidney, liver and total blood count evaluations. Good point @casportpony.

 

[True Patriot]

There is no "absolute" right or wrong answer. The variables are infinite. The only thing you can do is make the decision you feel is best when the time comes to decide. Every person and every animal are unique, creating a unique set of circumstances surrounding them. We all have our opinion of what is humane, justified, and right. You cannot judge unless you have walked in their shoes. The amount of information we can read in a post does not come close to the information we didn't get from living with the animal, caring for it, and seeing first hand the consequences of the illness, injury or aging. These posts are also difficult times for the poster. Being supportive and compassionate would likely be more helpful than debate.

 

[PirateGirl]

Yes, agree about the blood panel. A full panel became part of our annual exam once my dog was around 11 or 12 and depending on what that showed impacted what our options were.

 

[Michellep224]

Do you use mousetraps?

No, actually I do not. I think mice are adorable, however very pesky. I have cats who catch them, and I have live traps to catch the ones the cats don't get.
If I find my cat playing with a mouse I rescue the mouse and return it outside.
I don't think the mouse is doing anything wrong by finding food and a safe place to sleep.

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I don't want this to be a religious debate either, but I believe that when an animal dies it goes to Heaven. We live in harmony with the animals. It is written that way.

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This. My dog is reaching the end of her life. I had a very good discussion with my vet, whom I love, about it. He laid out all of the options for her continued treatment going forward. A good vet or a good "human" doctor will do this for you, give you all of the options. The first option of course is do nothing, and he explained what this would mean and how this would affect my dog's life. The most extreme option is do everything medically possible to keep the dog alive as long as possible. Some people want this for their pets, however these options that are about longevity of life sometimes disregard the quality of that life. Then there are options that are a middle ground, treat ailments the best we can to improve quality of life as best we can for as long as we can. I think most people go this route for their pets, but we need to be able to recognize when this is no longer working, when we've reached the tipping point and maybe we are extending the length of life but the quality is continuing to degrade. None of these decisions are easy, and unfortunately our animals have a hard time telling us what they want and what is best for them. There is not clear cut right and wrong answer here, but I have been through this process in the past and can say with certainty that you will know when the time is right to let go. Your post has come at a particularly difficult time for me as I was up all night tending to my 13 year old dog with terminal cancer. I'm running on 2 hours of sleep and now have a pup who may no longer be able to eat. Everyone has bad days health-wise and we need to figure out when the bad days for our dogs outnumber the good days and if good days are even possible anymore.

See, these were the options the vet gave us when Ginger went to the vet for her calcium condition. They said she could live with it, but that it affected mobility. She discussed treatment options, and said depending on costs we could be aggressive, do nothing, or treat what we could.
Of course I would love to take the aggressive course and treat for her ailments, attempting to increase her quality of life in all areas. Financially we cannot do that.
All I was asking of my parents is the middle route. We can't just do nothing for Ginger. Her quality of life is slowly decreasing by doing nothing. Her nails need to be cut. She needs something for joint pain and nausea caused by her condition. Then she would be MUCH happier. Doing nothing is selfish. Killing her is selfish. She is treatable to an extent that she would feel better than she is now.

I agree with y'all. I'm going to call the vet and fix it. I will pay for it. They will see in difference in Ginger, and then they will listen.

 

[casportpony]

I'm going through this right now with one of mine. She's on Carprofen, glucosamine, and Proin twice a day. She can't chase after the quad, or jump into the truck, but she does like to follow us around.

I found this and thought some people might find it helpful:
https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/sites/defau...ionAnimals/HonoringtheBond/HowDoIKnowWhen.pdf

 

[PirateGirl]

I'm going through this right now with one of mine. She's on Carprofen, glucosamine, and Proin twice a day. She can't chase after the quad, or jump into the truck, but she does like to follow us around.

I found this and thought some people might find it helpful:
https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/sites/defau...ionAnimals/HonoringtheBond/HowDoIKnowWhen.pdf
View attachment 1525458 View attachment 1525457

Thank you for sharing this.
You just have to listen to your pups in terms of what they can and cannot do. It's a fine line between overdoing it and not enough exercise. My dog has not been able to jump in the car for years, but still loves a walk in the woods at her pace. When she stops frequently along the trail we know it's time to turn around. If I ask her if she wants to go out or go for a walk, if she just lays in bed, she gets left in bed, if she jumps up and heads to the front door she comes with us. They know what they feel up to if we are smart enough to listen