Timing euthanasia, family and vet joint descision issue.

[MustLoveHens]

My heart goes out to you and your family during this difficult time. I know exactly what you are going through. My mom and I had a Scottich Deetrhound, Tara, that was diagnosed with Lymphoma and her Lymphoma went sub-q (in the skin). It all started with a biopsy of a benin tumor. She was older, 1o years, which is ancient for this breed and we elected to try prednisone therepy instead of chemo. We could not afford chemo and our vet was sympathetic to our situation. Tara's condition progressed quickly and my Mom was not ready to say good by. We managed Tara's pain as best we could and finally I had a long talk with my mom and told her we needed to ease Tara's suffering. That is was not fair to her to keep her in pain when there is no hope for a recovery. We called our vet and made the appointment and had her euthanised. It was the day before she turned 11. It was the kindest act that we could do for her and after all the love and companionship she unselfishly gave us, we could do no less for her. She died in my mom's arms. My mom had her cremated which was a good decision for her to make to help her heal. After my mom passed away a little over a year ago, I now have Tara's urn. It is nice to see it and know that Tara and my mom are together again.
I wish I had great words to help your husband with this most difficult desicion, but I don't. I know it's hard to let go and say that final goodbye, but sometimes it's the most loving, and kindest act we can give to our beloved pets. I also believe that the final goodbye is never final-just temporary.
Best wishes to you and your family.

 

[equine623]

This is such a difficult situation so

It is a very poor prognosis and I agree that she is probably suffering and ready to be let go. Unfortunately, some people are not good at that, as a vet tech its something we see frequently. However, if you are willing to sign the forms and make the appointment, the vet should go along with your wishes. He or she will most likely not come right out and say yes, you should euthanize, because in today's lawsuit happy world that leaves them open for all kinds of things.

Good luck convincing your husband

And on Maddie's behalf, thank you for caring enough to make the most difficult decision

 

[Hound]

Your husband will thank you in the long run for standing firm. Sometimes it is impossible for people to separate their emotions from a dog's needs, you owe it to the dog not to suffer and he won't want to feel guilty forevermore when he comes to his senses (I mean that in the best possible way). There is nothing harder than having to make the decision to euthanize a pet. Lord knows when it comes time for my favorite dog they may as well dig a hole for me too.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Is the dog his or is she yours?

I know that if my dad had put down my dog without me making the final decision, even though I would rationalize it later, I would always think of him as giving up on him. I had to make the call and am almost glad I did. Otherwise, I would always have had a part of me that hated my dad for that.

Even being an adult, I cried like a little 2 year old.

 

[kla37]

You will probably have to get your vet on board to help explain (with anatomical diagrams) to your husband exactly how sick the dog is. A better understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the disease may help him see that it just isn't fair to her to let her live like that.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

My prayers are with you and your family. I know what you are going through.

It is never easy to let go, but it is what's best.

 

[redhen]

Poor hubby..hes gotta love that dog so much..

Poor pup cause it sounds like its her time to be released from pain...

I hope your DH will do the right thing soon...
I know its hard though... but when you truly love something.. you HAVE to let it go and HELP it not suffer anymore.

 

[Amyable]

This is the only bad part of letting animals own your heart. Is there any way the vet would be willing to euthanize her at your home? A vet in my hometown would do that for close clients. That may make it easier on all of you.

 

[Beekissed]

I feel for you in this hard time of decision...just so happens I am making the same decision here and its a hard one. I'm dragging my feet hoping for a sign that I am making the right decision....your dog sounds much, much worse than my own, so I would be doing what you are doing without a doubt. Actually, have already done so with my previous dog with cancer. Its just like no life for a dog in constant pain, regardless of the disease.

 

[Slinkytoys]

Your husband needs to understand that dogs live in the present. They have no concept of tomorrow. Your dog is in pain, she doesn't think "oh maybe it won't hurt so much tomorrow, and Friday is the day that I get to play ball". When they are living in so much pain (which they learn to hide as best they can) it isn't right to expect them to go on this way. Ask him if he would want to exist like this. Fortunately we CAN make this decision for our pets, we make our fellow humans endure. Sigh****
Slinky