when to call it a day with our beloved pooch ?

balmaiden

Hi Shykins,

I really and truly made my mind up that I would never ever have another dog after this one The heartbreak is awful but so is the emptiness without her. Its not replacing her but if we do get another dog it will be to replace the emptiness.

As this thread started I worried I wouldnt know when she had had enough, but she told me, two days before we called it a day, she had me up all night and she was worried, literally pacing the floor and then she came to me put her head in my lap and looked at me so imploringly I knew she had had enough. It took longer to convince my Husband but he agrees now that we did the right thing for her , not for us , but for her.

Believe you me I know exactly what you are going through with your old boy and it is horrible. I am still spending a fair bit of the day in tears. So I am thinking of you now and send you both my very very best.

shykins

i do feel for you balmaiden and i know u would never think of replacing your girl... simply giving your love to another dog who needs you

i know i will never have another dog like i never had another cat, i guess i am not as strong as u ... i was looking at him again today and he looks so old and sometimes sad and to be honest he sits inthe garage much of the day and doesnt seem particularly interested except when we are all outside and he realises then he comes and rubs his head on me (cos he can barely see) .. hes so happy to be with us thats what makes it so hard to decide but can i honestly say he has a good quality of life now??

oh i wish i could decide this... thanks so muich for takin time to talk to me about this when u are going thru yr loss its much appreciated

xx

balmaiden

Shykins,

That is exactly what my dog did in her last two weeks, went and sat in the garage, I dont intend to make you feel worse than you already do but I think you will find that is exactly what animals do when they are getting nearer to the time. I think when they are old and infirm nature tells them that they are vunerable to preditors so they should find a place to hide. Im not saying that that situation might not go on for a number of weeks but that was the explanation given to me on why my dog did that.

If and when you make a decision do feel free to come on here or send me a pm if you need someone to talk to

How can we judge their quality of life? as long as they seem pain free as best as we can tell that is the main thing.

shykins

balmaiden thankyou so much for those words it made me cry cos i am pretty certain i am right and that his time is soon .. hes been doing this for a couple weeks now

its jus so hard when hes happy to be with us tho wobbly on his legs, but u saying what u did made me understand a lot why hes out there and not with us

x

Boomdocker

So sad for you Balmaiden, in tears reading what you have written today. :sad:

Thinking of you too Shykins.

My cat is poorly and I have the opposite problem in as much my vet thinks she is ok to carry on but I think she has had enough. She is 14. I have to respect my vets opinion but I swear she is miserable. He doesnt see the way she looks at me and they way her behaviour has changed. I am obviously glad that he thinks she is fine but deep down I am not sure he is right. I'm in a quandry as what to do next.

Best wishes to you both.

virgin_moneysaver

balmaiden - I am so sorry to hear your dogs time had come - I'm in tears & my spaniel has just put her head on my leg & is looking at me as if to wonder why I'm upset - I know I'll be in bits when her time comes

balmaiden

Boomdocker,

Any chance of changing to a different vet practice? about 20 years ago I had a cat whos gums were infected took him to my then vet who removed most of his teeth. About a week later he went of his legs I took him to a different vet ( the same vet I have now) and he was diagnosed with kidney failure and he should not have had his teeth out in the first place!!!!!!

Point being really, maybe you do know best and a second opinion may be called for

shykins

i also know of someone whose dog was really bad i would of had no doubt what to do but the vet kept saying he was ok and giving them more meds, it broke my heart seeing that dog every day til he went

i spoke to my vet yesterday and they said try doubling his dose to see how it goes and if it improves anything but if i think it isnt helping then i can ring again and they will help me decide,. thank goodness they are so brilliant there cos i would hate to have to argue about this with them

hugs everyone

shykins

just thought i would let u know to say that since the vet said we could double his meds our boy has been a little better.. maybe the warm weather is helping to

he is still quite doddery and spends time alone but is more willing to come out and be with us now which is nice

i suspect it wont be long before i will be in balmaidens position but for now at least things look a little brighter

x

balmaiden

Great news Shykins, we kept our old girl for 3 months longer than we thought possible after the vet altered the tablets.

Just to let you know just that I will not be online for 6 weeks this summer, just incase you post and I dont reply.