Preparing to say goodbye to my boy

dawnie1972

Firstly thank you for all your kind words again. I have 3 dogs so will still be the owner of 2 when Milo goes but they are all so different and Milo is the one that wants the cuddles, that curls up on my lap (well as much as a 30kg dog can), and is my best friend.
Secondly he will not suffer, I love him too much for that. Its ripping me apart now to see him losing weight but the vet has said it is purely fat/muscle wastage and that he is fine at the moment. We dont' go for long walks anymore (I so miss those) but he was playing ball in the garden at the weekend. I asked the vet on Friday how I would know when it is time and the vet said "he will tell you, one day you will look into his eyes and you will just know". He's a tough boy and he's still happy in himself but I would put my own greed and selfishness before his quality of life.

skintandscared_2

oh my, that just set me off again. I am happy that there will still be two lucky dogs on the receiving end of that kind of love and devotion and, just reading the way you clearly adore your dogs, I am sure when you are ready fate will bring you a new little character to love for being just him or her. Big hugs.

Battleaxe44

Dawnie (((((((()))))))) for you and Milo. I have had to let two of cats go over the Rainbow Bridge in the last three years and I am dreading the day when I have to let Sparky cross the Bridge. He is now 13.

Hobo, our big white fella, brough home a scraggly kitten two weeks before we had to let him go to sleep, it was if he telling us we had to look after the kitten instead of him. hobo was also a cat who wandered in and adopted us. for six months he chose to live in an old miocrwave box in the back garden until he decided we could be trusted and then he came inside. Sparky just moved over and let him share his life. Before that we had kea, she would boss Sparky around and also made sure Hobo toed the line in the cat world. We had to put Kea asleep one very cold dark day in January three years ago.

Little Fidget willnever replace Hobo. Sparky goes and lays where we have buried Kea, he loved his furry Mum, even though she was not his mother, she just mothered Sparky when he was kitten.

Now we have Patches, Fidget and Sparky, with Smiler an old ginger tom, who has been hanging around since the days Hobo ruled the garden. Smiler lives in the converted dog house we have provided for him, he doesn't want to come inside.

No cat will ever replace kea and Hobo and it wil be the same when Sparky, Fidget and Patches have to leave us. As pet lovers we all understand how you feel Dawnie. Milo will let you know when it is time to say goodbye. he knows you are hurting. Such is the love we as humans have for our lovely fur babies.

hethmar

So very sorry - my heart aches for you. I so dread the next time I have to face this.

You have had a lovely relationship with him and he has been fortunate to be so loved and cared for.

I wish I could say something to ease the pain but I know just how it is for you

xxx

meritaten

I am so sorry dawnie. I cant decide whether knowing you just have months left with Milo is a blessing or a curse.
in one way you can enjoy your time that's left - but in another its like the sword of Damocles hanging over you.
I faced that with my cat Nicki - every vet visit I was told he had weeks left - yet I had over three years with him.
Vets, like doctors, are not gods - they truly cannot predict how long a pet has - it could be sooner or it could be much later. I hope its the latter when Milo would approaching his normal life span.
all you can do is to make the most of your time together - don't grieve now! Milo will sense it and it will worry him.
blessings
meri

Dimey

I lean towards preferring to have a bit of time to give extra love and being able to say cheerio - see you in the next life; rather than a fast shock.

My girl Lucy was given 2 weeks by the vet then she hung on for 3 years. The vet was astonished. I think we both didn't want to be parted and our love or bloody mindedness somehow kept us together for as long as was humanly and felinely possible.

I can never visit this thread without crying and wishing hugs to Milo and Dawnie.

dawnie1972

Having a bad day. Milo was put on steroids 10 days ago (I was very unsure/nervous about this as I hate them but vet reassured me). On Friday I noticed he was getting a pot belly so was a little concerned, this did not improve over the weekend and then yesterday I noticed blood in his poo. He was due back at the vets today for bloods. He has fluid in his belly, this could either be the steroids (although the blood results gave no adverse indication of any reaction) or the fact that his liver has shrunk so much that the vessels into the liver have closed/are closing up - he basically said that blood/fluid travels through the dogs body one way then back through another way and if the vessels have closed up its not letting the fluid pass through the liver. He's on another type of tablet and the vet is going to phone the specialist and fax his blood results over and will call me once he has more news. The frustrating thing is, for the first time in 3 months, his ALKP gave a reading - drove home trying not to get false hopes but am going to ask the vet when he calls if we have a glimmer of hope or not - hate seeing Milo looking so porty though, he looks like he's pregnant. He's happy enough in himself and has been wanting to play ball this weekend.

Frugalista

So sorry to hear about your boy - I know how hard it is.

Just wanted to say, I also have a dog on steroids and she too has a pot belly. When she is lying on her side she looks like she is pregnant - but the vet has assured me that this is a normal side effect and nothing to worry about.

I asked a couple of friends who also have dogs on steroids and their boys also have these pot bellies.

We had to let one of our old boys go last Sunday morning. Some people think that because we have so many (now down to 12 ) that we won't miss him, despite the fact that he shared our lives for almost 14 years!:A

It never,ever gets any easier.

Mrs_Z

Further to my previous post, we also had to say our good-byes to one of the family cats last Friday. I'd been treading it. But in fact, she went very peacefully in my lap. The vet and the nurse were very professional and I didn't even cry (I thought I'd go to pieces). As much as I miss my little baby, I think I had done most of the grieving beforehand and a big weight has lifted from my shoulders. I hadn't realised how much her declining health had taken over my life, the constant worry, medications, etc.She was very special and there will be no other cat like her. Now I have joined those who say better a week early than a day late. Wish you still many more months together,

dawnie1972

Thank you - it wasnt a good start to the vet visit yesterday, we pulled into the car park and there, backed up to the back gates was the pet crematorium van, that set me off, thinking of my baby being taken away in teh back of a van (it won't happen).