Putting your pet down

[Carlos88]

First and foremost I'm a dog and cat person. Love and care for them equally. In this case I'm talking about one of our cats. Yeah I know, big deal. I'm particularly attached to him. He comes when called, talks too much and loves to retrieve his favorite little imitation mouse. He's my wife's shadow. Anywhere she goes he's right behind. Anytime she sits he jumps in her lap.

He's almost 15 and has kidney failure. He's been doing OK up until the last couple of days. I'm out of town with a sick father and my wife is taking this very hard. I can't head home until the new year.

Any words of wisdom out there?

 

[joseph singleton]

prayers sent buddy,never know the bond till my wife MADE ME have inside dogs,thought I could handle having them put down,,,yeah right,,still pulls on the heart strings till this day.

 

[338weatherby]

First and foremost I'm a dog and cat person. Love and care for them equally. In this case I'm talking about one of our cats. Yeah I know, big deal. I'm particularly attached to him. He comes when called, talks too much and loves to retrieve his favorite little imitation mouse. He's my wife's shadow. Anywhere she goes he's right behind. Anytime she sits he jumps in her lap.

He's almost 15 and has kidney failure. He's been doing OK up until the last couple of days. I'm out of town with a sick father and my wife is taking this very hard. I can't head home until the new year.

Any words of wisdom out there?

We had a dog (Petie) that had kidney failure. We brought him in to maybe have him put down. We left without doing it thinking he'd be ok for a little while longer. Turned out to be selfish thoughts. I got up for work about 4-5 days later to find him sitting in his own urine and not able to move. He was embarrassed looking and totally done. Had to pick him up and bring outside (125 lb bulldog) while I told the wife and kids. That was his last day. Never again will I let me pet get that bad again. The next one (Mack) was able to live to 13 and we brought him in before the cold set in for the winter. He wouldn't have been able to go in and out at that point. We were all glad to NOT seem him struggle. We also came home from one of the daughters volleyball games to find a lethargic dog (Henry) only to find out after the ER vet vistit that he had a massive tumor burst on his spleen and was bleeding internally. Nothing they could do because he was too far gone already. Happened like the snap of a finger. Sucked.

My only real input is not to wait too long. Our pets are family and they do have their own pride/dignity. Hope all goes ok. Not fun at all.

 

[257 STW]

Went through this with Tally, my Blue Healer. I got her when she was 8 wks old, and for the next 15 years she went with me everywhere. Everyday. At 15 her health was good, with the exception of having Lukemia of sorts. Spent a load of money trying to make her life as comfortable as I possibly could. In the end I had to do what was best for her, and I was devastated. that was 7 years ago, and I think about her every day still. Last year while I was out fighting wildland fires, my wife had to do the same for our beloved Chocolate Lab Bodie. It was very hard on both of us, but her especially her as I wasn`t there. I feel for you, and your wife. But know you are showing the love, and respect he deserves by not letting him suffer. It`s tough to say the least. Hold on to all those good memories of him, and the bad ones will over time become distant. My best wishes.

 

[Reelamin]

Very sorry to hear. My last last hunting dog got Addisons at 4yoa and there was no cure. Last ditch was to drive him five hours one way for the only shot available in the state. Didn't work and I could not stand to watch him struggle to stand and the end was inevitable. The hurt watching him was too much, and it never bothered me a bit to cry my eyes out for him. It is so hard so dang hard, and I wish I had a solid answer for your situation. Thinking of you, your wife, and your dog.

 

[tonyf3]

Sorry to hear and best wishes. I can only offer my most recent thoughts based on just having to go through this a few weeks back.

We struggled with the right time and i will never let it go as far as it did again. In the end his 12yo body gave out but his spirit was like a puppy and we really mis read his strong mental state vs. his weak physical state.

I think we masked alot of issues with pain meds, At his age i don't think that was fair to him because it prolonged our decision as we hoped the meds would make things better. Meds helped us feel like we were doing the right thing but it just got him to a point where the pain was stronger than the meds.

We had someone come to the house to put him down. The vets here were not allowing owners back in the room. We had a hard time just "handing him over" and leaving him there to be put down. i do think the at home option made it much easier on my wife and kids.

 

[Mark37082]

This is so hard to deal with. There something about the attachment with a pet that cannot be duplicated with anything else. I still get teary when I think about Gus. He was a big ole yellow lab that lived the life of a prince in our household. At 12 years old he started developing tumor. Ultimately stopped eating and would give us a look that it was time to stop the pain. We didn't wait like we had done on a couple of other pets. Now I look down my 120 lb chocolate lab and he is sleeping on my feet. God blessed us with dogs. Nothing beats their loyalty and affection.
My prayers are with you and your wife.

 

[Hugnot]

Not much wisdom but vivid memories of our very best cat's last days. At times just going along with day-to-day stuff the memory of our last veterinary visit intrudes and displaces everything else. We always communicated so well, and he sort of indicated approval for the procedure - end of pain as I looked into his eyes. Upon returning home, I laid him to rest in a box made from OSB & 2X6's in a 3-foot-deep grave with an appropriate ceremony. I collected his stuff - bed, food dishes, water bowl, grooming brush/comb (with fur) & put them in a sealed wood box that I still have. We had Ralphie for 17 years. We drove cross country two times & Ralphie preferred raucous rock & roll (Rod Stewart, Faith of the Heart) music vs. Mozart. We boarded Ralphie once and he made friends with the humans who ran the kennel and another look alike orange cat named Manny.

When I was a little kid, my parents always had burial ceremonies for pets.

 

[338 dude]

First and foremost I'm a dog and cat person. Love and care for them equally. In this case I'm talking about one of our cats. Yeah I know, big deal. I'm particularly attached to him. He comes when called, talks too much and loves to retrieve his favorite little imitation mouse. He's my wife's shadow. Anywhere she goes he's right behind. Anytime she sits he jumps in her lap.

He's almost 15 and has kidney failure. He's been doing OK up until the last couple of days. I'm out of town with a sick father and my wife is taking this very hard. I can't head home until the new year.

Any words of wisdom out there?

I've been where you are many times, I've had great Danes for 30+ years now they only live about eight years due to their size. while it's the hardest decision you can ever make when it's done believe me or not you will feel relief knowing that they are not suffering and you did the right thing .don't be greedy think of them not yourself I also have a cat who is 18 years old on several medications as of now I might be in your position sooner than I think again.

 

[backwoodsshooter]

First and foremost I'm a dog and cat person. Love and care for them equally. In this case I'm talking about one of our cats. Yeah I know, big deal. I'm particularly attached to him. He comes when called, talks too much and loves to retrieve his favorite little imitation mouse. He's my wife's shadow. Anywhere she goes he's right behind. Anytime she sits he jumps in her lap.

He's almost 15 and has kidney failure. He's been doing OK up until the last couple of days. I'm out of town with a sick father and my wife is taking this very hard. I can't head home until the new year.

Any words of wisdom out there?

Remember the good times you/yall had. it's gonna suck and but you both know what is gonna have to happen so he doesn't have to suffer.

When it does happen, make sure one of yall are with the kit kat in the room. No worse thing than them being around people they don't know (this comes from my wife who was a Vet Tech for many years). It will be hard, but it will keep him calm and relaxed and surrounded by what he knows.

 

[backwoodsshooter]

I've been where you are many times, I've had great Danes for 30+ years now they only live about eight years due to their size. while it's the hardest decision you can ever make when it's done believe me or not you will feel relief knowing that they are not suffering and you did the right thing .don't be greedy think of them not yourself I also have a cat who is 18 years old on several medications as of now I might be in your position sooner than I think again.View attachment 324968

that sure is a purty kit kat.

 

[338 dude]

that sure is a purty kit kat.

Thank you we call her Baba

 

[338 dude]

Remember the good times you/yall had. it's gonna suck and but you both know what is gonna have to happen so he doesn't have to suffer.

When it does happen, make sure one of yall are with the kit kat in the room. No worse thing than them being around people they don't know (this comes from my wife who was a Vet Tech for many years). It will be hard, but it will keep him calm and relaxed and surrounded by what he knows.

All this talk has me looking at pictures of friends who are no longer with me

 

[LVJ76]

Sorry to hear that Carlos.

It's hard losing or having to put a companion down. Just try to stay in touch with your wife as much as possible and provide as much support as you possibly can.

I buried our 13 yr old Yorkie 3 weeks ago, he died of old age. It was a tough loss and still is. Our german sheperd Leyla still cries for him, she is 8 yrs old now and grew up with him, she literally spent every day with him till he passed.

If he is suffering, put him down. It's tough but, it'll stop his pain. That's what we would do.