When is it time to euthanize?

Answers will vary. Unless it's an emergency (e.g., an accident, not a progressive illness), there's no perfect moment, and it always hurts. The criterion I use is whether living has become a burden to the animal.

Been there, done that. My 15-year old cat.

I'm going to be away from the computer for a while, I'll sent you a PM a little later.

ac

When they are suffering.

I had to put one of my beloveds to sleep for kidney failure. It wasn't pretty and he was ready to go.

One of my current beloveds has cost me a fortune. His kidneys are fine; it's his bladder.

The difference is: this one is not suffering. Except for his 'problem' - he's fine and frisky.

It's a hard decision to make, but put yourself it their place. Would you want to suffer?

You have to consider quality of life. As the others have said, are they suffering? In constant pain?

I had to put down one of my dogs because of old age. He just couldn't get around any more, his legs would shake and sometimes just splay out from underneath him.

It was sad because he still had puppy eyes, despite the pain, and he still wanted to do the things he no longer could.

It's never an easy decision, but for me, that one was the toughest. I'd had that dog since I was a child. He was my friend, my confidant (he knew all my teen secrets and laments), my constant companion.

We've had to put down two of the horses at our barn in the time I've been there - one old mare because of age and advanced Cushings disease, and her son a few years further on because he was nearly paralyzed - it might have been Lyme, we don't know. In both cases, it was because they were suffering, and we didn't want them to have to die slowly and painfully. It was the most merciful thing to do, and we were able to say our goodbyes because it's such a calm process.

No, there's no guilt, especially if you know that they're going to be in pain if they live, and probably die anyway. This gives the animal you love a dignified way to go.

I know it's a hard situation - hugs to you.

KTC said:

My only guilt came from not bringing relief to Mindy earlier.

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Exactly. It's taken me two years to get over the guilt of wanting to keep Uncle Church with me just a while longer. I have no guilt over ending his suffering - only my selfishness.

To Let Them Go.

The most difficult thing that I had to face in 2001 was not all the surgery nor the deaths of my mother and grandmother but the decision to put my dog to sleep. He had cancer and could not recover and I have written many poems and pieces to remember him. But it was far better to put him to sleep than to let him suffer. He was just too good of a dog for that. It is never easy and it hurts like crazy but it is far kinder than for them to linger.

I had to euthanize my pet just a few weeks ago. It was tough and I still question if I did the right thing. There's no right or wrong answer. You just need to think for your pets and see if it's the right thing for it. I decided to let her go before it was too late, when she was still happy. I made a mistake last time when I tried to keep my pet alive until the bitter end... thinking back, it was wrong of me because I couldn't let go and I thought she would get better, even when my brain told me she was dying -- it was just a matter of time.

However, even though I think I did the right thing, it didn't come out the way I expected... but that's another story.


Ask your vets if you were not sure. And seek your friends and family for support. You don't have to do that alone.

Azura Skye said:

Would anyone care to share their story of letting go of a beloved pet? I might have to make a decision soon. If you don't want to share it on the board you could PM me. Thanks.

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Why stop with pets? Hmmm...I have a bothersome neighbor. Oh, my boss? Don't get me started on the republicans.

I've had to make the decision for terminally ill cats. I felt grief but no guilt.

The vet helps by telling you what will happen if the pet's illness continues. You can pretty much gauge whether the pet still enjoys anything.

i put beatrice, my basset hound, to sleep a couple of years ago and still feel tremendously guilty over it. now, i'm not an emotional, overly-sensitive sort of fellow, but i cried like a baby for daze. she was 13 years old and had a huge tumor. her chances were about 50/50 she'd even survive the expensive operation, and the vet couldn't guarantee what kind of quality of life she'd have after that. and i know i couldn't be around for her as much as she needed because she was a basement/outdoor dog b/c my wife is allergic to 'em. so, in my case, there's an issue of 'what if' i wrestle with to this day. it's maddening to think about and really pointless, but no one said it had to make sense, it's just the way things are. what hurts the worst is knowing that bea counted on me to take care of her and keep her happy and healthy, and i feel as if i let her down. i like to think i did what was right for her, but i can't say that with 100% certainty.

preyer said:

i put beatrice, my basset hound, to sleep a couple of years ago and still feel tremendously guilty over it. now, i'm not an emotional, overly-sensitive sort of fellow, but i cried like a baby for daze. she was 13 years old and had a huge tumor. her chances were about 50/50 she'd even survive the expensive operation, and the vet couldn't guarantee what kind of quality of life she'd have after that. and i know i couldn't be around for her as much as she needed because she was a basement/outdoor dog b/c my wife is allergic to 'em. so, in my case, there's an issue of 'what if' i wrestle with to this day. it's maddening to think about and really pointless, but no one said it had to make sense, it's just the way things are. what hurts the worst is knowing that bea counted on me to take care of her and keep her happy and healthy, and i feel as if i let her down. i like to think i did what was right for her, but i can't say that with 100% certainty.

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Gee preyer, I was just about bawling my eyes out. Stop it already...seriously, I am so understanding. I lost my little friend once and still think of him. Darn, not often you meet a dog who is like a little friend.

Sorry for your loss...

This is such a tough one. We have had to put down two beloved dogs, and they were both young.

Shaman was the first dog we had. He was the best buddy ever! He was a mix of Black Lab and something else - not sure. He was beautiful! He developed a skin disease called sarcoptic mange. It acts like mange, but is caused by a different source. The vet told us to imagine being allergic to yourself. It's a lot more complicated than that, but that's kinda the basic idea.

In most dogs, this is completely manageable. In Shaman it wasn't. He lost all the fur off his belly and part of his legs, his skin thickened and became dark. Then his skin would crack and bleed. He was completely miserable. We would take him in for treatments. They worked, but not well enough. Treatments could only be done every few weeks (I think it was once a month), but he would regress quickly afterward. He was only having a few days of relief from the constant itching. We bathed him in a turpentine based treatment between vet treatments and that did seem to help, but only for an hour or so. We also kept a special medicated collar on him, but that' didn't help him either.

Shaman was only 2 years old when the vet advised us to have him put to sleep. It was heartbreaking. Sitting in the waiting room, hubby and I both believe he understood what was happening. He walked over to hubby and laid his little head in his lap and just looked at him. Those big brown eyes. Then he came to me and did the same thing. We petted him and told him we loved him. Then he curled up on the floor. When the vet came out, Shaman went to her without even looking back at us. I don't know exactly the procedure, but I asked the vet's assistant if he would be sleeping when they did it. She told me that he could be if I wanted him to be. So they gave him something to let him fall asleep before injecting him.

This was the first time I ever saw hubby cry.

The other dog we had to have put to sleep was the son of Shaman. We had little Sinner (She's 5 years old now and healthy as can be) but we didn't know she was in heat. She was so young at the time!! But she was, and Shaman was obviously having a good day that day. She had a litter of pups and we kept one. Monster. He was a wonderful dog. So lovey and cuddly. Sinner is part Chow and Monster took after her mother. He was a giant furball. He quickly developed the same condition as Shaman, and we only had him a year. We notified everyone who took her pups about the skin condition, but so far none of them have developed it. We had very high hopes that with Monster, we'd be able to help him with the treatments, but they didn't help him any more than they did Shaman.

It's never an easy thing to let go of a beloved pet. We just had to come to grips with their quality of life, and they really had none.

Whenever I get hungry I euthanise something.

I had, so far, to put down two cats and two dogs. Hey, I'm old. I have a three year old dog, Jackie, in fine health. Another dog I just inherited, plus our two cats and a cockapoo who me mind while my daughter's at work. Jackie's the first dog I had since retiring, so there's been more time spent with her than my other dogs. I don't look foward to the day I have to put her down. For the others, my wife and I held them while they were given the shots. If you can do it, do it.

One consolation: with Jackie that young, she might just have to put me down.

I'm sorry, Azura. *hugs*

Hang in, Azura. Even though you know it's the right thing to do, it's still very tough. I've had to have 2 pups put down and like Mac, I still miss them. It's tough when they give us so much and we don't want them to be in pain.

I was there w/ them at the time. They died 2 years apart, one was 15 1/2--Gemini. The other, Casey, was just over 13. And I cried like a baby w/ the both of them. Both were shepherd mixes.

I'm so sorry to hear that, Azura. I can't bear to think of my dog dying. I can't even stand to think of her getting old. I even have to avert my eyes when I see something on the road that's been killed by a car. I say to myself. "Please don't let it be a dog."
In Rain, I originally had Emily's dog killed by a stalker. I was crying buckets while I was writing it. I edited it out later, because I just couldn't stand killing a dog.

KTC said:

They are our babies. They are the only creatures in our loves who truly do love us unconditionally.

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That is so true. Our pets have always been like children to us.

KTC said:

They are the only creatures in our loves who truly do love us unconditionally.

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Yes they are.

Ok, crying as I read and write this, but here goes...


It is hard to know when to put a beloved pet to sleep. But if they are suffering and have little to no quality of life, it's the right thing to do, in my opinion. My family and I had a Border Collie for 17 years. Abby was the best dog, she had been a part of my life for *most* of my life (we got her when I was five years old). She was fun, loving and simply my best friend. They say most animals choose us, not the other way around, it was that way with her. When my mom and dad went to pick her out, she was the only puppy to wander over to them out of eight. (The same was true of their current dog Shelby)

But in the end, she had arthritis so badly in her back legs that she couldn't even handle the front step to our door and that was only five inches off the porch. One day, she slipped and fell on the kitchen floor while no one was there and couldn't get up... for 8 hours. That was the deciding factor.

What I will say is that if you have any kids or other family members, let them know. My parents told me the night before they took her in. I said, at the time, I wish they hadn't done that, but they wanted to give me a chance to say 'good-bye' and I haven't regretted that for a moment.

It's hard. Hard as hell to let go, but sometimes it's all you have to do.

Gonna go find some tissues now.