URGENT! Need some advice, pretty fast! Sick dog - Page 5

Good post hexe.  As pet owners it is our responsibility to make the best decisions for our pets' health since they are unable to do so.  Euthanasia for a terminally ill pet is a responsible decision.  Letting a terminally ill pet suffer in agony is irresponsible and cruel.

Hexe, whoa there! That's not really what I said was a slippery slope if you'll go back and reread. You'll see that I was referring to the very different definitions people have of what suffering is and what warrants euthanasia and why I have some respect for people who choose not to pts at the first sign Fido isn't totally euphoric at all times.   As I later stated, how many are pts because they're old? I've heard people use having a rough time getting up and down stairs or stiffness upon rising as "agony" though, for the record. Sorry, but that's part of getting old, which I think dogs have a right to do. And when they get old, they deserve to be cared for properly and not disposed of because they sometimes mess on the rug or are sore in the mornings, all in the name of "compassion." 

And Beetree, you find my calling Jim a coward offensive? Deal with it. I'm gonna stand by that one. You got a better word for dumping one of your best friends on your other one during their dying days???

Travels - I could only wish for frriend like you for myself and my dog in such times, I had my older dog poisoned a couple years back, and though she cried out in pain, I fought desperately to save her. The vet gave 50/50 chance of her living (yes, I was opting for the 50 to live ) she was a member of my family . I would fight for life again . I also had the misfortune of sharing my sisters death this past year while my sister and I chose death at home . I had several days of my sister begging me to kill her, calling Jesus to kill her,it was horendous. When the next minute, we were praying for life. All life has a will and desire to live, if they are still fighting for life, I believe we owe it to our pets also, to fight for every second of life.

No Jenni, you missed the big picture, I agree Jim could be called a coward, but all "pet" owners are not if they choose to PTS a terminally ill dog instead of letting nature take its course. That is offensive. You deal with it.

 Beetree and Hexe,,Very nice posts ...

 Jenni, agony is not subjective IMO. Look up the words definition. Agony is, well, agony what more can I add to that?..

If I still have not clarified my use of the comparision between the mundane convenience of letting nauture take it's course and what we are taking about here, lets just chalk it up to being a bad example on my part...

Jenni in your above post you asked me about whether or not I would allow my dog to suffer either mentally or physical agony. I can tell you that having experienced both with my elderly GSD of 14 years No, I would not allow them to suffer mental or physical agony...( We are not talking about parvo puppies, but terminally ill/elderly dogs with a grim prognosis at best) 

My GSD Belle could do hardly more then wait for me to lift her from her own waste. She lacked the strength to stand due to the crippling disease she had struggled with for years that was progressing to the point that it had robbed her of any ability to get up on her own without falling.. Knowing Belle as I did this was certainly agonizing to her. It was made very obvious by the stress that it caused her mentally knowing she was also unable to have control of her bowel and bladder. She was depressed and lacked joy in all things except the joy of my affection.... 

My desicion to put her down had nothing to do with convenience. I could have cleaned her waste 10 times a day if it meant having her with me. I had all the time and resources to care for her. I would have spent any amount to make her better, but she was indeed agonizing over her debilitated and terminal condition. She was becoming increasingly more depressed every day. I loved her too much to leave her to lay in her own pile of crap while she was agonizing over the odor and not being able to get away from it... She was a very confident female. Seeing her ashamed and embarrassement was so difficult..

I took very seriously the responsibiltiy I had to protect and care for her all the days of her life..I had determined that I was not going to allow my fear and uncomfortable anxiety about euthiasia stand in the way of doing what was best for my Belle. She deserved better then that. I knew what I had to do..It was still to this day the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I did it because she deserved it.. Putting her down with the little dignity she had left, and she died in my arms content and peaceful enjoying the only thing that her disease had not robbed her of; the joy she had in me...Damn that never gets easy to re live..

Being a nurse I am well aqainted with the difference between "just getting old" and being in physical or mental anquish/agony...Actually, I think most folks are able to see the difference between the two..

I would rather err by selfishly putting an animal down too soon then to allow an animal to suffer to the point of distress and agony a moment longer then necessary.Thats just me...However, I think that owners who know their dogs, know when the time has come...If of course they want to know..

Subject is close to my heart,,sorry to blow so much air...No spell check...Be easy on me..:)

Great posts Ruger, Hexe, and Bee.  I totally agree.

Kitkat, it must have been heartbreaking to watch your sister die, I can't imagine anything worse, but I if I was your sister, I'd want to die as quickly as possible.  Suffering may be inevitable for some, but if I could spare any living creature the 'agony' I would in a heartbeat. 
Of course we are talking about instances where there is no hope of recovery.
The will to live is very strong, however, we will all come to a point where living is just too painful, and we will look forward to the end of suffering and  peace.
To keep our pets or loved ones alive for our own needs is selfish.
 

Just because a dog isn't in physical pain, doesn't mean it isn't suffering, especially with our noble GSD's. When its come to my dogs' last days, the have nearly always been all about their dignity. Keeping my own behavior and attitude positive till the end, saving my breakdown for "after" is always the hardest part. Hard to feign cheer with a dog that has lived with you day and night for years, but its our duty to condier their emotional and psychological well-being as much as their physical issues.

Jim's a coward. Lots of people are cowards. No one wants to deal with the hard stuff and many people refuse to, even when it's their dogs who are going to suffer because of their cowardice. Now the dog gets to die alone, without his master. Travels is a wonderful friend, but not his master. He's been betrayed. Not sure what's so damned hard to understand about that, Beetree. 

Jenni I got that part. Nevermind about the other part, at this point you'll probably never understand. But heck, that's what makes you Queen Bitch, and me, Queen Bee. LOL


Edited: Well, I reread this, and maybe you do get it. The difference this time is you used the word "people" instead of "pet owner". And it makes all the difference in the world. Have a nice weekend.