Putting Your Pet "To Sleep"

[Tranplanner]

A very handsome looking dog - you have my sympathies, savemattoon.

[PlannerGirl]

Im so sorry for your loss Savemattoon, Im sitting here crying at my desk wishing you peace and comfort in the days to come.

[michaelskis]

I am sorry for your loss, but I think that you made the right decision. I once heard that as hard as it is, when there is little chance to truly help the dog, it is just the humans being selfish.

[donk]

The first dog I remember as a kid was a collie. It was weird, when my parents got divorced he went with my dad. Did not see him for about 6 or 7 years, then for a few reasons, he needed to be baby sat for a few months. Tuffy comes to our house and is really nervous as it is a strangers place, then all of a sudden he gets a scent that he recognizes and he goes crazy over me and my sister actong like a puppy again. It was nice and it was sad at the same time.

There are times I wish I could have a pet again.

Sorry savematoon.

[dandy_warhol]

sorry to hear about your loss, savematton. putting a pet to sleep is never an easy decision. Mufasa sounds like a very special dog. i'm glad you, your wife, and daughter were able to surround him with love and be with him 'til the end.

i'll send a prayer to my beloved departed pets to keep an eye out for Mufasa when he crosses the Rainbow Bridge.

[tsc]

so sorry for your loss, savematoon. I haven't regretted a penny spent on my now 14 yearl old hound...and I can't believe to this day he is still doing well since his last surgery. I hope mine goes peacefully in the night...so I don't have to make such a decision.

[Bear Up North]

savemattoon.....Very sorry about your loss. What was really heart-wrenching about your loss was that you said you did not like dogs, yet at the end he was, indeed, a "best friend".
_____

Update on our Golden Retriever, Monica:

We talked with the vet this morning. Monica has leukemia and will probably be leaving us within 3 months to 6 months. We are bummed.

One of the options is a bone marrow stem cell transplant, although that would only buy a short amount of additional time. Strange that my dog is given the same option as the treatment I received a couple years ago. When the vet told us that option we almost laughed, just because of the irony.

We will be making Monica's last months as pleasant as possible, with lots of loving. She has been with us for about 9 years, helping us create a ton of great memories.
When it is obvious that she is in pain, we will go on the final walk and grieve for a pet that has been "family" since she was a puppy.

Bear

[cch]

So sorry Save Mattoon. But I'm sure Mufasa is grateful for the full and wonderful life you and your wife gave to him.

Just this morning my husband and I decided to allow my parents to get my daughter a puppy, for her 3rd birthday. We don't have any pets now, but we always figured we'd get a dog sometime in the future. I'm excited, and I was telling the secretary about it. Then later in an unrelated conversation with another co-worker I learned that the secretary just had to put her 12 year old pet doggie "to sleep" yesterday. I felt awful, for going on and on about our impending new puppy to her.

[Bear Up North]

Our dog, Monica, left us this morning.....much sooner than we expected. Damn, she was a great dog. Tears streak down even as I type this.
_____

A couple weeks ago we had to cut our vacation short, to rush home to be with our Golden Retriever, Monica. At that time the vet told us that Monica had Leukemia and the pathologist said that her white cell count was the highest he had ever registered for a dog. When we took Monica back to the vet last Saturday, the vet told us that he thought she might make it to Christmas.

This week she seemed OK, certainly not frisky but not showing signs of pain. But then Wednesday we could hardly get her to move, to go outside. Early this morning she was very sick and breathing very heavy. She wouldn't move.

I knew it was the end, because she tried to "give me a paw" (shake) but she could barely lift her paw. I had to place her in a bedsheet and carry her with the sheet, like a doggie stretcher.

When we arrived at the vet he told us that her numbers from last Saturday had doubled. He said that she probably had just a day or two left.

To take her out of her pain we "walked that final walk". What was amazing is that she hadn't walked in nearly 12 hours.....when I placed her gently on the floor in the vet's examination room (still going for the ride in the bedsheet) she forced hreself up and walked over to the bench that Katie and I sat on. She then laid down at our feet.

After the discussion with the vet we knew that we wanted to spend time with her, even after she closed her eyes in death. Just like last August, when our other dog, Murray, was put to sleep, the last people that Monica looked at were myself and Katie.

She was family and will be missed very much.

I was OK the balance of the day. Death is hard to deal with but you have to move on. Until I saw Monica's "football".....a silly little fuzzy football that she always walked around with.....looking very silly.....a 110-pound Golden Retriever mouthing this tiny fuzzy football.

I lost it again. She followed me everywhere.

Tomorrow we plan to raise our glasses and toast our great family pet, Monica. Tonight we cry.

[Mud Princess]

I'm so sorry, Bear. I know someone else who had to put his dog to sleep recently.

Hang in there.

[Rumpy Tunanator]

Sorry to here about all of your losses. I have 2 knuckleheads and 3 pusses myself. I don't look forward to the day I have to put any of them done.

[kjel]

Sorry for your loss BUN. She was well loved.

[Rumpy Tunanator]

Sorry to here about all of your losses. I have 2 knuckleheads and 3 pusses myself. I don't look forward to the day I have to put any of them done.

^

Had a Mskis moment there.

[Linda_D]

We grow so close to our pets. They become family. We laugh with them, enjoy their antics, clean-up after them.

When it is time to "put them down"......it can be very difficult and emotional.

This mroning, Katie and I took Murray (our 12-year old mixed breed) to the vet for that "final walk". It was Katie's first time.....my second.

The Delta, OH, vet schedules these things at the end of their Saturday work shift, making it easier on the emotional basket cases that will be bringing the pet in. We arrived at 11:30 AM. Murray was sniffing another dog, as it came out of the vet's room.

The vet's assistant gave me a meek smile and said, "We're ready."

We walked to the small room with Murray. I had to lift her on the table and Katie and I stroked her fur and head. She stared at us, giving us those doggie eyes that I will remember for a long time.

The vet explained what would happen. He would put a small catheter in Murray's leg and then inject the drug. Murray would settle gently down, her head would come down slowly and rest on the table, and she would be gone within about 10 seconds.

It happened exactly as the vet said. Both Katie and I started crying, fumbling with Kleenex, stroking the black fur of our family member. The vet and his assistant gave us time with Murray alone, after she had passed. We cried for a few minutes, stroked Murray's fur, composed ouirselves, and left the office.

Tonight, at the Corn Fest, we drank to Murray, cried a few more tears, and had a nice time recalling some of the highlights of Murray's 12 years with us.

When we lived in rural Henry County she was run over by a school bus. It broke her hip and leg.....and we paid big dollars to save her. She went through life with a leg slightly shorter than the others.

She was always scared of fireworks and thunderstorms.....and no matter how high or how strong I made the fence.....Murray (Houdini) would find a way to get out and come to the back door and scratch at it, demanding that we let her in the house.

She followed me everywhere, even laying by the shower when I would clean-up.

She was a great dog and we will miss her.

It is tough to put a pet down. We were glad that she passed away so peacefully. The last two people Murray saw were this Bear and Katie.
_____

Have you ever had to experience putting a pet down? How did you handle it?

Bear

This morning I had to put my beloved German Short Haired Pointer, Rusty, to sleep. Old age and a fast growing tumor on his tongue doomed him, and I was afraid he would suffer more if I didn't resolve to do it now. We've had a very warm late fall, but with the weather turnng colder, I worried that his arthritis would make it impossible for him to go outside even to relieve himself much less for the walks he so loved.

At least Rusty made it to his sixteenth birthday, which we celebrated with a doggie birthday party on December 4 that was attended by many of his canine and human friends. It was a great success as nobody pooped, peed, or barfed in the house; nobody squabbled over treats or toys; and none of the little dogs fell in the pond, only a yellow lab that wanted a swim. GSPs usually go between 12 and 14 years, so Rusty had two extra years of grace. This morning, we went for a walk in the new snow with Jasmine, his current Schnauzer girlfriend from down the street. We met Maisie, a big chocolate lab from further down the street, and then just before it was time to go, his good pal, Hope the Golden Retriever visited with her mom.

At the vet's, Dr Bob, who has cared for Rusty since we moved to Jamestown in 1998 and a GSP lover, came in just to say goodbye (he doesn't have office hours at this clinic location on Wednesdays, so that meant a lot to me!). Dr Pru, Cammie the vet tech, my neighbor, and I were there with him at the end, and he passed on his favorite dog bed, which was just as old and ragged as he was.

RIP Rusty (December 1, 1995-December 28, 2011) Best Friend Forever

[Maister]

I am sorry for your loss, Linda_D.

[Mud Princess]

My sincere condolences, Linda_D. You provided a good home and a good life for Rusty.

[TerraSapient]

It sounds like he had a great life Linda! Sorry for your loss.

[Linda_D]

Thank you all.

I've had to do this before, but those pets were all seriously ill. This was harder because Rusty was in "excellent health" system-wise (heart/lungs/liver/etc) except for his arthritis and the tongue issue. I also had him for nearly sixteen years, which meant minimally a walk before work and another one after work. When he was younger, it also meant a late afternoon/evening romp at the local park. Now, I don't know what to do with myself.

I think even the cats will miss him since he has always been here.

[DetroitPlanner]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[michaelskis]

I am sorry for your loss.

[kms]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[Zoning Goddess]

Linda, so sorry to hear of your loss. I have had 2 dogs live to 16, also, which is amazing. So wonderful that you and Rusty had so many fine years together.

BTW, my boy cat was a basket case when our dog, who he adored, had to be put down 4.5 yrs ago. What a bond they had.

Rusty was a handsome fella.

[Dan]

16 years. I'm so sorry, especially considering it happened during the holidays.

[illinoisplanner]

Sorry to hear of your loss Linda. It sounds like you and your friend were very lucky to have each other for so long. And it seems he had a great life...right to the end.

[Cardinal]

I am so sorry, Linda. Rusty's last days were beautiful and I am sure he knows you loved him, and he loved you.