A friend of mine recently had her dog euthanized because of brain encephalitis. It was due to an adverse reaction to the vaccination she had a year ago (back when she was just a puppy).
They tried everything, but her behavior had gotten worse. She kept on attacking her packmates and was getting even snappier. She would often be gentle then a little later like a wild aggressive dog.
They went to the vet and asked what else they would be able to do but that was what the vet answered because the dog had onset schizophrenia. After trying a number of treatments and homeopathic remedies for a year, there wasn't anything else that could help her so they decided to have her euthanized.
Have you ever had to euthanize a dog due to an ailment or old age?
Haopee, the decision to euthanize is never an easy one. I'm sorry your friend had to gone through this.
I've had to euthanize one dog. Our Collie was about 8 years old when she developed a respiratory disease known to Collies. It made her lungs produce too much mucus. It affected her sinuses the most. We had her sinuses operated on a couple of times but it didn't improve things. When she got bad and medication no longer helped her, we had to make the decision. It was not an easy one, let me tell you. But, our poor dog was miserable and suffering every day. One always thinks they could have done something more, but usually that is because it's so hard for us to let go.
First of all I am so sorry for your friend and their loss. As for your question, the answer is yes, my family has had to have dogs euthanized in the past. Its not an easy decision to make, because you love the dog very much. But sometimes you have to ask yourself, are you really doing what is right for them by keeping them alive. Watching a dog suffer needlessly isn't easy to do, and sometimes this can be even more heartbreaking they allowing a Vet to put them down. We wish that we can do something to help them, but sometimes the only thing that we can do is let them go. Its a hard loss, but its one that many pet owners will ultimately face.
10-11-2012, 05:30 PM, (This post was last modified: 10-11-2012, 05:31 PM by haopee.)
(10-10-2012, 05:09 PM)TreeClimber Wrote: Haopee, the decision to euthanize is never an easy one. I'm sorry your friend had to gone through this.
I've had to euthanize one dog. Our Collie was about 8 years old when she developed a respiratory disease known to Collies. It made her lungs produce too much mucus. It affected her sinuses the most. We had her sinuses operated on a couple of times but it didn't improve things. When she got bad and medication no longer helped her, we had to make the decision. It was not an easy one, let me tell you. But, our poor dog was miserable and suffering every day. One always thinks they could have done something more, but usually that is because it's so hard for us to let go.
I've heard of such disease. Only Collies are prone to it, right? That's just awful. I would never want my dog to be in prolonged pain. I have also asked myself whether I would be doing it or not especially it came to a point that it were necessary. I'm sorry to hear that you've also had to deal with it
(10-11-2012, 01:15 AM)pafjlh Wrote: First of all I am so sorry for your friend and their loss. As for your question, the answer is yes, my family has had to have dogs euthanized in the past. Its not an easy decision to make, because you love the dog very much. But sometimes you have to ask yourself, are you really doing what is right for them by keeping them alive. Watching a dog suffer needlessly isn't easy to do, and sometimes this can be even more heartbreaking they allowing a Vet to put them down. We wish that we can do something to help them, but sometimes the only thing that we can do is let them go. Its a hard loss, but its one that many pet owners will ultimately face.
I totally agree with you. I have heard others justify that euthanasia isn't natural but what about those who'd rather have their pets live using artificial respirators just to keep them alive? Isn't that like torturing them more? Doesn't that also hinder the natural process of death?
I know it sounds really weird but I wouldn't want my dog to further suffer either.
I have had to make the choice to do it before, but it was because of pain. One had gotten old and had ailments that put him in pain constantly. The other had been injured to the point that they wouldn't be able to save him, but that he would continue to live in pain for a few more days as he slowly died. I just couldn't stand the thought of that, so we let him go.
Haopee, Yes, this particular respiratory disease is only known to Collies. We tried different things for about 2 years. But, then the Vet informed us that there was nothing more he could do to alleviate her pain. She just laid around most of the time. That's when we had to make the decision. As a nice gesture, our Vet made a donation to research on this disease on her behalf.
It is never an easy decision to make. You fight yourself over it. But, you know deep down inside if you were suffering in a similar way you would not want your life prolonged.
I consider myself blessed with Sierra. I knew that she was slowly going down hill. I fretted over when I would know that it was time. Then, one afternoon, she got sick suddenly and died about an hour later. She died in her own time in her own way. It was definitely much easier to deal with.
I have never heard of people keeping pets alive on artificial respirators. I can't see that any dog or cat would be happy with that existence. If it gets to this point, we have to ask ourselves who we are keeping the pet alive for. Is it for ourselves because we don't want to feel the pain of grief or is it because our pet still has some quality of life?
(10-12-2012, 06:18 AM)TreeClimber Wrote: Haopee, Yes, this particular respiratory disease is only known to Collies. We tried different things for about 2 years. But, then the Vet informed us that there was nothing more he could do to alleviate her pain. She just laid around most of the time. That's when we had to make the decision. As a nice gesture, our Vet made a donation to research on this disease on her behalf.
It is never an easy decision to make. You fight yourself over it. But, you know deep down inside if you were suffering in a similar way you would not want your life prolonged.
I consider myself blessed with Sierra. I knew that she was slowly going down hill. I fretted over when I would know that it was time. Then, one afternoon, she got sick suddenly and died about an hour later. She died in her own time in her own way. It was definitely much easier to deal with.
I have never heard of people keeping pets alive on artificial respirators. I can't see that any dog or cat would be happy with that existence. If it gets to this point, we have to ask ourselves who we are keeping the pet alive for. Is it for ourselves because we don't want to feel the pain of grief or is it because our pet still has some quality of life?
I totally agree with you on this, Tree. The artificial respirators are something I would never consider. It feels selfish.
Oh wow, this reminded me of how one of the dogs in our community died. The owner knew it was about time. That day, she talked to the dog before leaving to work saying how she loved him and she prepared his tiny bed inside the open cabinet where he begun lying so often. She told him it was okay if she left him and she kissed him as she left for work.
That after noon, she came back home and found him on that bed she prepared looking sound asleep. He died that same day (and left for the rainbow bridge, according to her post).
I really cried reading her story. Well, a lot of us did actually. He was a black Scottish Terrier who lived with her for more than 15 years.
Yes, the first dog I ever owned. He had health issues and although he recovered, the next year, he just really got sick. His hair started falling out and he looked miserable. I took him to the Vet and the Vet said that my dog is dying and he knows he is dying. It was best to euthanize my dog and put him out of his misery quickly. I cried and cried but I knew I made the best decision.
The Vet assistance gave me a card with a pin of a dog with wings. A dog angel so, I know that my precious dog is no longer in pain and no longer suffering. He is at peace. I miss him every day.
Yes, I have and it was the hardest thing I ever had to do. My dog was really sick and his condition was untreatable. I could have kept him with me but I was relocating and my new apartment didn't accept animals. Therefore, I didn't have a choice but to put him to sleep. It really affected me because that was my first dog as an adult and I had him for years-it was as if I lost a child. I would never want to experience anything like that again.
We had to put our dog to sleep about two years ago. We got her from the Humane Society shelter and she was a senior pet. We saved her and she became part of our family. She had trouble with her back legs for quite a while. The vet said it was normal for an older dog. We gave her gluclosamine supplements and good dog food and that helped her a lot.
But then she started getting disoriented and sometimes would not recognize us. She also had occasional seizures. The vet said she was starting to have a form of dog dementia and for the seizures we could put her on medication that would affect her liver and with her age could end her life sooner. We decided against the medicine and she only had one more seizure that made her totally deaf and partially blind. She would be so loving and sweet, then act like she didn't know us, just like when adults get dementia. Also, her legs stopped working and she was getting stuck in the doggie door and behind open doors. We finally took her in. It was very sad.
