Having to put a pet down

[Sol Tee Nutz]

Have to put my dog Kramer down, yellow lab I had for 13 years. My son called and he explained that the vet says it is time ( it all happened within a week )..
My daughter is coming back from college on Friday and I am flying back the same day to see him for the last time. This is probably the hardest thing I have had to do in a long time.
A couple of dog jokes:
If your dog is barking at the back door and your wife/girlfriend is pounding on the front door who do you let in first? the dog, he will shut up when he gets in....
To see who loves you more, your dog or your girlfriend... Lock them both in a trunk of the car in July for half an hour and see who is glad to see you when you let them out.
Gonna miss the beast.

 

[ourson1960]

Really sorry to hear, pets are family. That is a good long life for a big dog, and the end is better for animals than it is for elderly people who do not generally get a compassionate death.

Glad you mentioned that- although I don't want to get into "the debate" about it. When our last dog had to go, I was devastated.

 

[westwoody]

You have my sympathy.

Putting my best friend down was the hardest thing I ever did. He was in an awful state and it had to be done.

Just think what a great life you gave him, remember all the happy times! Your dog would not want you to be sad.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[talkinghead]

I've had to do this a number of times over the years, and it doesn't get any easier. The mourning is true and deep. At least we can make the inevitable end painless and gentle. But, man, does this thread bring back those loses.
My condolences to you and your family.

 

[Doggyluver]

I have done this several times and it never gets easier, my condolences to you and your family. After 13 years they are definitely members of the family. The memories will always be there and although I have gone through it I never learn and always end up with a couple of dogs. They give me so much that I could never be without a dog in my life. Pat his head, hold him in your arms as he is put down, this is you giving back to him for all he has given you over the years. Rest in peace big guy

 

[westwoody]

One thing that may help: have a vet come to your home.
Keep your dog's routine as normal as possible, and surround them with familiar toys, treats, and people.
Our dog passed away on his favorite blanket in his favourite spot.
Good luck Sol.

 

[Doggyluver]

One thing that may help: have a vet come to your home.
Keep your dog's routine as normal as possible, and surround them with familiar toys, treats, and people.
Our dog passed away on his favorite blanket in his favourite spot.
Good luck Sol.

Yes, I had this done for two of my dogs and it is much easier than going into the vets office with a bunch of strangers loking at you knowing why you're there. Mine were stress free and the stress was much less for me as well, I should have thought of this, it's a little more expensive but well worth it. Thanks to Westwoody for bring that up. Good luck

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

One thing that may help: have a vet come to your home.
Keep your dog's routine as normal as possible, and surround them with familiar toys, treats, and people.
Our dog passed away on his favorite blanket in his favourite spot.
Good luck Sol.

Great idea, thank you.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I remember when my sister had to put her dog down. The dog was only 9 years old but had the canine equivalent of AIDS- an immune system deficiency in which the dog was breaking out with sores in its mouth, coughing up blood, etc. My sister threw about $5000 at various veterinarian treatments. At first they were successful and the dog improved for a period of time, possibly about 6 months. But then the sores and spitting of blood came back. More veterinarian treatments and procedures and a hospitalization at the animal hospital. The dog was then released back home in a fragile condition. My sister finally made the decision to put her down after around a year of downward spiral. I was surprised the dog lasted as long as it did but in the end it was suffering rather horribly and my sister knew it wasn't going to get better.

That dog was my favorite of all of her many pets. The dog absolutely loved having its tummy rubbed, so much so it would come over to you and roll over onto its back so you could rub her tummy. The only time ever that dog got nasty was when you went into the small room where her food dish was. Unfortunately that is where the computer was back in the days of the desk top. Whenever I went in there the dog would start growling menacingly, as if to say, "better not fuck with my food or I am gonna bite your ass!!!!!!" So one had to lure the dog out of the house in order to use that room.

Good luck and make sure the Vets come clean with % chance of survival, and for how long, with any treatment. I believe my sister was given so much false hope that she wanted to believe like Mulder on the X Files. Be wary of Vets trying to justify lengthy or expensive treatments which merely prolong the inevitable.

 

[ShyMan]

I know it's tough. I worked on the tainted pet food (tainted with melamine) case sever years ago and speaking to the (human) parents of the injured and deceased pets was heartbreaking and humbling; some of them spent over $10,000 on vets and loved their dogs and cats more than themselves. One of my sisters too had to put down her family dog and it was hard especially on her kids who grew up with the dog. I hope there is a Haven for dogs and cats.

I know dogs can sniff out diseases (and certain cancers) on their human parents. I wish my mom had a dog before she had a stroke; a dog likely would have sensed a pending stroke and alerted us to rush my mom to the ER.

Hang in there Buddy.

 

[Lana Red]

Have to put my dog Kramer down, yellow lab I had for 13 years. My son called and he explained that the vet says it is time ( it all happened within a week )..
My daughter is coming back from college on Friday and I am flying back the same day to see him for the last time. This is probably the hardest thing I have had to do in a long time.

I understand so much your sadness !

I have an old lady dog myself of 15 years old and it is my family, my daily and comforting presence (I have her since she is a cub).
I will have an hard time when it will be her moment to leave.

I am really sorry for you.

 

[Maria Divina]

So sorry for you. My heart pinch when I read your post STN.

I know what you are living.

I cried so much in my life when that was THAT time.

By definition all of our baby furs coloc will not survive ourselves. That's the saddest part, but if you gave him a good life, and also, a good departure when it is a necessity, that's exactly what they are expecting us to do for them.

I'm giving you one of the best thought about dogs I read:

"Be the person your dog think you are"

My sincere condoleances STN.

 

[CWipes]

At time like these it important to remember the good time and not the bad. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Joe.t]

I was absolutely crushed the few times that I had to do this and I wiil absolutely be crushed when I have do it again but you have to accept the hard fact that when you buy a dog that you know that one day this will come, one of the best feelings in the world is coming home from a hard days work and opening the door to a friend that is jumping up and down in excitement that was waiting for you all day to come home, my condolences STN.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I had to put down two of my pets over the past few years. The first time, i basically dropped off my female cat at the vet and came by to pick up my pet taxi later. But i wound up feeling very badly about this, like i had abandoned her. I remember the look she had when i handed off the pet taxi to the vet assistant. My cat had a quizzical look saying something like "where the fuck are you going?"

So a couple of years later, it was time to get my male cat euthanized. He was my buddy. We had been together for 17 years. But his quality of life had decreased considerably over the past year or so and i realized that he was suffering and i was selfishly keeping him alive for my myself. So one morning i told myself 'enough is enough' when for the second day in a row in found blood all over the place. I promised myself to stay with him until the very end. And i did. It remains one of the saddest days in my entire life! I still tear up when i think about it.....

However, i keep reminding myself that i did the right thing and realize that animals have this benefit over humans, although laws have begun to change & allow for certain forms of euthanasia.

p.s. Although it hurt like hell, i'm still proud of myself for staying with my cat until the very end. He gave me nearly 17 years of happiness & companionship, so i figured that's the very least he deserved. For me to be by his side until his very last breath.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

So I have had Kramer for 13 years, he was my best friend while living in Quebec, walked everyday twice except if it was raining, always happy to see me and was great with visitors to the house. About 10 days ago he could not walk anymore ( happened overnight ), stopped eating and was throwing up. My ex took him to the vet the next Monday ( 2 days later ) and the vet had a term for it but I forgot, but it was that the part of his brain could not tell his legs to move anymore plus his head was shaking, my ex called me from the vet office and I spoke with him ( he speaks English well ) and he recommend that for Kramer's quality of life he should be put down. I was devastated, my ex called our daughter to see if she would like to see Kramer before the deed was done and she wanted to, this delayed the task until Saturday. Kramer was at my ex'x house for the week and my son would go there after work ( 1am ) to sleep beside Kramer.
I received a video from my son Thursday morning of Kramer in the house walking around and wagging his tail, my son said that Kramer looked far better, I received another video Friday morning of Kramer eating a cheeseburger and playing with my daughters Pug. My son just came back from a vet in Quebec and says Kramer probably had a pinched nerve in his spine somewhere to cause all of his illness.
Now, this vet in Drummondville I took Kramer to was the same vet who last summer told me after he took x-rays and samples plus various other tests that he could preform an operation to remove a lump on Kramer's side, during the operation he called and told me he could not do the operation due to possible complications, total cost was just over $1,000.00
Now, if we had listened to this quack and my daughter was in town Kramer would have been dead, if the pinched nerve or whatever did not fix itself until today Kramer would have been dead because yesterday would have been the day to put him down.
I am gong to e-mail the vet and tell him my thoughts and request full refunds for his bills, I plan to get a hold of the Quebec veterinary board and file a complaint, I plan to go on social media and let people know about this quack. My son is pissed and if not for jail time he would probably do a few rounds with the vet.
Also, I would like to thank those of you who put the kind posts here, very much appreciated.

 

[Lana Red]

My son just came back from a vet in Quebec and says Kramer probably had a pinched nerve in his spine somewhere to cause all of his illness.
Now, this vet in Drummondville I took Kramer to was the same vet who last summer told me after he took x-rays and samples plus various other tests that he could preform an operation to remove a lump on Kramer's side, during the operation he called and told me he could not do the operation due to possible complications, total cost was just over $1,000.00
Now, if we had listened to this quack and my daughter was in town Kramer would have been dead, if the pinched nerve or whatever did not fix itself until today Kramer would have been dead because yesterday would have been the day to put him down.
I am gong to e-mail the vet and tell him my thoughts and request full refunds for his bills, I plan to get a hold of the Quebec veterinary board and file a complaint, I plan to go on social media and let people know about this quack. My son is pissed and if not for jail time he would probably do a few rounds with the vet.
Also, I would like to thank those of you who put the kind posts here, very much appreciated.

Ho ! What an unpardonable mistake that could result in premature death ! Thanks to the circonstances that will allow Kramer to stay longer with his beloved family. I wish him many years to come.

My dog had a big tumour growing on her stomach for 5 years and the vet was very hesitant to operate her because it was too risky at her age. When I had no choice because it became visibly painful for her to live with, I took the chance to make it removed, knowing that I could pay a thousand (nothing in comparaison of the worth of her life to me) and that my 15 years old dog still can died during this big surgery. Gladly, she have completely recovered and I would say that she looks like a "young" dog again.
Better decision that I made for many years !

Long life to our old pals !

 

[Maria Divina]

STN:

This incompetent should be clearly known as such.

Oh that I would have been angry for that part of your experience but still

I would be sooooooo happy to have my dog to my side!

This is one of a very good luck that you just lived.

 

[blkone]

What a shame...

No one knows what they did to me when they took my dog away from me... so much pain.

 

[Doggyluver]

Several years ago I had a Black Lab who was at the time 11 years old. Anyone will tell you a large breed is living on borrowed time past the age of 10. He wasn't eating and I took him to the vet who did blood tests and said they had found something that concerned them and because they didn't have an ultrasound, referred me to a large veterinary clinic in Brossard. I called and they agreed to see me as soon as I could get there. They did the ultrasound and when the vet came to speak to me she told me he had a cancerous tumor that if it was removed would also necessitate chemotherapy. Total estimated cost, surgery $8,000. and chemo $10,000. I love my dog but he is after all 11 years old, what would I give him, another year ? I asked if there was any other option and was told that the humane thing to do was to put him down.......immediately ! Not anticipating this, I decided to put this off and give myself a chance to make the decision on my time.
I took him home and lo and behold the next day he began to eat and behave like himself, 16 months later I made the decision to have him put down, not because of the cancer, rather because he was unable to control his bowels and he was unable to stand on his own. He was now 13 and it was time, I made the decision for him and for everything he gave to me. I still wish I had reported the vet who saw me in Brossard, she gave me information which had I acted on it would have cost me a fortune or cost my dog his life. Go with your gut when making these decisions.

The leading cause of death = Cancer
The second leading cause of death = Physician error

I would suspect that many pets are put down because the vet has also erred