For those who have had to put a dog to sleep

[Lily72]

I am so sorry. It's the worst decision to have to make but i have always looked at it as I was doing it for them. If their quality of life is gone i make that decision. I always hsve the vet cone to us at home. Less stress for them an i think thats important. I still feel guilty and I've always done what i thought was in my pets best interest. I remember what a vet said to me once 'its better to be a day early than a week too late'. Meaning better to go a day early than suffer. So sorry you have to go through with this. X

[CanadianKangaroo]

I am so sorry. It's the worst decision to have to make but i have always looked at it as I was doing it for them. If their quality of life is gone i make that decision. I always hsve the vet cone to us at home. Less stress for them an i think thats important. I still feel guilty and I've always done what i thought was in my pets best interest. I remember what a vet said to me once 'its better to be a day early than a week too late'. Meaning better to go a day early than suffer. So sorry you have to go through with this. X

That saying is perfect. I keep thinking that because I see her deteriorating by the day. I'll be away from Sunday to Wednesday with the kids for a rugby tournament but I think when I get back, that weekend might be the decision time.

[Cardi]

I am sorry to hear about your dog. My cat of 14 years suddenly went into end stage renal failure last week ((Warning - upsetting details in rest of post)) and her decline was rapid and scary, so that might be something to keep in mind.

She was under vet treatment but went into decompensated renal failure so we had to have her put to sleep yesterday. It only took two days to go from a skinny version of her normal self with a funny smell, to being unable to move, lift her head or keep water down and she became incontinent too. All she could do was cry if I left the room on the morning before our appointment. The light was already gone from her eyes before she passed. It was absolutely horrible and would be very upsetting for children to witness an animal so ill so I would be wary of this.

The actual procedure was very peaceful. The vet was gentle and kind and shaved a small patch on her leg and we stroked and petted her and spoke to her as the solution was injected and she passed. Her eyes didn't close but her body lost its tense posture and relaxed. My little fur child was so sick I couldn't even immediately tell when she passed. I needed to park the car on the way home and have a big howl and cry before going home to my toddler. I wouldn't have coped without that cry.

I think end stage kidney failure is much more horrible to witness than euthanasia but I still wish she could have passed naturally.

I am so sorry you have to make this decision too. It is a very personal decision so follow your heart and do what feels right for you, your doggy and your kids.

[Ruby_Tuesday15]

I'm so sorry for all your losses we had our old dog put to sleep when our oldest was only a couple of months old, so it wasn't an issue. She was my husband's dog, so he took her on his own. Our other dog unfortunately had a brain tumour and had started to behave unpredictably so our son hadn't ever really been near her before we made the decision that she was becoming too dangerous to have around our family

I am dreading the time when our new dog passes, she's only 5 months old and is best friends with our son. It's going to be very difficult.

[madreader]

Hi we had to put our beloved dog to sleep almost 3 years ago and it was the hardest thing we have had to do and he was apart of our family he was like one of us we still miss him everyday now, but I had my eldest and youngest with me my middle son just could not bare to say goodbye to his best friend. It is hard to say goodbye for that one last one time but he is out of pain now, he had cancer too by the way. The one good thing we were able to bring him home and bury him on the farm where his grave proudly sits now. Here if you need to chat.

[CanadianKangaroo]

I am sorry to hear about your dog. My cat of 14 years suddenly went into end stage renal failure last week ((Warning - upsetting details in rest of post)) and her decline was rapid and scary, so that might be something to keep in mind.

She was under vet treatment but went into decompensated renal failure so we had to have her put to sleep yesterday. It only took two days to go from a skinny version of her normal self with a funny smell, to being unable to move, lift her head or keep water down and she became incontinent too. All she could do was cry if I left the room on the morning before our appointment. The light was already gone from her eyes before she passed. It was absolutely horrible and would be very upsetting for children to witness an animal so ill so I would be wary of this.

The actual procedure was very peaceful. The vet was gentle and kind and shaved a small patch on her leg and we stroked and petted her and spoke to her as the solution was injected and she passed. Her eyes didn't close but her body lost its tense posture and relaxed. My little fur child was so sick I couldn't even immediately tell when she passed. I needed to park the car on the way home and have a big howl and cry before going home to my toddler. I wouldn't have coped without that cry.

I think end stage kidney failure is much more horrible to witness than euthanasia but I still wish she could have passed naturally.

I am so sorry you have to make this decision too. It is a very personal decision so follow your heart and do what feels right for you, your doggy and your kids.

This is what I'm worried of. She seems to have gone downhill quickly in the last week or so. I'm really hoping she can stick it out until me and the kids get back on Wednesday.
Did your cat have that ammonia smell? DD came to me tonight and said that Casey smells gross.

[Cardi]

Oh no. Poor Casey. I am so sad for you. My little one developed the ammonia smell four days before she passed. She was very small though, less than three kilos at the end so she didn't have much of a buffer of fluids or anything to help her. I hope she will be ok until you get back. What terrible timing for you . I am really thinking of you all.

[CanadianKangaroo]

I just talked to DH. She's not well. She hasn't eaten in ages so he boiled some chicken which she ate and then threw up. Now today she won't even eat the chicken at all. We've decided to call the vet and we'll be putting her down either Wednesday or Thursday night. For her sake I'd like to do it as soon as possible but I want to be there and I'm not sure what time we can get home by tomorrow. I've told the boys and given them a chance to think about if they want to be there. They both tried to act casual about it but I could see they were fighting back tears. This is going to be so bad

[Sairz]

I think you're doing the kindest thing you can for her big hugs. It's not easy. I haven't had to put any of my pets to sleep yet but I've seen my parents do it many times, I'll never forget seeing them come home with tears in their eyes. Last year I was staying at their house when their beloved dog suddenly started having seizures, it was horrible. 2 weeks later they had to have him put to sleep due to a brain tumor. They didn't have much time to get used to the idea but from experience they knew they had to do it.
Wishing you all strength

[Cardi]

I am so sorry . This sounds very much like what happened to my cat. I hope Casey can hold on until your family can say goodbye.