Our Rock began acting weird last fall. He would moan when lying down and wouldn’t play with Luna. He was a 10 yo German shepherd. So we took him to the emergency vet and they did an X-ray. He had fluid in his abdomen and a tumor the vet said was bleeding.

The teen was with us and I asked the vet the hard questions. What’s the likelihood he would survive the surgery? 50/50
If he lived thru it how much time do you think he’d have? 2-3 months
Will he get worse and be in pain? Yes

I did that so the kid could see what and why I was about to do. So we all had a big cry and hugged him and Tommy went to the truck, Mrs. Mike sat with me while the vet put him down.

So that’s my train of thought when you have to do it.
Will his live get better or will it just prolong his pain and suffering.


Last summer we were at moms and she couldn’t find her dog Zeus. Neighbor found him under a tree, he hadn’t been able to get up and walk for a week and his back legs finally gave out. He had lost his bowels and was panting. We moved him up the hill to mom’s, and washed him off. There’s no emergency vet where they live, so dad sent mom and Tommy to go get ice cream while me, my brother and dad did what had to be done.

For him it was an easy decision, we couldn’t have let him suffer anymore than he was.

I am a cat owner and have faced this situation from time to time. For me, it becomes a quality of life decision. Is the cat in obvious pain or has movement issues? Cognitive issues? It often comes to a point when you know your cat just does not enjoy being a cat anymore.

quote:

How did you know it was time to let your pet go?

I just kinda knew. Sounds like you know too.

Bottom line, if their quality of life is poor, it's probably time.

Good luck, I'll include you and your family (including Belle) in my prayers this evening.

Our 10yr old Catahoula, Luke.
Gradually lost his appetite & was losing weight. Suspected Splenic tumor.

Was made harder because, other than his lack of appetite, he was his normal self.

Hard to believe that was 7 yrs ago

I've had to put down many pets over my lifetime. You know when that time has come.

Cooger....your dog's time has come. Sorry.

When the quality of normal life is severely compromised

Hardest decision I’ve ever made. I promised myself I wouldn't wait too long (we typically do subconsciously and selfishly) I probably did a bit

I put down my 13 year old Bull Mastiff mix four months ago. He got into something, I haven't figured out how yet, that poisoned him. His appetite crashed and he was throwing up everything he did eat. The vet said there wasn't anything he could do and that Max had days, maybe a week left. Two days later, on Friday, I took him back in and said goodbye. I didn't want him to suddenly get really bad over the weekend when the only vet that would be open was 80 minutes away. Does that constitute "knowing when it was time"? I don't know. I'll always hope I did the right thing, but I don't think I'll ever know for sure.

Our first girl had kidney issues toward the end. We could tell she didn't feel good most of the time. One morning when I put her food down, this dog who had never in her life missed a single morsel of anything that was within her reach looked up at me and said with her eyes that she just didn't feel like it any more and turned her nose up at her food.

That was how I knew it was time.

Sorry you are there.

I had a sweet cat named Sita. She developed kidney problems, and although she was in treatment, it got worse and worse. One morning I went to her as she was lying on the sofa and her eyes said to me "Enough." It could not have been more clear had she actually spoken that word aloud.

After having adopted 7 (and fostered 22) over the past 10 years, we have had to say goodbye to more than our share. We have adopted the philosophy of, “A day too long hurts them, but a day early only hurts us.”

We will bear that pain to let them go in as much peace and comfort as possible.

Sending you thoughts of peace and understanding as you face the toughest part of furry companionship.

Sorry that it's time for you to make this decision cooger. Seventeen years is a good run for most dogs, I am guessing that you know the answer to your question. I have had to do this for a few of our dogs, most recent was this past Thursday before last. Our 14 year old Shih Tzu, he could barely see, barely hear, his hips and spine had pretty much crippled him. It was a hard decision, but necessary. It hurts, but it is the responsible, humane thing to do. It never gets easy.

I'm serious: I don't think you should shoot grandma just because she's feeble. But if she's in pain, then I think it's okay to help nature along. I'm afraid my dogs will try to hold on just to please me and I don't want to do that to them. Outside of that, it's DNR for me and my dogs.

Three Septembers ago, I talked to my pal Julia, a tech at the vet my Molly always saw. Molly was getting old, and her days were not always good. I asked, "Julia, what do I do?" She responded, "There is no wrong answer. You'll know."

For four months I wondered what she meant by that, spending all available effort and then some to keep Molly going.

Molly had trouble standing up in the mornings. She began to get clumsy, falling at times. I talked smack with her, telling her I was going to get her a Life Alert necklace. You know, the "I've fallen and I can't get up" thing.

One Friday morning the following February, I got her started, got her fed, and put her outside to take care of business. I went back in to make my coffee before work, and I heard her barking. It was an unusual bark, not like her normal bark. I went outside and found that -- sure enough -- she had fallen, and couldn't get up.

I lifted her to her feet and got her back indoors. I put down a blanket and laid there with her for what seemed like an hour. My sweet Molly, always happy, looked at me with eyes that were nothing other than sad. She'd had enough. I knew then what Julia had meant.

Could I have let Molly go in September? Certainly. She was having a hard time then. Whether Molly was ready, I don't know... but I know I wasn't. And maybe that was selfish. But on that Friday morning in February, it became clear. Maybe I did the wrong thing keeping her going for five months past the "what do I do" period. Maybe it was the right thing, putting so much effort into keeping her going. I'll never know.

But on that particular day, I knew. It was time. She was ready. Her eyes told me that she'd had enough.

I made the call, and we went to see Julia.

I feel for you, cooger.

I kept one dog going far too long.

I won’t do that again.

We’ve had a few hunting dogs which kept being great, and just got a little deaf/slower.

Part of me says “the minute they slow/show any signs of regular discomfort” but I know that's not right - and the “Old Man” hunted circles around any other dog I have ever seen, right until his last season.

(He was still better at marking/finding birds, but he was willing to let the younger ones go into the heavy brush for them/took a lot of breaks)

I guess all I can come up with is “if you’re thinking about it, it’s time.”

Or, if there’s any sign of suffering which time/a trip to the vet cannot fix.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
I put down my 13 year old Bull Mastiff mix four months ago. He got into something, I haven't figured out how yet, that poisoned him. His appetite crashed and he was throwing up everything he did eat. The vet said there wasn't anything he could do and that Max had days, maybe a week left. Two days later, on Friday, I took him back in and said goodbye. I didn't want him to suddenly get really bad over the weekend when the only vet that would be open was 80 minutes away. Does that constitute "knowing when it was time"? I don't know. I'll always hope I did the right thing, but I don't think I'll ever know for sure.

As somebody who probably waited a day too long, I think you did the right thing. That last night with her was so bad I almost put her down myself but just couldn't do it. Mercifully, although she got progressively weaker throughout the day as we waited for the vet, her pain seemed to subside. It was unnecessary suffering that if I could do it over I'd have spared her by going in the day before.

My Norfolk Terrier Riley had Canine Cognitive Dysfunction starting in 2020.
His symptoms were very manageable for a few years until around January 2023. He was declining and we made the most difficult decision to set him free on May 10th 2023 at the age of 19.
I adopted him when he was about a year old and his passing crushed me.

Lap of Love has a quality of life scale on their website and that helped with the decision.

Riley is my avatar....

I still miss that dog every singe day

Interesting timing for this thread.

Just put down one of our cats. He went from 12lbs to 7lbs in the span of 6 months. The last 6 weeks he lost 2lbs and lost his balance. Almost fell off the counter this morning. It was sad to watch.

He’s in a better place now..

The older we get the more we see death.
It's never easy. I waited too long for my 15 year old Boxer. Heartbreaking.

It is an awful, heart wrenching decision, finding the line between years of love and companionship and honoring the time when your friend is hanging in there because they feel you need them. And they do feel you need them. They persevere at their expense.
Despite my best scrutiny, I am sure I’ve waited too long in the past. I always assure them in their last minutes that is Ok to go.
I’m very sorry for your anguish.

We tend to push it too long as well. Never had to make the decision for a cat, but when dogs get to the point of not being able to go out and do their business that sets the wheels in motion.