I am soo bummed...

MaggieD said:

Isn't that the truth. That's the bargain.

"I'll love you unconditionally all of my life. In return, please love me enough to do the right thing at the end of short life with you."

Oh, KLEENEX.

Edit -- I'm sorry for your loss. And kudos to you for nobly fostering. We just took in a 9 year old rescue in our forever home. I hope he has some good years left.

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My Family had lots of dogs growing up....but none of them were really mine

My wife and I got a chocolate lab 9+ years ago now.....his name is Riley.....and I never thought I would get this close to a pet

He is more like family than a pet.....and I know one day I will have to make this type of decision

I don't look forward to it.....but I know the joy and love Riley has brought to my life

Letting him or another animal suffer is just not something I could live with

Well, John is a selfish douche. We all know that. I see your point, that he should have taken Mandy to the vet sooner. It's inexcusable to let her suffer. That being said, I also agree with what CanadaJohn said - he's lost alot in the last year. It's entirely possible that he just wasn't thinking clearly.

I know if someone told me I had to put down Lily, I'd be beside myself. I love that dog like I love myself. Moreso, probably. She gets good food, fancy collars, groomings, etc. I'm lucky if I have time to get a pedicure once a month.

I am gobsmacked at the selfishness of some people. I swore to my furbabies I would never let them suffer...no matter how badly it would hurt me to send them on their way. I have one left. She stares at me, so hungry, so thirsty, but no food, no water until tomorrow. And that is when we find out the blood test results. She is 8 years old, yellow lab. This morning, non stop throwing up, lethargy, wobbly legs and it turns out she has lost 5 lbs in the past 8 days since her last visit for a belly rash. Vet had her all day doing xrays and blood work. Results tomorrow. If it is something really bad...I will make sure she stays comfortable, but any sign she is no longer at ease with whatever it is....off she will go to Rainbow Bridge. It will hurt me something awful. Last one, I was battling breast cancer and she wound up with a brain tumor and was having seizures at the same time. It was not pleasant for either of us. In fact, it was awful. So I am pretty stressed out right now with this one being sick. I hope it is something not terrible. I want her for another 5 years or more. I don't want to be alone. But I won't let her suffer no matter how bad it will affect ME doing what needs to be done.

Summerwind said:

I'm sorry you don't have respect for you psuedo-father's wishes and choose instead to demean him. Some people see their pets as people, and as such our society insists that people live til they can no longer, regardless of discomfort. Seems like it or not, he humanized the pet more than you do. With that in mind, I go back to my original comment. If humans have to legally suffer, then treating a pet like a human isn't as bad as you'd make it seem.

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I too would like to make dying with dignity legal for all humans, should they desire it. However, this is not the thread, or the place, to discuss that.

i won't put them down unless they're clearly in pain, i'm not taking them to a vet who wants to make money with meds and euthanasia, that's not a non-biased opinion. i won't get them medicine. i follow a very similar policy for myself, i don't take pills or medicine for anything. when death comes for me, or for my pets, then death comes. if my pet was acting like the one you describe, i would have put it down myself, rather than taking it to a vet's office so its last few hours would consist of being caged, brought to an unfamiliar location, and injected with lethal chemicals by a strange person in a white coat.

QuadpolarNutjob said:

i won't put them down unless they're clearly in pain, i'm not taking them to a vet who wants to make money with meds and euthanasia, that's not a non-biased opinion. i won't get them medicine. i follow a very similar policy for myself, i don't take pills or medicine for anything. when death comes for me, or for my pets, then death comes. if my pet was acting like the one you describe, i would have put it down myself, rather than taking it to a vet's office so its last few hours would consist of being caged, brought to an unfamiliar location, and injected with lethal chemicals by a strange person in a white coat.

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It's not really like that, though. They aren't left in a room with a big scary doctor in a lab coat. Usually, if an owner cares enough for his pet to bother to have him humanely put down, then he is going to be there with his pet, holding him, til the very end.

Two questions for you:

1) Would you get medication for your pet if they were sick?

2) How would you put down your pet in your own home?

It's a tough call to have a much beloved pet put down. I would have made the decision sooner, but I certainly understand his hesitation. The ill feeling towards him seems a little cold, but whatever. I can see it from both sides.

It is a tough call. My Aussie is having a great morning, but I'm ready to make the trip to the vet's at any time now.

If you have a gun and are an expert shooter, putting down an animal with a .22 shot right between the eyes is just as merciful as chemical euthanasia. Sometimes this is necessary.

But I've always been with my animals at the end, and as Superfly says, the euthanasia experience is not like that at all.

Superfly said:

It's not really like that, though. They aren't left in a room with a big scary doctor in a lab coat. Usually, if an owner cares enough for his pet to bother to have him humanely put down, then he is going to be there with his pet, holding him, til the very end.

Two questions for you:

1) Would you get medication for your pet if they were sick?

2) How would you put down your pet in your own home?

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We put down our beloved Josh in our home a little over a year ago with the assistance of a veterinary hospice program called Laps of Love. Dr, Stacey was awesome on the three occasions she saw Josh. when the time came, Tom and I were both on the floor next to him with the vet. I softly cooing about what a good dog he was. He got two shots. One to relax him. The second to stop his heart. He was almost instantly unconscious. The vet walked us thru each step. It was peaceful. Of course, like anyone else, I was broken.

I called John this morning and commiserated a bit with him about Mandy. I was rough on him yesterday. Some of the posts here gave me pause.

Thank you, Debate Politics friends for always bringing me back to earth.

MaggieD said:

We put down our beloved Josh in our home a little over a year ago with the assistance of a veterinary hospice program called Laps of Love. Dr, Stacey was awesome on the three occasions she saw Josh. when the time came, Tom and I were both on the floor next to him with the vet. I softly cooing about what a good dog he was. He got two shots. One to relax him. The second to stop his heart. He was almost instantly unconscious. The vet walked us thru each step. It was peaceful. Of course, like anyone else, I was broken.

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Of course. This is terribly hard to go through, and I've seen brokenhearted men sobbing.

Yes, two shots, and you're right there saying all the words your doggie loves so well.

I took her back to the vet this morning and left her there so they can check on her all day. It was indeed a rough night. She was restless, looking for her water bowl, probably not feeling well to boot, so I made a bed that would fit us both and I slept with her all night. When the bed started shaking and tail wagging, I looked at her and she was have a running dream, so I breathed a sigh of relief.
We get the blood tests back today. I pray it is nothing serious. Maybe an upset from her always looking for Kitty Candy in the front yard from my neighbors cat...and munching on it. I usually catch her in time, but the front yard is nothing but sand since I live at the beach, and it turned into a big kitty litter box. No matter how much I stay on top of it, I can never find them all, but my dog sniffs them out easily and POOF...down her throat it goes. Sigh. Wish people would control their cats better. But have ya ever tried herding kitties? Kinda like staff here trying to herd posters, lol. HARD to do!

When one of my other dogs died about 11 years ago, my husband had a very hard time. Vet came to the house and Charlie was laying in his bed with his blankey and a stuffed toy. He was so ready to go, too. (Cancer in the esophogus, and always coughing. It was slowly choking him to death with that growth). Husband and I sat on the floor with Charlie as vet gave him the first shot. Then shaved his paw arm for the other final shot. Charlie was calm during both, because HE told me he was ready. It happened fast. When he was gone...husband broke down. I have never, ever seen a man cry like that. It was awful. Just awful. Charlie was his buddy.

Couple of months later...I brought home a puppy (rat terrier), that fit in my hand. Charlie was a big ol white border collie, so this tiny puppy was the exact opposite. Hubby said "no more pets. I can't take it", but I knew he was still mourning Charlie, so I went and got Moki. Soon as I held him out to Hubby, his heart melted and he said "this one is MINE". When Hubby decided to return the favor, he brought home Gracie. then we got Karma. Gracie has joined Charlie (brain tumor), but we still have Moki and Karma. Moki is 11 years old. Karma is 8. Karma is at the vet right now. And I am hopin hoping hoping all will be well.

Just got the phone call from the vet. Pancreatis. Doing some detective work to find out what/how she got this disease (I am suspecting Comfortis cuz I looked it up and other dogs have gotten the same disease after giving their dog that stuff). I pick her up at 2:30 and vet has set of instructions to do to see if she can pull thru this.
Prayers please, for Karma, that I caught it in time, and it heals with vets help. I have been googling like crazy, so what little I know, she doesn't have the really bad symptoms. Only thing she has been doing is vomiting after even water and loss of weight so fast. No blood in stool, no bad pale or greasy stool, no panting, no yelping with gut pain, no tiredness, not obese, yadda yadda yadda. So I am hoping it is a mild case and goes away and according to vet specialists, it CAN heal itself if it has not gone too far. I am hoping this is the case.

Update on Karma:

Vet thinks its the Kitty Candy she eats from the front yard. Bad stuff, that. I said my whole yard is nothing but a litter box due to it being nothing but sand. If you catch it in time, the pancreas will heal itself. Karma is on Hills low fat canned food for now, and it has to be a gruel mixture...very watery. And only a cup of water at a time every hour. Plus, I gotta find that closed staple they saw on the xray when they went looking for problems. Thankfully it is a CLOSED staple and not an open one! I guess it was stuck in the carpet and when she ate her treats, she gobbled it up with the treat. They did more xrays today and said its in her colon now, so it IS moving along, but they want it found, so...I get to dissect her poop every time she goes, lol. Lucky me. But she is my baby, so I don't mind.
She acts fine except she keeps looking for the water bowl. Excessive thirst, they said, but NO NO NO. They want to make sure she heals before letting her go back to eating and drinking like she used to. And if she pukes tonight after I give her her first meal since night before last, I gotta take her back in tomorrow so they can hospitalize her. Sigh. Good thing my credit is good with them. I gave them 500 so far. It wasn't enough they said, but not to worry about it..they know where I live. lol.

I also am suspect of the Comfortis. I googled it and seems there are many dogs that developed pancreas probs after taking that. From now on, it will be topical flea control. No more swallowing poison just to kill fleas.

Anyway....fingers crossed she gets better!

Somewhere else, someone posted that she was very religious (christian) but insisted that dogs, cats, animals in general have no souls. After my scare of Karma, looking in her eyes, knowing she is my fur baby...I just wanna strangle someone that says such things.
But I don't want to stress myself by letting my blood pressure rise just thinking about what that person said. Just wanted to put it out there that yes, I believe animals have souls. At least, mine do.

Enola said:

Somewhere else, someone posted that she was very religious (christian) but insisted that dogs, cats, animals in general have no souls. After my scare of Karma, looking in her eyes, knowing she is my fur baby...I just wanna strangle someone that says such things.
But I don't want to stress myself by letting my blood pressure rise just thinking about what that person said. Just wanted to put it out there that yes, I believe animals have souls. At least, mind do.

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I believe animals have souls. And I believe in Rainbow Bridge.

Tiny meals. Josh had pancreatitis just after we got him. He was in excruciating pain so I imagine it was perhaps worse than your pup's. He pulled thru after IV pain relief and a three-day vet stay... No food if I remember correctly. We had him another seven years. He was 13 when he left this earth.

Sending good thoughts your way.

Another update!!! Kinda gross, but...omg. She is sleeping so peacefully right now, not in pain at all. And I am SO relieved! I sent this to a friend of mine and I am so thrilled, I had to share it. (Sorry for the derail of the thread, but I have been so stressed for 2 days now and I GOTTA share the Feel Good story of 2 hours ago!)

Got karma home and vet said to wait til 6pm to give her 1/4 can of food but make it soupy with water, so I am outside sitting in the lounge chair and karma tries to start eating grass. She is SO hungry. I felt bad and said **** it...I'm giving her her special food NOW, which was about 4pm. She gobbled it. Then I gave her her 1/2 cup of water and she sucked it down. Then she wanted to go for her walk and I said ok...and took her and moki to the field. Well..she decides to poop! Here I am in the middle of the field, smooshing her FIRST small poop around with a stick trying to find a staple...but...there is this big mass of something stuck in her butt and she can't get it out...so...sigh...I pinch with my fingernails and tug. It pops out and its nothing but GRASS. Looks like straw cuz its all yellowed and muddy looking and some is behind it but I can't do this in the middle of a field so I find a big leaf and put the mass on that and RUN home hollering for Hubby to come help me. He sees this mass of more of that stuff peeking out of her butt and I reach down and just grab it and PULL. Out comes another mass of long grass. AHA!!!! No staple, but I'm thinking...THIS is what messed up her pancreas maybe! I then.....shudder...stick my finger up her butthole and feel another mass but it won't come out. Still...its THERE..right THERE..ready to pop out the next time she has to go. I hope the staple is in it! And she looks so much happier now that some of it is out! No vomiting, no lethargy. I think we found the problem. Funny thing is, though..why didn't they see that clump with the xrays??? If I rolled it all up in a ball it would be the size of a golf ball. And more is in there. Karma loves to graze, but I think she went overboard cuz I haven't been cutting the tiny lawn I still have been keeping alive due to the horrible drought. But it's cut now! I whacked the hell out of it. Called the vet and told them about it and they said that was a WONDERFUL sign and probably what was causing the prob with her pancreas and now all we gotta do is keep on schedule with limited water and the Hills Dietary food they gave me.Anyway...I think now that most of it has passed out of her..she will be much better. Still gotta get the pancreas uninflamed and healed, but I feel much better and she does too! For the first time, she is snoring at my feet. No pain pill needed right now. I will give her one tonight when it is bedtime.
YAY!! (For now!)

Again..sorry for the derail. I am just so....RELIEVED!

It's difficult for everyone and too difficult for some. That's when direly needed decisions are unfortunately not made.

I had to make that decision for someone else last year and take the dog myself because the owner couldn't bear to see the act (of it being sent on the final voyage).

Just because I had to do it for my own (4 times in the last decade) and was able to, I berate no one who cannot.

I can't berate someone who can't either, but I sure do in my mind, silently. Years of loyalty and love given to the human. Loyalty and love should be returned at the time of finality. I will never have someone be there in my place. My place is to be with the one I am sending off. My children, furry though they be. I dread it. I hate doing it. But I stay calm and loving to the last breath. THEN I let loose with grief. The last one about killed me. I actually wanted to go with her. Phooey on the cancer...I wanted to go too. But...I had to stay. Others rely on me. So stay I did. Anyway...I will always be there when its time. But that's me.

Today at 2 my doggie is going to cross the Rainbow Bridge. I'm going to try to be very brave because I don't want her to be anxious about me, but, unfortunately, I'm a big crybaby. Really big.

I would be tempted to explain to John that whether he is living at home or warehoused at a drool farm when his time to get the "good news" is imminent and his gut hurts, he's spitting up blood, crapping in his pants and can't breath I won't be taking him to the doctor, oh heyall no! I'll be taking John for a hair cut and a mani and a pedi.

nota bene said:

Today at 2 my doggie is going to cross the Rainbow Bridge. I'm going to try to be very brave because I don't want her to be anxious about me, but, unfortunately, I'm a big crybaby. Really big.

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<hug>

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