I'm taking my 10.5-year-old golden retriever, George, to the vet during lunch today. He's been on a downward slide for the past few months and, despite our best efforts, I fear it's time for him to move on. He's lost most of his mobility and hasn't been eating. At a vet visit last month, he was prescribed muscle relaxants & various meds for pain & joint health as he was exhibiting symptoms of arthritis and muscle atrophy in his rear end. He improved for a while, but is again back to being barely able to get himself up; he can't even support himself to go to the bathroom. When I went to the kennel this morning, I though he was dead - he didn't raise his head to acknowledge me until I was at his side, petting him. He couldn't even lift himself and I had to carry him to the yard and hold his ass end up to take a leak. He took a few steps and then sat/laid down hard. Some research online suggests both that his deterioration isn't out of the ordinary and his current age is within the normal end-of-lifespan.
In my house, the dogs* are more pets than family members. Since kids were added to the mix, our dog-ownership activities have essentially deteriorated to the point of co-existence. They have a large dog house & roofed kennel, access to a big yard (more than an acre), get fed twice a day, and we let them out to run around a bit and go to the bathroom every morning and evening. However, they don't get the daily 2-mile walks they got for the first 6 years we had them, we don't play with them every day, George hasn't been hunting since 2009 and hasn't hit the lake for a swim in over a year. Kernel is young enough that I don't think it'll be too difficult for her and I know my wife will be sad. I'm already grieving a bit. George has been a truly amazing dog - but if he needs to be put down (and if I'm being honest) - I'll also be somewhat relieved.
I don't want him to be in pain and his quality of life right now is for shit, but I'm not willing (or able, really) to spend two or three thousand dollars to get him another six months. Last time, they suggested x-rays ($$) and potentially surgery ($$$), thinking it might be damaged discs in his back or joint issues in his hips and/or knees. He's a retriever and he can barely walk, let alone run and fetch. He's a mostly-outside dog (kennel & yard) and another winter would be incredibly hard on him. I don't want him to suffer, but I don't want to put him down if there's a reasonable alternative. The vets can (apparently) refuse to euthanize if they believe there's a better course of action. I'm all ears, but I'm not very optimistic at the moment. I didn't have dogs growing up so I have never dealt with this before...
*I anticipate our beagle will be the one most affected by his absence. They've been inseparable for nearly 10 years. She's had a ton of health issues and I always thought it'd be her that went first. Not sure how my wife's going to handle it when the beagle (Emma) passes. We got her about 4 months into our marriage so my wife would have a buddy while I was deployed. On the plus side, despite Emma's chronic bladder infections and incontinence, she'll be the easier of the two to move back into the house, seeing as how she's only 23 lbs. and doesn't have the long coat like George. Amazing how adulthood produces such callousness pragmatism.
I wish I had words of wisdom for you, but all I can do is sympathize. Best wishes to you.
I too can sympathize. I had to make a similar decision with my first dog. One of the hardest things I ever had to do was to tell my boys that Shadow wasn't coming home again. He was a part of our family for a long time and I not only had to mourn over his loss but had to deal with feelings of guilt over making the final call for ending his life even though it was made in agreement with my wife and the vet. It was probably made harder by the fact that we didn't know he was sick until about a week before he died and we didn't know how bad it was until the day he died.
Sorry, man. I know how hard something like this can be. It brings back painful memories of putting our other dog down in the prime of his life. (due to biting me. But still, he sat on my lap on the car ride to the humane society.)
Our cocker, Bella, will be ten in a couple months. She's still in pretty good health, but she definitely acts older. She can't jump up onto the bed anymore, though not for a lack of trying, and her beard is gray. I think her eyesight is going, too. But, she still had energy and curiosity, so I think she has a few years left. I'll be completely devastated when the time comes, and I'm not looking forward to it.
I hear you on all counts, Corny. My sympathies. I've had to put down two cats -- one who pretty much had a complete nervous breakdown after my son was born (we got her while we lived in DC and had her all through grad school, but she was always a difficult personality as an adult), and another who got munched by the neighbor's pit bull after sneaking out the front door on a cat sitter while we were away for the holidays (wow; it's been more than four and a half years now; he's still the background photo on the home computer....). It's always hard, even when you know it's time.
Thanks for your kind words fellas. Today sucked.
I was able to bring him home after lunch for everyone to say goodbye, but then taking him back to the vet's office - knowing it was for the injection - was downright brutal. On the bright side, his death was peaceful, he's not in pain anymore and I dug a nice grave for him at the top of a wooded hill on our property. Can't quite believe he's gone - was a part of the household since damn near the beginning.
I'm sorry, Corn. You did the right thing. That hill sounds like the perfect place for him to rest, and the perfect visual reminder of his presence at the formation of your family.
Making this call is the most difficult thing you'll ever do for George. When I was five my folks got me a Siberian Husky. Tascha lived in a kennel built inside our garage most of her life, only coming in on the hottest days of the summer and the most extreme cold nights in the winter. She was a large, very strong, serene dog, and her decline was pretty gradual and gentle. First her endurance on long runs/bike rides tailed off, then she started to endure mobility issues – arthritis, weak hind leg, etc – around twelve or so. At fifteen Tascha was in much the same state as George sounds to be, unable to support her own weight, needing help moving around, occasionally having accidents because she couldn't get up. All the same, up to the morning of the day I put her down, she happily sat in the sun in the back yard. The vet made a house call that day. When Tascha left us, she could still smell her home, her human pack, and feel the sun on her coat. She might have held on until winter, her favorite time of year, but it seemed right to let her go before it was too late and pain & fear all she might know. I was headed to boot camp that winter; if Tascha had made it that long, only to go downhill fast while I was gone, I would have felt that I abandoned her.
When you decide it's time, I hope you come to feel something like this: I still miss Tascha, but I know I didn't break the trust she first gave to a five year old kid.
I'm so sorry, CoC.
We had a sweet little dog named Gaga in our neighborhood, but she got away from her owners last week and was hit by a car. The peperoncino (recently turned 2) is the most attached to her, but when I tried to explain it to him, he didn't understand. So I guess he'll just keep asking about her and we'll keep telling him that she's "all gone." I still need to tell the jalapeno; everything has been really busy, but I don't want to keep putting it off as that doesn't seem fair to him.
Ugh. Sorry to hear about this, corn. Our good friends just had to put down their German Shepard after 11 years of companionship, and it's been pretty hard on them. This is something we're going to face soon enough. Blue kitty is getting old, and other than having all of her teeth removed at age 3.5 she's been realitively healthy. I'm enjoying her while she's here, but we know it's finite.