Hi all dog lovers. I have a Jack Russell and she is 17 years old. She went blind a couple of years ago she is now mostly deaf. Her back legs have almost gone however she can still manage to climb stairs. Her appetite is good. Has been incontinent a couple of times. I believe she is partially senile and getting worse. I don't want her to get to the point where she has lost all control of her senses, pain from arthritis, incontinence etc, basically lost her quality of life. People always say you'll know when it's time but denial gets in the way. I think I know it's time but how did you guys know?Love to hear your thoughts or any experiences you've had on how to deal with losing your best friend.
I think you need to look at questions like does she still eat well and enjoy her favourite foods, does she still play with her favourite toys/games, does she still enjoy walks etc. If she is still enjoying life then maybe it isn't time yet, but once she stops enjoying things then it may be time to reevaluate things and see if its the right time.
Only you can tell, but the old saying, 'better a week too soon than a day too late', is often true. Purdy such a bad heart condition that in spite of medication, she went into organ failure. She stopped eating everything but cheese biscuits, she was tottering, vomiting water and gasping to breathe. Every time her breathing went quiet, we were checking to make sure that she was still alive. I finally made 'that' phone call, - and she happily trotted to the surgery for her last walk. Tweed was coping well with her geriatric heart, bronchial and skin problems. She had a rabbit the week before, and was paddling in the pond the day before I had her put the sleep. She had a nasal problem which wasn't responding to treatment, and when the vet phoned to say it was a untreatable nasal cancer, I asked for her not to be brought round from the anaesthetic. Were these too early? I have to live with those decisions. I have also had old dogs die with pneumonia, (kennel cough), with congestive heart failure, and the dog of my life ended his life in a coma with kidney failure. These were all definitely all too late. There are no right answers. We can only do our best, and be grateful that we are able to grant our animals a painless death. I would wish the same for myself, there are many worse fates.
It's the hardest decision we ever have to make and one that always leaves us with a certain amount of feeling guilty. We can only do our best and hope that it's right.
Yes, it is an extremely difficult decision. We've only had to make that once with our last three dogs. Probably should have been twice. Our first rescue dog (Missy) was a shepherd/golden mix. We had her for 14 years when she had a seizure and vet said it was a stroke. She was basically senile by then and the vet asked if it was time. I said no but he kept her for observation and she died a few hours later, alone, which broke my heart. Our second rescue dog (Bear) was a Great Pyrenees and was 9 when cancer took him. One day he was fine, three days later he couldn't stand up. Due to his size, the vet came over and did the deed and took him for cremation. Even in his condition in his last hours he barked at someone beyond the fence to warn us. A lot of water works on that one, too. At least we were with him when it was done. Our third rescue dog (Lola) was a 12 year old Pug. We only had her for 10 months before cancer took her. She had a history of cancer. She died on the vet's table when I took her in to have the lump checked out a third time. The vet said she wouldn't have survived the surgery. That little girl could beg. : -) Now we have adopted our 6 year old JRT named Fang. Hopefully he'll be with us for many years to come. Sorry for the long post.
@jacks4nik - Nicky, if you read this, please know that everyone is behind you if you have to make/have made that decision. I still wonder if I was that week too early or a day to late with my beloved epi Pereg, but when I checked back on what I posted here saying that she was not right, and when I look at the last photograph I took of her about a week before I made that decision, I know I was right. I still miss her so much - that heartbeat by my feet as she slept on my bed. And I still call her Pereg when I mean to call little Tikva.
