That is all.

My Wife scheduled a baby sitter for our girls while we took ours knowing their father would probably be a crying mess (which I was) and didn't want them to see that.

Hardest thing I ever had to do.

Did that for my lab almost exactly a year ago.

Sure but it would suck much worse to take my dog than yours.

Your wife is a wonderful person.

Yes it's hard (did one in 2022), but not as hard as finding another one of your younger dogs lying in the road (in 2018).

Thoughts and prayers for man's best friend.

I know saying goodbye is part of the contract of having a dog, but ********** does it suck so bad.

Damn. That's painful. Sorry for your loss.

I have this coming up and it sucks. I'm at the point where I wake up and she's passed out and I kind of hope she went peacefully in her sleep.

I've been a dog owner for over 35 years. Worst days of my life when I lose one. Tear up just thinking about them. I highly recommend an in-home service. I took my Dalmatian to end her suffering and she was terrified. She pissed on me just trying to get her in the car. The 10-12 minute ride to the vet was brutal. Once there she was shivering from fear on the table even in her pain.Home service is the only way to go.

If you have to make the call, learn from my mistake years ago and pay for a home service.

The only comfort I take is that my dogs have "told" me when it's time. They are so stoic in their final days.

Never easy. It is the price we pay for all those good times and memories but we owe it to them to be compassionate and caring until the end.

Well said.

Its so hard to make the call. Did I wait too long? Did I jump the gun?

I'm only going to think about this for the next 20 years, no big deal.

I just want to do the right thing. But you wont know until later. It sucks.

Well said. However it hurts, the good times always outweigh the bad. I don't know that I can imagine not having dogs in my life.

Beer Baron said:

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I have this coming up and it sucks. I'm at the point where I wake up and she's passed out and I kind of hope she went peacefully in her sleep.

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Give her some snuggles for me.

RIP. It's done. Love you Baloo (short for Hullabaloo) adopted from Brazos county animal shelter. He was my best friend.

We had 2 dogs….our oldest who was literally born on our wedding day and given to us as a wedding gift had to be put down this past Tuesday.

Hope y'all are doing ok!

My girl passed earlier this year. First dog that was solely mine. She had been through some SHYT with me through the years. It was BRUTAL. Her legs just quit working, most likely from a stroke. I picked her up like she was a puppy and placed her in my truck with her head on my lap. The way she rode with me for all those years I had her. I took her by a burger joint and picked her up a burger munch down on. She didn't eat much, but I could tell she enjoyed what little she did. Took her to the vet and held her and bawled like a baby until she was gone.

We don't deserve dogs…

Corn Pop said:

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We don't deserve dogs…

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Mood.

I'm really sorry OP. It sucks. Going through the too early vs too late internal debate is just flat out awful.

I went through this 2 months ago with our 14 year old GSD. A day doesn't to by that I don't think of her and I don't think a day will for quite sometime

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3379343/replies/64890451#64890451

If your pup is suffering take solace in knowing you are ending that. As hard as it is, it's the right thing to do.

There are "hospice" services in many areas that will put your let to sleep at your home. I highly recommend them.

AgsMyDude said:

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I'm really sorry OP. It sucks. Going through the too early vs too late internal debate is just flat out awful.

I went through this 2 months ago with our 14 year old GSD. A day doesn't to by that I don't think of her and I don't think a day will for quite sometime

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3379343/replies/64890451#64890451

If your pup is suffering take solace in knowing you are ending that. As hard as it is, it's the right thing to do.

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Thanks for sharing Milli's story. She was a good girl.

It's always too tough to tell when the time is right. I hope I did the right thing tonight for my boy.

Corn Pop said:

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Took her to the vet and held her and bawled like a baby until she was gone.

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I didnt know what else to do, so I did this. Was very difficult. 10 years this guy was my best friend. He never judged me. He never had anything to say except for "yep, let's go".

Hit me hard

It's not any easier for cats.

My vet made a house call, bless them.

I don't remember what made me finally come to this realization: it's not a bad thing if your dog's last day is a good day.

He'd been having more and more bad days. I think subconsciously I was waiting for him to have zero quality of life left. And thats not right. When you own a pet, you've been playing God from the beginning. Oftentimes you have to make the decision about when their time is up.

bagger05 said:

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My vet made a house call, bless them.

I don't remember what made me finally come to this realization: it's not a bad thing if your dog's last day is a good day.

He'd been having more and more bad days. I think subconsciously I was waiting for him to have zero quality of life left. And thats not right. When you own a pet, you've been playing God from the beginning. Oftentimes you have to make the decision about when their time is up.

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This. This. This. The first time I had to say goodbye to one of my dogs he honestly probably still had a little more life left in him. He was at least 15, his mind was starting to go and his legs were starting to go, but he could still get around ok for the most part. He LOVED to walk and I always said when he no longer enjoys his walks I'll know it's time. He would still demand a walk every day, but he would only make it maybe to the next house down the street before wanting to go home so I knew his time was coming.

After watching my parents hold on to their dogs for a little too long I knew I didn't want to do that to him. I wanted him to go out on a good day and not because I came home from work and happened to find that his legs finally gave out and he had been stuck and scared etc. I was lucky enough to find a vet who would do it at home. He HATED he vet and I really didn't want to make his last moments full of anxiety and fear. He had a wonderful last day and went out peacefully on his favorite bed.

I had to do it again a year later to my other dog, but unfortunately she got really ill one night and I had to take her to the emergency vet for that one. She loved vets and people so it wasn't the traumatic experience it would have been for my boy dog thankfully.

Anyway, it all sucks and doesn't get any easier and we still miss them every day. So sorry for your loss OP (and everyone else who has been through the same), just know you did the ultimate kindness for your companion and y'all were both lucky to be in each other's lives.

I look forward to the day when I get to heaven. It's not that I want to die soon or have a death wish, but I know on that day that I cross over I will be greeted by every mutt, purebred dog, waking companion, recliner setter, barn dog and best friend that I have ever had, because ALL dogs go to heaven.

We will play fetch again soon old friend.

I am not one for pets, not cats, birds, nor dogs. I have had 40 or 50 dogs in my lifetime, very few were pets. Several breeds of coon hounds, beagles to run rabbits, catahoula leopards for cow dogs. Working dogs. Done with animals, you could not pay me $5,000 a month to have another. Don't like the term "fur babies" and I gag when I see someone let their dog lick them in the mouth. Others that do like pets though, good for them.

It was our first Christmas as a married couple and she had always wanted a dog, all during out time at A&M, but it just wasn't feasible. A few days before Christmas, I had gone to an animal shelter, and it was set up nicely. People with a dog that had puppies they did not want would bring the momma dog and her pups and that way you could see at least one half of the lineage. This one pen had the momma dog and there were around 8 pups, mostly black and white, looked partly like some kind of bird dog. And one chocolate brown one. I said that is the one I want. The lady said very well, reached in and picked her up and then said you can't take this one, it has a distended navel and will need surgery. Like a hernia of sorts. I told her I didn't care, that is the one I wanted. A couple of days later, on Christmas Eve, she was ready for me to pick up.

I drove home from work that afternoon, with this little knothead in my pickup, crawling all over the floor, crying and whimpering until I put her in my lap. Then she slept on the 45 minute drive. I walked up the stairs of our garage apartment, and my wife was in the kitchen cooking supper and I put the puppy on the floor, just outside the kitchen where it could not be seen. We greeted one another and I walked to the refrigerator to get something to drink and watch her reaction. She jumped and screamed when movement first caught her eye, she thought it was a rat. I had to finish supper, it was all puppy time for the rest of that Christmas Eve.

Many years later, she had gotten to where she had difficulties standing. It came on rather suddenly and we suspected a neighbor had poisoned her. My wife normally handled vet things, but I took her to the vet and left her overnight. Went by the next day and they told me she was going to die without a very expensive surgery, and might anyway even if it was a success. She was crying and whimpering just like that long ago Christmas Eve when I brought her home. I chose to let them put her down and the vet assistant, in the best way she knew how, asked me if I was going to come back for her, or did I want them to deal with her body. I envisioned her tossed in a dumpster so I said I'd come back for her.

I left there wondering if I'd made the right decision, I felt like I let her down, that I did not fight hard enough to keep her alive. When I got the call to come pick her up, I felt like someone had carved out all of my insides. The soil in my back yard was hard as cement, had not had recent rain, but I buried her in a shady spot.

So yes, the final trip to the vet is just terrible. So sorry you had to deal with that.

Doctor Rosenrosen said:

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The only comfort I take is that my dogs have "told" me when it's time. They are so stoic in their final days.

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This is so true. Our old lab less than a week before had wandered off and found a very quiet spot in the woods in a part she never went. We of course searched until we found her lying peacefully under a beautiful tree and then felt guilty because she was trying to find a peaceful spot to pass away naturally. We took her to the vet three days later. It was a Friday and I found a colleague to cover for me being on call because even though we had our first child who was 6months old all I could do was curl up in a ball on the couch and cry for the entire weekend.

OP... it does.

My condolences for the loss of your dog.

Thank you.

I'm absolutely certain you did the right thing. And take solace knowing your boy is running free and no longer suffering.

This article helped me a lot and still does a couple months out.

https://melnewton.com/2019/the-good-death/

This part in particular about what I was waiting for. I probably could have squeezed a couple more months out of her life but at what cost? She was having labored breathing and I couldn't stand the thought of her going through death via respiratory failure or another agonizing, emergent situation.

Quote:

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What are you waiting for?

.

..

…

Are you waiting for them to not be able to get up, to be found 6 or more hours down in the mud with signs of struggle as they tried again and again to make their arthritic joints obey their still young-at-heart spirit?

Are you waiting for your dog to take one last swim in the swimming pool, the love of their life, and not be able to get out this time because their hopes just can make that last leap?

Are you waiting for them not to eat for a couple of days?

Are you waiting for there not to be any more good days?

Are you waiting for the day they can no longer rise to relieve themselves and your once fastidious animal soils itself for a couple of days while you wait to make sure it's time?

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A couple of months ago we wrestled with the decision. Our sweet old lab was panting all of the time, even when it was not hot. Her legs had gotten wobbly so the time was getting closer.

At her annual visit the vet told us that she would not be able to take the heat this summer (even though she is an indoor dog) because her throat was constricting and she would eventually choke to death trying to pant enough to keep herself cool.

There is an Aggie vet that makes house calls for this here in DFW and we called her. She was awesome. Our sweet old girl got to gorge on her favorite foods laying on the patio while the calming meds took hold. Then after she was completely relaxed (stopped eating ice cream and laid her head down) they administered the final dose.

Our other lab came over to lick her one more time and they gently picked her up and took her. She was cremated and we have her ashes in a box with the other two labs we have had, all living until they were 13.

It is a brutal day when you have to do it, but doing it at home was the best of the three we have had.

Why did I open the chopped onion thread?

New puppy!