Whatever you decide, be kind to yourself afterward. For those of us who love our dogs beyond measure, this is a difficult decision that sometimes requires choosing the lesser of two evils. Make the best decision you can with the information you have, and don't second-guess yourself later. At that point there's nothing you can do about it but feel bad. Consider instead all the joy you and your dog brought each other.

Comments

“we had to send our beautiful darcy, australian shepherd home to heaven on 06-05-08 it was the hardest thing we have ever had to do. darcy was about 12-13 years old. i wonder if my heart will ever stop hurting. she was our angel our life. every where we look we see her beautiful face. she loved us as much as we did her. we miss her so much even though we know what we did was for our baby girl. she had a beautiful life, fun joy good food love kindness and respect. we will love her and remember her for all the love and trust she gave us all the days of our lives. our darling darcy we love and miss you. god bless you and may others as us had to allow you to go home in peace and let you run free with out pain. xoxo, mom and dad koz” — ebccdr, Jun 10 2008

“I just had to put my buddy Floyd down a few days ago. Floyd was a beautiful 12 year old boxer. I still remember the day we picked him up at the breeders house. He was so small. Floyd has seen alot of days with my husband and I. Moved into a few homes and worked thru all of ups and downs of life together. Floyd was healthy all of his life until the past 6 months. He developed a cancerous tumor which we had removed~ the surgery was tough on him and we vowed we would never do that again to him. The vet did tell us he was not able to get all of the cancer and there was a good chance it would spread. A few weeks after the surgery he collapsed in our family room. We rushed him to the vet and his heart was racing about 300 beats a minute. It should beat between 80-120 beats/min. We were able to put him on medication to help with his heart and all seemed to be going smooth. He slept alot, but he was 12 and for a 75lb (he was in great shape- not fat at all.. he was just a big dog) boxer life was good. I took him out for a short walk and he kicked up some dirt in the woods and fractured his leg. We didnt know what had happened to him, we thought perhaps he had sprained a muscle or had a pinched nerve because what he was doing when he yelped was so very common, he had done so many times before. We watched him for the night and my husband slept on the couch to keep an eye on him. As the night progressed, he got worse. He couldnt walk at all, began to urinate on himself and wanted to be left alone. He was distancing him from us. I took him to the vet in the morning after a tough struggle to get him into my car. (he couldnt walk and he weighs 75lbs) At the vet they brought out a stretcher to help me get him inside. The vet took one look at him and said he had fractured his back leg and he hoped that the cancer had not spread to his bones which caused them to become very brittle. Our worse nightmare had come true. The cancer had began to eat his bones, and his leg would not heal. His leg had swollen up and his gums were losing alot of color. His blood was pumping to his leg. I swear Floyd looked at me and said please.. I am in pain, I am tired and I cant do this anymore, it is time. The vet told us our options, which was only to amputate his leg and hope he was strong enough to make it thru the surgery. I couldnt cut off my babys leg and I knew deep down it wasnt a true option. My husband spent some time with him and then he asked the vet to come in. I held him in my arms and brought his face to mine and told him I loved him over and over until I heard him take his last breathe. The hardest moment and day of my lift. I loved my dog like a child and I am trying so hard to take comfort that he is no longer in pain.. I am in so much pain. I feel as if someone has ripped my heart out. His absence is felt everywhere. I look forward to the day we meet again~ ” — Dawn, May 31 2008

“My thirteen year old beagle has had some health issues. His glands by his throat were about the size of golf balls. When I took him to the vet last Sunday he couldn't see and hardly had the strength to get up and go outside by himself. I took him to the vet and he gave him a steriod and now they have gone done a lot. He can see much better as well. I realize that he can't stay on the steriods forever and have chemo or anyother type treatment is not a option at his age. It's so hard to watch their quality of life go so fast. I know that as soon as he is in pain or not eatting that I will make the right decision for him. It will be hard but I love him enough to make sure that he doesn't suffer for my selfishness.
Deb & Bozlee” — dweier1, May 27 2008