My dog is old

[Mr. H.]

Be sure to tune your ukulele before you leave town.

 

[CMike]

I am so sorry.

How sad.

 

[jillian]

She is quite pathetic now. She no longer roams the neighborhood, she limps very badly, is terrified of loud noises (probably because she is deaf). She still enjoys her dinner.

Not sure what to do with her while we are on vacation.

She may be miserable for 10 days or we put her down.

That sucks. But if she's still eating, she's ok. Is there someone who can stay with her? Or can you maybe take her with you?

 

[AllieBaba]

That's what I was thinking, too...

 

[Sallow]

How certain are we that she's going to die during this time period, regardless? If it's certain she's dying then have her put down. If she's just old and feeble, I'm not of the opinion that death is preferable to inconvenience..not for people or animals.

I spent thousands and was around him as much as possible when my Cocker Spaniel got cancer. When he stopped eating..I knew it was time.

It broke my heart.

 

[Vel]

She is quite pathetic now. She no longer roams the neighborhood, she limps very badly, is terrified of loud noises (probably because she is deaf). She still enjoys her dinner.

Not sure what to do with her while we are on vacation.

She may be miserable for 10 days or we put her down.

If you can find someone to take care of her you might try a Thundershirt for her anxiety. It sucks when they get old and arthritic. You might ask your vet about aspirin therapy rather than cortisone. It eases pain and inflammation without the nasty side effects of the steroids.

Thundershirt | The Best Dog Anxiety Treatment

 

[waltky]

Poor doggie.

 

[Ravi]

well if you take a one hour ride and drop her off she will be there when you get back.

my dog is old, she is going on 15 and getting deaf and blind, kidneys failing slowly, if we took a trip and she could not come, we would pay professional sitter if we had to to come sit with her etc.

I think I will go the professional sitter route. She can not be dropped off somewhere else.

 

[Ravi]

Don't miss out on the time with your family. Are you worried because you'll have to kennel her, or do you know someone she'd be comfortable staying with??

I think no matter what we do, if we leave her alone at this point, she'll die of a broken heart.

She's always been terrified of kennels or boarding at the vet.

I'd ask myself the hard question: What is more tragic? Having her last days spent being broken-hearted (misting up while typing this) or having her go peacefully with her last moments in your arms knowing she is loved so much?

(Dammit, now full blown tears.)

Oh, damn. Now I'm crying too.

 

[Ravi]

How certain are we that she's going to die during this time period, regardless? If it's certain she's dying then have her put down. If she's just old and feeble, I'm not of the opinion that death is preferable to inconvenience..not for people or animals.

I mostly agree with this. The problem is I can no longer tell if she is happy or not. Or how much pain she is really in.

She is so tumor ridden and crippled that strangers that see her ring my bell to ask me if she's been hit by a car.

 

[California Girl]

If it were my pet, I'd only put her down if I was certain she'd be miserable while I was away on vacation.

That's my thought, too. But then I feel guilty about not blowing off my vacation with my kids, who I haven't seen together since Christmas.

It is really hard not to know what is not the selfish thing to do.

Ordinarily, I'll suggest you cancel your vacation - because your dog is more important. But.... I don't think you should put your dog's welfare above that of your children.... so, like Si Modo says, talk to your vet and see what advice they can give. Is there anyone you could ask to take care of the dog while you're away? Could you find someone to house sit and dog sit for ya?

 

[jillian]

How certain are we that she's going to die during this time period, regardless? If it's certain she's dying then have her put down. If she's just old and feeble, I'm not of the opinion that death is preferable to inconvenience..not for people or animals.

I spent thousands and was around him as much as possible when my Cocker Spaniel got cancer. When he stopped eating..I knew it was time.

It broke my heart.

I grew up with a cocker spaniel named Honey. She had epilepsy from the time she was a year old but lived until she was 12. I loved that dog... she wasn't much on kids, though. Then I had cats as an adult. And now I have a lop eared rabbit. We spent about !,200 on surgery and medical care for him this year because he got an abscess that had to be removed. then i medicated him every day and gave him injections of anti-biotics. *sigh*

but he's really sweet

 

[Valerie]

 

[strollingbones]

dont put your dog down.....you will fill guilty for the rest of your life...ever vacay....dogs do much better when they are outta sight from their owners....what you see as a scared little lifeless dog.....may be totally different at the vets.....sure they put on this big act when you leave...but 10 minutes later they are happy again....

have the kids come see you.....or just board the dog....she will be fine for 10 days....what is the worse that can happen? she could die....well if you put her down...she will die...give her a chance......and talk to your vet....dont put your dog down cause it limps.....damn it woman

 

[Ravi]

dont put your dog down.....you will fill guilty for the rest of your life...ever vacay....dogs do much better when they are outta sight from their owners....what you see as a scared little lifeless dog.....may be totally different at the vets.....sure they put on this big act when you leave...but 10 minutes later they are happy again....

have the kids come see you.....or just board the dog....she will be fine for 10 days....what is the worse that can happen? she could die....well if you put her down...she will die...give her a chance......and talk to your vet....dont put your dog down cause it limps.....damn it woman

It's much worse than a limp, Bones. It's more is she suffering or not and will being left alone make her die with a broken heart.

But you are probably right.

Thanks.

 

[Skull Pilot]

She is quite pathetic now. She no longer roams the neighborhood, she limps very badly, is terrified of loud noises (probably because she is deaf). She still enjoys her dinner.

Not sure what to do with her while we are on vacation.

She may be miserable for 10 days or we put her down.

I can empathize.

I have 2 dogs both pushing 10 now.

As far as the limp, you should try laser therapy. My cattle dog has a bad ankle that he comes up lame on quite a bit. We've been doing laser at the vet and he's much better.

For fireworks we give him 5 mg of Valium. He's still scared but much more chill about them.

 

[strollingbones]

talk to your vet....if you trust your vet....i would hate to think i put my damned dog down so i could relax on vacation......how you gonna relax after doing this???? come on...get the vets opinion...dont put all of this on yourself...

 

[editec]

She is quite pathetic now. She no longer roams the neighborhood, she limps very badly, is terrified of loud noises (probably because she is deaf). She still enjoys her dinner.

Not sure what to do with her while we are on vacation.

She may be miserable for 10 days or we put her down.

Believe it or not PROZAC might help her disposition.

Of course if her people go away she will be miserable.

That is the nature of dogs.

That is, I think, why we who live with dogs and who make them members of the family love them.

Dogs make most people better people.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Dogs make most people better people.

That's because dogs are better than people.

 

[Truthmatters]

No they are just more honest.

You are the one who loves her ravi.

Her days are short either way.

Trust your feelings and dont beat yourself up over it.