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I can relate to everything you are saying. I have 2 kids now that came when my dog was about 4 years old. Things that (could) become an issue with dog ownership

by 83457 7y ago

I can relate to everything you are saying. I have 2 kids now that came when my dog was about 4 years old. Things that (could) become an issue with dog ownership.... being waken up repeatedly during the night, not being able to take certain vacations without having to find accommodations or boarding the dog, development of long term issue like diabetes, complications like vomit/pee/poop in the house, no longer being able to board your dog many places if they are receiving insulin shots, and unfortunately... trauma from end of life care and decisions. A couple weeks ago we euthanized our dog who started having progressively worse seizures in less than a week time period. The most traumatic part of it was that she recovered partially on anti-convulsive medication. She already was getting older for her breed mix and had limited sight from cataracts and deafness so there were concerns about quality of life. I had to decide between spending increased time and money to keep her alive and potentially investigate the cause for some unknown amount of time, something that would be done for a human, or letting her go to avoid further pain/seizures for her and progressively more disruption to my family's life. I'm still not completely comfortable with the decision I made. The experience makes me not want another dog for which I would have to go through the end of life experience again.

lukevp 7y ago
Sorry to hear about your pup. My wife and I went through the same thing a few months ago. Our dog had cataracts and was mostly deaf, and she started having seizures too. We also made the decision to euthanize. It got to the point where she was having them every few hours. Unfortunately that's part of dog ownership, is knowing that they do not live forever and having to make that choice for them. It sounds like your dog was in a very loving family. That is the contract we make with them, that we will love them and they'll love us back. Putting her through even more pain just to prolong her life for a small amount of time would not have been the right decision for anyone. It's hard to let go and heal but I hope you don't blame yourself for making that choice. PM me if you want to discuss this some more. Virtual hugs.
leonroy 7y ago
> The experience makes me not want another dog for which I would have to go through the end of life experience again. Sorry to hear, that’s tough. Our dog was 2 when our first child was born 7 years ago. She is slowing down now a fair bit. Used to be a 3 mile walk twice a day wouldn’t even drain her energy but now a 1 mile walk and she’s ready to curl up and go to sleep. I dread the future decision we face about euthanasia but I am glad she is in our lives. Euthanasia will always be a complex topic - especially when and if it becomes more common amongst end of life care with humans. I think the conflict will never go, there is always more we can to to prolong life, or money to spend to improve quality of life. It’s something my wife and I discuss with regards to the dog. I believe it will be a very difficult and regretful decision no matter what. Perhaps that is as it should be.

by 83457 7y ago

lukevp 7y ago

Sorry to hear about your pup. My wife and I went through the same thing a few months ago. Our dog had cataracts and was mostly deaf, and she started having seizures too. We also made the decision to euthanize. It got to the point where she was having them every few hours. Unfortunately that's part of dog ownership, is knowing that they do not live forever and having to make that choice for them. It sounds like your dog was in a very loving family. That is the contract we make with them, that we will love them and they'll love us back. Putting her through even more pain just to prolong her life for a small amount of time would not have been the right decision for anyone. It's hard to let go and heal but I hope you don't blame yourself for making that choice. PM me if you want to discuss this some more. Virtual hugs.

leonroy 7y ago

> The experience makes me not want another dog for which I would have to go through the end of life experience again. Sorry to hear, that’s tough. Our dog was 2 when our first child was born 7 years ago. She is slowing down now a fair bit. Used to be a 3 mile walk twice a day wouldn’t even drain her energy but now a 1 mile walk and she’s ready to curl up and go to sleep. I dread the future decision we face about euthanasia but I am glad she is in our lives. Euthanasia will always be a complex topic - especially when and if it becomes more common amongst end of life care with humans. I think the conflict will never go, there is always more we can to to prolong life, or money to spend to improve quality of life. It’s something my wife and I discuss with regards to the dog. I believe it will be a very difficult and regretful decision no matter what. Perhaps that is as it should be.