When did you know it was time?

Anela · 10-04-2007, 02:37 PM

I gave my dog a chocolate bar before she died, she always wanted chocolate, and took her for one last brief walk. Just before the vet arrived, a cat started sunning itself on the warm sidewalk in front of my door that is always open for dogs to look out of. I opened the door when I saw the cat, she took a few arthritic steps to chase the cat and gave up.

I also made arrangements for a vet to come to my home, unfortunately, the vet was needed. I lit candles and the fireplace, she always loved laying in front of the fireplace. That's where she died in my arms.

I totally agree, dignity is something animals (and humans) must have. She was thin, old and unable to keep water down and wouldn't eat.

She looked at me strangely for about a week prior to leaving me. I knew something was horribly wrong, I just didn't want to put her through any more, so I didn't take her to the vet.

Nothing could have prepared me for the loss. I have lost many humans close to me, and this experience was worse. I am still grieving 20 months later even though I have three dogs, one that came into my life shortly after,,,,,,,

Anela

MayaTheLab · 10-15-2007, 06:54 PM

I too agonized over this question. I too got the same advice- you will know when the time is right. Here is the last part of a memorial I wrote later that day in May that sums it up. I cried for a few weeks, still get tears when I remember her and read this- the hardest part was remembering her in her health and not the later part but the good memories do win out.

Over the past year her hips got increasingly worse, to the point where she had difficulty getting around and going to the bathroom. We would have to help her up most times and also frequently help her stay up when going to the bathroom. She also started to drink a lot of water in the past 2 months, making me think there may be something worse ahead. Many nights either Dorinda or I would wake up to her crying because she couldn’t get up to get a drink, and we would help her around without even blinking an eye. By this time she was on several supplements for her joints and also tramadol for the pain. We even took her to an animal chiropractor for about 4 weeks which definitely gave her some relief- the stinky proof of which was evidenced about 5 minutes after her treatments!

We both started to wonder when was the right time to make the decision to help her move on, and it wasn’t until the last 2 weeks that I started to feel selfish when she would have difficulty moving around or start crying. Hearing her cry is what really bothered me because she had never been a vocal dog, not even crying out when she inadvertently got stepped on. So I made the appointment. She had many visitors over the past week from friends who wanted to say goodbye.

So 14 years after she came into my life, this morning I woke up and cooked her up some eggs and leftover steak from dinner last weekend. She wolfed it down. The sun came out and promised to be one of the beautiful days that we look forward to after a long winter. When the time came I put her collar on and said “want to go for a ride?” which she loved to do because she knew she was going somewhere with us. She flew down the steps and we got her on her bed in the back of the pathfinder. When we got to the vet Dr Jim came out and was so good with her like he’s always been treating her over the years. As I held her head in my hands and cried she passed peacefully and I immediately knew that she was at rest. Out loud I thanked God for putting her in our life and expressing His love for us through her, and also thanked Him for Dr Jim, and said it is OK you can take her now.

She is buried down at the farm where she loved it so much, with one of her buddies tucked under her front leg just like she fell asleep so many nights. Thank you Dimples for showing us both the unconditional love you did- you are our best friend and we know we'll see you again.

ACampbell · 10-24-2007, 01:59 PM

We knew it was time when Sweetie, 15 years old, regressed within 2 weeks to acting strangely. She could no longer jump on the sofa without help, was incontinent, and smelled "sick" - we figured she had cancer by the larger tumor on her back, never had it fully checked out as the tumor was inoperable by the time we got her so nothing we could have done. Then on Monday night, my husband was watching her and asked me if I would take her and have her put to sleep, I really didn't want to but I agreed. So yesterday I started to load our truck up, and she got up for the first time in days to stand by the front door like "lets go", my husband carried her to the truck and well, I'm sure the rest you all know. The last thing she ever did was stand there and wag her tail at me, she was so happy at the very end.

Pit Mom · 10-25-2007, 03:04 PM

I knew my grandma's dog Dolly wanted to go in peace, when she quit getting excited over are daily walks. I took her for 2 walks a day, as Gram couldn't walk too good either. And we knew she had heart problems, she was an elderly(14) shih/tzu/chix . The day I went she just looked at me and didn't walk at all. Just looked at all of us like she knew and wanted us to know. Well, we did the right thing and she is now with Gram. They're both pain-free and having a great time. Everyone should remember how do you want to go?