Registered: Feb 2005
Location:
Posts: 1745

To those who have dealt with it, how have you dealt with it?
Never had to till now.
I'm struggling with it , any help would be appreciated.

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Registered: Jan 2008
Location: the late, great west
Posts: 104

Have you already euthanized the dog? I always found the last few hours before your appointment to be the worst but you will make it through. I think in the future I might choose to have it done at home.
There are a lot of good books on animal bereavement, look on Amazon. A couple other books I really enjoyed were 'Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates' and 'Will I see Fido in Heaven', both deal with if animals have immortal souls and where they go when they die....have to get off here I'm getting glassy eyed and sniffy nosed and my co-workers are staring.

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Registered: Mar 2006
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 19374

Bob and i both have... since we have enjoyed sharing the lives of many an old animal... It is never easy... BUT It is the kindest thing we can do for a beloved animal friend.

If you are PREPARING for euthanasia you can only do your best to hold it together as much as you can BUT... dont try to hide your sadness since THEY KNOW what we feel. It's OK to be sad... and important to let the animal know YOU will be ok and that you are willing to say GoodBye and let them go on to a Peaceful place...
During the process if you are strong enough to gently hold your friend as they slip away... keep telling yourself he or she is STILL IN YOUR HEART...
After the euthanasia... MOURN how ever you have to. We are all different. I have reacted differently to my different animals deaths... I was surprised in July I did NOT cry after my best buddy, my bluedawg, Wyatt died... BUT... I had cried on and off for a few weeks while he was sick... WHen I wrote a note of thanks to his vet...I crumbled....and I felt so relieved...
Really sorry to know you are dealing with Euthanasia. Bob and I both know it's hard BUT the kindest thing to do when the time is right...
Thoughts and Prayers to you, for strength and Peace and Comfort,
Take care, Heather and Bob William

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Registered: May 2007
Location: fairmont wv
Posts: 11948

quote:

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Originally posted by Dogwhisper
To those who have dealt with it, how have you dealt with it?
Never had to till now.
I'm struggling with it , any help would be appreciated.

---

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Registered: Oct 2007
Location: Medford, WI
Posts: 3312

quote:

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Originally posted by hillbilly56
never had to deal with a dog but had to put a couple horses and a mule down i just tell myself they better off they aint suffering anymore but it still hurts i dont like seeing any animal suffer

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Registered: Feb 2004
Location: Cullman, AL
Posts: 969

An old veterinary friend of mine put it best when I was struggling with putting down my mini Schnauzer a few years ago. She was suffering from cushings disease and had gone blind. I was reading internet sites where people were treating the symptoms and urging others on to do the same. When I called my friend and ask his opinion, he simply replied "Let her go with dignity". I put her down that very day. Never have regretted it, but I sure miss her. My son has a border collie now that has cancer on his mouth. We could do radical surgery and disfigure him, but we are going to take my friends advice and "Let him go with dignity" when the time comes.
I have told people that losing a pet is sometimes tougher than loser people and they look at me like I'm crazy and sometimes I think I'm crazy myself for feeling that way. I guess I know down inside, the unconditional love and companionship you get from a good dog is leaves a mighty big empty space when it is gone.
Hang in there. Contrary to the saying "Time heals all wounds", it doesn't, but it helps.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: michigan
Posts: 2573

It's like the lost of anyone you care about with the exception that you have control of the when and how . You know when it has to happen . Doing it is easy on the dog and quick . The hard part is that feeling you just betrayed a trust and like all passings time makes the memories easier. After the first time I had to do this with an old timer I learned to take care of the paper work first so I don't have to mess around with tears in my eyes before I could leave. When not doing it just prolongs pain, misery and lost confusion you aren't helping them.

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Registered: Jul 2006
Location: S.E MN
Posts: 899

I've had other animals put down before but this month I had to put down my first dog. I spent a great amount of time with her and she was truly a great dog and best friend. She was hit by a car and basically had a shattered back end, the only way to save her was to have major reconstructive surgery done, and yet she would have still and trouble later in life.

I sat there in the room with her the whole time as she layed her head on my shoulder and stared me in the eyes, basically telling me she was ready to go, I told her how much she meant to me and that i loved her and how she was a good girl and i knew that she just wouldn't be a happy dog if i kept her alive, I did cry for a little while but i knew she was gonna be in a better place so it made it a little easier on me, actually getting to say good bye to her.

Its always a hard thing to do when they become so close to you but you have to know your doing them a favor. I, and most others, don't want to watch a dog suffer the rest of its life, so you have to make the decision for them since they can't tell you what they want, you just have to trust in your instincts. You'll always have the precious memories and pictures of them, they will never really be "gone" they're just not with you for the moment.... but they'll be waiting on you when you meet up again!

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Registered: Nov 2010
Location: NEBRASKA
Posts: 46

I agree with the other post. If you havent already euthenized, just feel what you feel. dogs know, and I spent about an hour with my friends dog that I knew and had watched, telling him how he had brought joy to our lives, and how he would feel better soon, I cried and raised a drink in his honor. and cried a whole lot more. Hang in there, thoughts are with you.

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Registered: May 2007
Location: fairmont wv
Posts: 11948

we have a little shitzu that is like one of the kids to us i know when she goes it going to be a really sad day told her no more house dogs

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Registered: Jun 2010
Location: pungo river, nc
Posts: 309

have had to deal with it several times in my life.

used the vet the first few times. the way for me now is to do it myself. no waiting for the vet to get every thing just right.

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Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Fayetteville.Ga
Posts: 2167

We have a wonderful Vet who comes to the house and we hold them in our arms the whole time and say good bye with tears and hurting hearts.The vet cries with us.But we are with them holding and loving them.

H L and Dianne

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Registered: May 2009
Location: Woodbine, MD
Posts: 488

DW,
Euthanasia is tough all around.......I know those that can dig a hole and put to rest a family pet of 17 years.....and those that take the trip to the vet to have it done. Personally, I have a hard time dropping the hammer on a hound that has been such a part of my life...whether it be a short time or a long time..... My hounds are a part of my life inside and out. I recently lost my pup that I raised from my litter. It was a freak accident and he was barely 6 months old..I was devistated......After the x-rays, I had to make the call, and I had him put down right on the table at the vets.....It's been months now, and it still hits me from time to time...But, time is your friend, and it helps heal the wound.....It will get better, but it just plain sucks....

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Posts: 6113

Boy this is a topic that I too have a hard time dealing with but I'll offer this cause it might help. It's kind of in keeping with what Dale said. When I have one that I have to put down, I stop at the vet on the way home and go in and pay and get all the paperwork done. I usually get through that part o.k. Then I just let the vet know that I'll be back with the dog in a half hour or whatever and ask them to meet me out back. Put them down on the tailgate or the back seat. It's not any less painful for you but it's easier for me trying to drive with tears than it is walking back out through a crowded waiting room. I always take my dog home and bury it in one of my favorite worn out flannel shirts.

It's the price we pay for owning a good dog. That's the way I look at it. And no, it does not get easier with experience.

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Registered: Jun 2008
Location: SC
Posts: 1012

I didn't have my first experience with making the decision to euthanize an animal until a couple years ago. My QH mare I'd owned since I was five years old fractured a hind leg, and I decided it was best to let her go at a few months shy of 30 years old. I spent about 6 hours with her the night before I made the appointment, and then went home. I didn't want to be there for the actual procedure, and I have felt that way for each animal we've had to put down since. I won't lie, the pain was almost unbearable. Knowing that when I got in the truck to leave I'd be taking my last glance at her on this earth broke my heart like nothing else ever has. Silly, but before I left I asked her to let me know she was ready to go, and that I was making the right decision. She dropped her neck over my shoulder and around my neck, almost like she was giving me a hug. I believe that was my old girl's way of telling me it was ok. The next day, a couple minutes before my father called to say she was gone, I knew...a song I often hear when I am missing her came on the radio, and I knew she was gone. I'll never forget that.

I understand your pain (like so many others do as well) and will be thinking about you and your family. I think in a way knowing when it will happen hurts worse than it being an accident or having them just slip away. In time, you'll see that you did what was right for your friend though.

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Registered: Oct 2010
Location: Burlington, WI
Posts: 489

As a vet tech I have delt with many euthanasias. None of them are easy. My greatest advice would be to not wait too long.

I have seen so many people let an animal linger because they can't let go. I understand that, but at the same time I feel that if we have the capability to let them go as peacefully and painlessly as possible before they are suffering we should. They only know that they don't feel good, or are in pain. The greatest gift and thank you is to provide a quick and peaceful release.

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Registered: Oct 2005
Location: SC
Posts: 3709

quote:

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Originally posted by Riverview2
As a vet tech I have delt with many euthanasias. None of them are easy. My greatest advice would be to not wait too long.

I have seen so many people let an animal linger because they can't let go. I understand that, but at the same time I feel that if we have the capability to let them go as peacefully and painlessly as possible before they are suffering we should. They only know that they don't feel good, or are in pain. The greatest gift and thank you is to provide a quick and peaceful release.

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Registered: Jul 2003
Location: Texas
Posts: 4324

I have just returned from the VET - my B&T femaile 7 May 1997 - 30 December 23010 - Merhaba Silky Snoop. I'm still sniffing & tearing up. I got her to eat something yesterday - but today she wouldn't eat and fell down while getting a drink of water. I KNEW it was not fair to make her hang on any longer.
I lost my Plott male GRCH CSG Skyplott Teddybear, CD, CGC on
20December & I'm STILL sniffling over him. He had cancer & the Vet said his quality of life was less than desirable so I had to say "good-bye" to him. I just know that when I'm too old to look after myself & I'm in pain, I hope I can just close my eyes & my wonderful old dogs will meet me on the rainbow bridge. I'm 74 so it probably won't be too much longer before that happens.

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Registered: Jun 2007
Location: jacksonville, nc
Posts: 2856

there is not shortcut through pain. only you can walk through your lonesome valley. all the friends and caring thought of others will change nothing. you're still left to deal with it. i culled a dog that didn't seem to be working out. i did it myself. it was ugly and took longer than i expected. i regretted that a long time. i felt guilty for a long time. then i foolisly and carelessly let my fine kemmer cur get killed. i cried for days. now when i'm in that area, where i buried her, i go to her grave and tell her once again that i'm so sorry i killed her. the dogs get after the same coon she treed that night but i won't kill it. it was her's and somehow it isn't fair for another dog to get the one she treed first. isn't that silly? i think this is harder to deal with than euthanizing a dog when it's justified. and to think i used to kill dogs for sport. i used bow and arrow and guns. then i got my own and started hunting and now i'm a different man.

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Registered: Jul 2006
Location: Turtle Mountains, ND
Posts: 1023

This can be a tough subject when that certain dog is involved. I lost a pal a little over a year ago. A couple years before he laid by my side in bed while I suffered through a long bout with west nile virus. He never moved from my bed even when I'd struggle to get up for a few minutes. When the time came and he finally moved away I realized I was better. When the day came to take him to the vet I made sure I showed him the same trust and devotion he had shown me for so long. He died in my arms on the table. After his last breath, I wrapped him in a blanket and took him home for his final resting place. I envy no one for the pain of losing a devoted friend whether the lost be a man, or man's best friend.

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Registered: Feb 2005
Location:
Posts: 1745

Well today was the day, Saginaw Red was euthanised.
Peacefull,quiet,and w/respect.

DOB 06/15/1996-01/03/2011
My first english coondog.He's buried here overlooking his son's and daughter.

Thanks for the responses.
I'm going coonhuntin now.

Goodbye RED

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Registered: Mar 2006
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 19374

May he show you somehow... that he will ALWAYS live on in your heart!

We will send a prayer for comfort for you,

Sincerely Sorry, Heather and Bob

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