Animal Euthanasia - A very hard decision
67
This past week one of my brothers was faced with the terrible decision of what to do with his girlfirend's dog...
The dog was diagnosed with cancer and day by day, despite the strong pain killers the veterinarys were giving to him, he was feeling excrociating pain, dragging his back legs and just mooning a lot...
So the Veterinay advised them that they should end his pain by euthanasia... This was a dog that has being in our lives for 8 years now, it's a family member, and the decision was really hard to take...
They choose euthanasia, but it devastated them...
Never an easy choice...
It was the third time in my life that I was in the presence of having to take this kind of decision. Fortunately, in this three times, I was never the one who had to decide. But I provided my support, gave my option and help them dealing with the decision later...
Six years ago first dog was sick. My oldest brother and my mother had to took her to the doctor. She enter the car which such joy for going for a ride... When they got to the doctor he diagnose her with cancer, it was all spread.. It took them very long before they accepted what had to be done... They returned home hearthbreaken... And it went a while before we were able to have another dog...
Three years ago, my ex-girlfriend had several cats and dogs. One of the cats was ill and we had to take him to the doctor. He prescribe some medicins to see if the cat could recover. Unfortunally he just kept getting worst... After two weeks we returned to the doctor and he said that the cat was in pain and will not be able to recover...
My ex-girlfriend and her mother decided to bring him home, they were not able to decided to put him to sleep... On the second day home, I entered the bedroom were he was and found him dead.. it was very difficult to give the news to them and then pick him up, and take care of all things...
And now, this case, with my sister in law dog...
Below it's a video from a couple who decided to do this at home, in a procedure called "in home euthanasia".
Pet Euthanasia at home
What to do
So, should we choose euthanasia or try to give them the best confort possible at home? It's not an easy decision and no one can make it besides you... Neither option is good, we're dealing with the death of a loved one... Sometimes our pets became even more important than some family... it could be hard to here this but I think it's really true!
I had a friend that said that he cried more when is dog died than when is mother did... when he arrived home, the dog was waiting for him... he entered the house, the dog went getting the newspaper... he sit at the sofa, the dog sit right beside him... it was a really companion, a really good friend!
And I really can understand that... Nowadays there are lots of services to help us: from pet cremations, to pet memorial products, it's impressive what you can find on google for animals now... It's becamed a whole industry! There's also pet cemetery's in some cities.
But, besided helping us on dealing with some legal things, the last choice, the voice in command, that horrible order... "put him to sleep..." - has to come from us!
It will never be easy... How do you deal with this? What's your experience on this?
And what's the best way to recover from a decision like this?
If you liked this Hub, please:
+ Rate It
+ Comment it
+ Share it
CommentsLoading...
Hi Ibramos,
I had two cats for thirtheen years and decided they were to old to move with me to Spain. I found a very sweet lady who wanted to take care of them.
Both of them died. One of them just a week ago. I always stayed in touch with this lady, especially during the last five horrible days of the cat that died recently.
We both loved this cat to death and she asked me weither she could keep her at home to die on her own. No euthanasia because she couldn't take that.
I totally understood her. The poor cat had turned 15 years and was just dying of elderness. Although it was heartbreaking to hear how she fought to stay alive those last five days, we both felt relieved she died on her own.
When I gave my cats to this lady two and a half years ago, I cried for three days, as if they had died. I would be devistated, seeing them die for real, let alone help them with it.
Than again, what would you do when your cat is in extreme pains? As you said...it's a heartbreaking choice which you can only overcome, by crying about it in the beginning, talking about it and finding a way to give your 'friend' a place in life.
My lady friend had brought the ashes home in a beautiful sculpture of a cat, now standing in her livingroom, as if still part of her life.
I would have done the same.
As I said, I understand both parts.. It's not an easy solution... :(
We all want to do what's best for them! I have experience both ways, deciding euthanasia and leave them with us at home to die on their on, and I may say... neither is good, both are hearth breaking!
- HubMob Weekly Topic: All about animals.
I am very new to Hubpages and HubMob so I hope I'm doing this right. Recently, a friend of mine almost lost her dog after he got into a pack of sugar free gum that he found. It turns out that the ingredient Xylitol is extremely toxic to dogs. According to her vet, the number of Xylitol poisoned dogs which he sees is still on the rise even though the dangers have been known (to some)for years. I didn't know and I am a dog owner. So, I hope this is helpful to some fellow dog owners out there. http://hubpages.com/hub/Xylitol-Sugar-F … ic-to-Dogs BTW, I don't know how to attach the HubMob graphic. Like i said, I'm a total novice! - 14 months ago
- The Greenland Dog:An Ancient Sled Dog Breed
Greenland Dog is an article about a breed of dogs used by the Inuit as sled dogs and hunting Polar bear.They are powerfulk dogs and quite beautiful. - 14 months ago
- The polydactyl: the cat with too many toes.
Polydactyl cats have too many toes. Despite this odd look, they attracted the devotion of the writer, Ernest Hemingway and were thought to be lucky by sailors. - 13 months ago
David 9 months ago
Unfortunately, I have been there and it is a terrible decision to make. Do you wait until your pet is suffering, do you do it when you get the news that eventually their quality of life will wan, when is the right time? And it can be agonizing watching your pet go through it - some do not react well to the meds.