What's your opinion on... euthanasia

[lv4dogs]

When it comes time to peacefully help your beloved pet dog/cat/pet to the bridge would you do it when your dog is having a good day or bad day?


I know it is a sad topic to discuss, but it is a part of life that most of us will have to face at one time or another.

It's something I've really been thinking about a lot lately with Nanook getting up there in age & his health deteriorating.

Most vets & articles say that it is best to do it on one of their good days. Which I can understand. That way your dog AND you will remember his/hers last day as a good day, a fun & loving day.

There is less stress on the dogs part as the dog is feeling better that day. (S)He's not thinking how awful it was to be suffering that day, having no fun, being dragged into the car, or having a terrible day, sitting on the cold exam table, etc.. etc... Instead when (s)he goes to the bridge (s)he can tell all his/her 4 legged furry pals that (s)he had fun with you on his last day, (s)he went to MC D's for a burger (or2 or3), a nice car ride, a trip to the park. And you will say the same.

But of course for us it has to be the worst time to set him/her free. We are thinking that because (s)he had a good day maybe they would continue, maybe (s)he would be with us longer, maybe it wasn't the right time.

What would you do?


I plan to do it on one of their good days but like I said it will be THE HARDEST thing to do. Even harder than setting them free on one of their bad days which is already an extremely hard decision to make.

[K9soul]

I guess I have a hard time imagining doing it if they are still having good days. Both Cody and Willie were helped to the bridge after they had strokes, and I don't think they were really in pain, but they did not seem really aware of their surroundings, did not respond to my voice etc., they just stared ahead and seemed to be slipping away anyway.

Cody was deaf, incontinent, half blind, and had some dementia, but he still loved getting petted and still loved being with us and enjoyed his snoozes. He cried if he woke up and was in a room alone, and I had to help him get up whenever he had been laying down for awhile, but I wasn't about to let him go while he was still able to enjoy life.

I am really not sure what I'd do if my dog had a progressively painful/miserable disease in which most days were bad and only a couple good here and there. Hopefully I will not ever have to be in that situation.

[lv4dogs]

I guess I have a hard time imagining doing it if they are still having good days.

I am really not sure what I'd do if my dog had a progressively painful/miserable disease in which most days were bad and only a couple good here and there. Hopefully I will not ever have to be in that situation.

Yeah, thats what I ment about having good days... if they only have one here & there. Of course if they are still having more good days than bad days then I think they have some time left here with us.

[K9soul]

In that case, I guess I just don't know. I probably would find the strength somewhere to do what was best for my baby. It'd be so hard to take them on a good day. It'd be a day that I'd want to spend with them, not let them go. I just don't know . I'd certainly try my best to do the most unselfish thing.

[Ginger's Mom]

Very hard question to answer. Like Jessica, my first dog did not have any good days left. She had some sort of seizure which left her with an involuntary head bob and an inability to walk. I carried her outside five times a day with the belief that she was going to get better, and she was in and out of the hospital for a month. I finally realized one night when I was sitting on the floor spoon-feeding her Gerber baby food and she peed all over herself (sorry for the graphic), that I could not do this to her anymore. So my answer would be a bad day, because if I thought she was still having any good days I am not sure I could do it. I don't know for sure what I will do in the future, it is a very hard decision to make in any case. I hope you have a long time before you have to make this decision. Give Nanook a great big bear hug for me.

[ramanth]

When we had Sable (cat) euthanized, it was on his bad day. We found him in the basement and he couldn't walk and merely peed where he laid, crying pitieously. We obviously knew it was time and took him to the vet. Up until that point it was all good days. I was young at the time so it was my parents decision in that case though I would of done the same had I been able to drive.

When it comes to Kia... I just don't know. I'd hate the thought of making her suffer but I don't think I could take her in on a good day if I had to make the decision. In my mind if one day is a good day who is to say the next isn't a good day, and the day after that?

I think in the end, our pets usually are able to communicate when it is their time if we ever have to make that decision.

[finn's mom]

I've only ever had to to euthanize one pet. His name was Bruno and he was 15. I had to make an appointment, so, I didn't know if it was going to be a good day or not. But, the thing with Bruno was that he always looked like he wanted to be happy. When I would hold him in my arms, he would wag his tail and lick me and he just looked like a puppy in his face. But, he'd gotten to the point where he could stand on his own. He'd lost control of his functions...so, he'd urinate and deficate and not be able to move away from it. Every day I'd come home and have to rinse him off, it was so sad. I sometimes still wonder if there was more that I could have done for him. But, most days, I think I made the right choice. All of his days were the same, though, that last week. Bah, this is making me cry. I can just picture him in the backseat, wrapped up in my beach towel. It was the only clean towel I still had because I'd covered the floors in my apartment with towels so that I wouldn't have to clean the carpet every day. I do miss my beautiful little boy, though.

[Corinna]

This indeed a hard question but as one of the few who had to make this decstion not to long a go with my Merlin Man. I really do beleive its better to pick the day and make it a good one . That way if possible its a good memory. The day I picked for Merlin(cancer) was a sunny ,very light breeze fairly warm spring day.He got a nice car ride and trip to the bank for a bone and last time visit the drive through gal. The vet has horses and a nice yard with trees , so we sat under the trees watching the horses and just hanging out relaxing. The vet and asst. both just sat for a couple minutes with us talking to and about Merlin , then just started petting his front leg and slipped the needle in . I don't think he even knew it happened . He just slipped in to my lap and was seamingly asleep. Since he had to go it was the best way I could have planned for him.
He was facing all kinds of drugs and horrible things , I didn't think he deserved all that pain just for me to try to hang on to him for my selfishness.
I really miss him espesally since he was my alert dog for my diabetes and he was only 8 years old.
I guess my opinion is if you can choose and plan it do so. It makes for a much better memory for you. I had him creamated and footprint made. Hubby is working on a nive little box for them so I can still have him around.

[finn's mom]

I had him creamated and footprint made. Hubby is working on a nive little box for them so I can still have him around.

That's so awesome. I had Bruno cremated and I have his urn with his photo on it. It's just a little wooden box, but, I love it. The footprint is a good idea, too.

[Glacier]

It's an extraordinarily difficult decision to make and the line is different for everyone. I expect that soon I will have to make that call for Preacher. My personal deciding factor is always "Can Preacher still be Preacher?" In his case, when he stops wanting to eat and he can't referree the young dogs' games anymore, it will be time. Those are the two things he still loves to do even with all his other problems.

In situations where I have the choice, my vet will come to my house. They will die at home in familiar, comfortable surroundings. I have all my pets cremated. I have a shelf in my bedroom with their urns on it along with pictures and other little mementos. I wear a small portion of Hoodoo's ashes in a pendant. When I die, their ashes are to mixed with mine and scattered in a special spot. I also make memorial stones for them all and am building a special garden for those.

[pitc9]

Corina.... omg... I can't stop crying after reading your post.....

I really don't know what I would do. I hope they would let me know... somehow. I'm depressed all the time and think about/worry about death and I always cry to my dogs and I ask them all the time to pleeeease let me know when you want to go. I know they hear me, I just hope they follow through!
Right now as I sit here and have two heathly dogs at home.... I can say that If I were faced with that decision to make I would like to do it on a good day. But once/if the situtation come to be... I don't know.

[pnance]

This is a hard question, which I'm not sure of the answer. I'm guessing I'll be facing it with Bear in the next few years. I'd like to say I'd do it on a good day but I'm not sure I can. I think I'd always wonder if he still had some good days left. I've never had to decide when it's time, Sandy my RB terrier took the decision out of my hands. He collapsed one night on our deck. After a trip to the emergency vet and then our own vet he passed away the next night from heart failure. The vet had recommended giving him 24 hours to see if he responded to treatment, but I knew the next day I'd have to make that decision. I like to think he knew how hard it would be for me to do it and he decided to save me that pain.

[beeniesmom]

I am reading these posts and crying.
I don't know what I would do...
I've never had to make such a decision.
My poodle Dee Dee died in her sleep 2 yrs ago when she was 15 yrs old.
I hope you and Nanook have countless wonderful days together.

[anna_66]

I honestly can say that as long as they were having good days and not in pain I would wait for a bad day.

With Angus he was getting worse, but by no means was he ready to go before he did. I just got up one day and his leg and foot was swolen. The vet did everything she could but his poor body just couldn't fight the infection so we made the decision to let him go. It was a bad day, but that boy was so happy to see us when we got there that morning. We just petted him and talked to him and he slowly faded away.

[ParNone]

Maddie had a lot of health problems and I had people tell me I should put her to sleep, because she was blind. But my thought was as long as she was running to greet me, when I got home and puppy play bowing to me, it wasn't her time. I've got pictures of her playing with her stuffed mouse, the week she died, so I didn't feel it was time for her yet, even though she had Cancer.

She took the decision out of my hands though. Maybe she knew it would be too hard for me. I got home really late from work that night. She waited for me. I think she knew I'd have been crazed, if I'd come home to find her dead. So she held on, so that she could die in my arms, with me telling her I loved her.

With Murph now 15, I'm having to look for signs again and dreading finding any. I was getting worried about him, since his hearing and eyesight are bad now. But we got a new dog next door and Murph's got a new lease on life. He's almost puppy-like in his zeal to run up and down the fenceline, marking every post and hurling curse words at the dog next door. So alls right with the world now.

I don't think I'd take him on a good day though. Unless he's suffering, if he still has good days, then I feel like he's still meant to be with me.

Par...