After talking with the vet, and discussing all possible options, we had Sasha put to sleep. The vet felt that while some actions might address the pain issues for a short period of time, that there was nothing that could be done for the mental issues, and that it would only prolong her suffering, something that we did not want.
The night before, however, I came home and made her a special dinner (Wet Dog food, which she loves, Steak, and one of her favorite treats, bananas).
I feel strongly that she knew what was coming, because that night, she visited all her most favorite places to lay in the house. She also spent some time on the porch outside "sniffing" the night air.
When it came time for bed, she came over to me and allowed me to pet and cuddle with her. She also went over to my wifes side of the bed and allowed my wife to pet her and say good-bye...as well as her son.
In the morning after she had a good breakfast, and then we prepared to take her to the vet. Surprisingly, she did not put up any fight at all in going...probably because she knew where we were going and she knew that she would be feeling better afterwards. She spent an hour on the outside porch again, watching the leaves fall and "sniffing" the air...and it was a beautiful October day...so it was perfect for her to enjoy.
At 11:15, we got into the car....I lifted her in and had no trouble...I had expected that she might not recognize me due to her having her moments and she might nip at me but she allowed my lifting her 45 pound body into the car with no trouble.
At the vets, I also lifted her out...we then went in and saw the vet. On the vets table, it almost seemed like she had run a marathon between the car and the entry to the clinic. She started falling asleep several times, only to "wake up", raising her head and "smiling" at us. It kind of felt like it was her time to go...that she might go on her own...but that she was waiting for us to give her permission to go trying to insure that we would be all right. The vet listened to her heartbeat and said it sounded irregular...and that she had labored breathing (which could explain why she was so sleepy).
We said our good-byes, and I petted her head as the vet administered the drug....10 seconds later she was gone...Both I and my wife cried like babies, and it took a while for us to leave...we couldn't resist giving her body pets...even though she was gone. We decided we'll have her creamated and will get her ashes in 1 to 2 weeks. When we got home (we both took the day off) our other dog Pansey, a llapso Apso (sp?), was looking for her big sister Sasha, so since it was such a nice day we decided to take Pansy for a walk, one of her favorite things to do...both as a way of getting out of the house and enjoying the dog that remained (not to mention Pansy loves walks!).
Today we spent some time washing Sasha's bedding and vaccuming the house with deoderizer, since it was further apparent that Pansy was still looking for Sasha.
The question now is, should we look for another dog, both for ourselves and for Pansy? It will be impossible to replace Sasha and the special place she had both in our hearts and home....or should we wait?
Comments? If we were to get another SMALL dog, any votes for the type of dog?
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