[jp4m2]

I'm so sorry your in such a heart wrenching position as being the caretaker of a loved one. This decision is never easy and t's not always obvious one. Our pets will hide pain and push on even in the most difficult of circumstances. So this final decision will be difficult one, one your pet will not be able to show you but will depend on you and your wisdom. The decision you must make is not whether it's life will end , but how, and how much discomfort you are willing to allow it to endure. It takes courage to assume this last duty and it is our last responsibility for our pet, which has given us nothing but love and companionship.

I have found myself in this position and I can confirm it is painful for all involved. For me, from the moment I received his terminal diagnosis I felt I was in a "pre-loss bereavement". I realized intellectually and also emotionally that I was going to lose my pet. It hadn't happened yet, but I knew it wasn't far off... I felt it in my heart...yet I was in a bit of "pet loss limbo." I knew things were going to get worse and I had to get in a place of thinking what is best for my pet and not what was easier for me, this was no easy task. There was a part of me that hoped he'd pass peacefully in his sleep, so I wouldn't have to make that decision. But when he lost so much weight and lost interest in eating I just knew I had to do the hardest thing I'd ever have to do and stop rationalizing that things weren't that bad yet.
Even as we drove to the vets on that final trip, I kept trying to rationalize that maybe it's not quite time yet........

I have found that "no regrets", and "no guilt" is not an option in this situation. Very few can walk away from the vets office without nagging doubts, asking ourselves if maybe we should have waited a little longer. We all must make these decisions based on our own pets, not on what anyone else did or would do. We will travel this road mostly alone and it will take, courage, strength, and love to not prolong a pet's suffering simply to postpone our own, as hard as that is. I wish you wisdom and strength with the coming decisions you will have to make......