I'm not quite sure in which thread I should put this, so bear with me.
My fifteen year old Lab/Shepherd mix's health is deteriorating. He's on a wet/dry dog food diet now, with the occasional left over chicken from dinner. (As a source of protein and nutrients that might not be in his dog food.) He's having trouble chewing hard things, which is why we add wet food to his dry food to make it easier to chew, because his teeth are old and worn down from lack of care. (Also because the wet food just goes right through his system and, as gross as it is, it just comes out like it went in.. like it was just out of the can. He's fine when it comes to wet/dry food mixed, however.) My thoughts were, though he isn't in any pain, he cannot live a full, happy life like he could just a few months ago. While in this condition, and ridden in cancer, he will never be the dog he was before. He used to love going outside, but now all he does is potty and collapse due to the heat. Here's the thing, however, he refuses to die. Not that that's a bad thing, but he's been through so much. (Being shot twice, attacked by other dogs multiple times, and living on the streets for the first 6-12 months of his life.)
I feel as though the best thing to do would be to put him down, but my family wants to have someone shoot him. I keep refusing, because that's not a humane way to let a dog go, but they don't listen. That dog deserves to go in a respected, painless way, but they refuse to listen. He's fifteen years old, he's been my dog since I was a toddler. He's been nothing but loyal to us, and they think the best way to let him go is to
shoot him?
I'm sorry for the long thread, and I hope it wasn't a pain to read!