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Originally Posted by DvlshAngel985  Agreed. Health care choices are the hardest to make because we are so emotionally invested. 5 months ago, I knew I just had to try to make Kaji better. I just knew for a fact I'd regret if I didn't give him every opportunity, every treatment, and any food changes needed. These past few weeks, I have a profound sadness because I think I caused Kaji prolonged suffering in my attempts to save his life.
An empathetic ear is sure helpful though, to calm nerves and help us feel centered again, which is needed to move forward. I hope, OP, that you are able to filter out the not so nice, and focus on the posts that uplift you in your time of need. |
That's always my conundrum. I worry so much that the pain, fear, anxiety, dread of what's about to happen & loss of trust that comes in the form of prolonged, painful and/or nauseating treatment, together with its sometimes awful side-effects, for a dog that cannot speak for itself, is sometimes worse than timely euthanasia. What would my dog want if he could talk? What would I do if it were me and my family and what would they want? That's the hardest question and weighing all that is always the first thing that comes up when faced with a very sick or injured dog. I'm all for shortening suffering if possible so I'm always first to vet and not shy about asking about pain/nausea/agonizing GI problems my dog is likely to suffer from any test or treatment suggested and how they are going to alleviate it, if they can.
Facing a suffering dog is the hardest part of owning a dog and who can self-righteously ever dictate to another what or how they should proceed with a very sick/injured dog other than get it out of its pain ASAP? All we can do is try to give our dogs the best dog's life they can have(means they live tail-up and happy) and if they can't have that, lovingly let them go. You did your best and what you thought was right to give your dog a happy, tail's up life.