I put a little dog to sleep last October - and it did break my heart.
My dog could have been kept alive (perhaps for a long time - I'll never know.) But she needed extensive testing, MRIs, CT scans, and perhaps surgery. All of this would have been $5000 or $6000 - and, after putting her through all of this, we knew it still might not have helped her. She was so uncomfortable, I couldn't imagine putting her through all the tests she needed and surgery knowing she may have ended up no better - and would have been uncomfortable all that time. My dog - different from your dog - had hurt her back and could not longer lie down for more than a minute few minutes at a time. It has reached the point that I was holding and carrying her most of the time trying to keep her comfortable.
Anyway - after a final episode of walking around and carrying her for more than 30 hours, I took her in and had her put to sleep.
There is nothing I can say - except that I did it because her little life had become so uncomfortable - and I couldn't bear to have her suffer anymore.
I think this is the toughest decision any of us ever have to make. And, your little dog, like mine is getting by. I think this makes it so much worse and harder to do. We know they can make it another day, another week, or another month - or maybe longer. I could have kept putting my dog on more medicine and steroids, but she really didn't tolerate these well - and they weren't curing her problem.
I had to have my sister take me to the vet because I knew that I would have turned around and come back home. I made her promise she wouldn't let me do that.
It took me weeks to get over total shattering grief (I was a bad case).... and a day won't go by the rest of my life that I won't think of her, miss her, and shed some tears. So, I certainly know how you feel and what you're facing.
I had another dog and a few months later I also got a new little puppy. They are both wonderful and a lot to love, but nothing will ever replace Dutchess. I had her for ten years and still feel that she would probably end up being the dog that I loved most during my life.
You just do what you need to do - and do whatever you feel is best for your little dog. My vet cried with me when we put Dutchess to sleep. She said that I was very brave. I didn't feel very brave. I felt heartbroken - but now that I look back, it did take a lot of courage for me to do what I needed to do.
You just do whatever you know you need to do - whatever is best for your little dog.
Carol Jean |