So recently he has started having bowel accidents in the house. This is very unusual for him. He was difficult to house train but once he was trained he didn't have accidents at all. He also has a hard time getting up and when he lays down he flops. It is also easy to knock him down if you accidentally run into him or try to get him to go somewhere where he doesn't want to go. He has always had allergies so he is on a medicine called Temeril P which has a low dose steroid as well as an antihistamine in it. He ran out of his pills today and they wouldn't give me a refill without seeing him so off to the vet we went. I told her about his problems so she did an exam and we found out that he has spinal cord damage. So we are going to have him put to sleep on Friday. That will be a sad day in the Burke home as well as our children away from home. He has been such an integral part of our lives for so long it is kind of hard to know what we will do without him. Just curious if anyone else has had to put a pet down, how did you decide it was time, and do you guys think we are doing the right thing. Opinions are appreciated.
2 comments:
We have had to put down our old dog and old cat both within the last 3 years. It is not an easy choice. It is very hard but when you go to the vet and learn that they have major health problems then it is time. That is what happened to our dog. Our cats quality of life at the end was not good at all. She just layed on her heating blanket all day long and didn't play or really move too much. So we had to put them both down. It was soo hard but in the end it was the best for them. Sadly by the time animals are showing signs of having health problems it is usually too late to help them. Animals try to hide weakness in order to survive. I think you are doing the right thing for Buzz. He has had 13 wonderful years...which is impressive!
For us, it was similar to Aubrey. Sophie was twelve when we had to put her down, and the kids are still sad, but she couldn't walk any more, and Rob had to carry her to go outside and to her food and water. Her legs had just given out, and it would have been to miserable for her. When the quality of life gets to bad, and they are suffering, I'm sure that they appreciate the fact that us people love them enough to let them go.
That said, I'm so sorry for you. Buzz really is a cute dog, and it is hard to say goodbye to a great family member. Part of me is still sad about Chow, and that was forever ago!
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