Tribute to a man's best friend.........

[Steven Allen]

I have been thinking about this kind of loss a lot recently. As you know my best friend moses died a little less then two months ago. I had to make the decision about Moses life. It was the most difficult decision I have ever made.
To decide to end your best friends life. It has been very difficult to cope with.

I have come to a philosophical point of view in the time that has passed since his death. First, not every thing happens for a reason. However, there are some life lessons to be learned. Death is simply a part of life. The death of a loved one prepares us for the loss of those as close or even closer to us. It is a difficult life lesson. We must grieve for those lost. There must come a time when you stop grieving and move forward with your life. When that time comes and you will know when that is you will celebrate the joy they brought to you and will leave the sorrow behind.

I really hope this helps?

 

[nsxtasy]

I have been thinking about this kind of loss a lot recently. As you know my best friend moses died a little less then two months ago. I had to make the decision about Moses life. It was the most difficult decision I have ever made.
To decide to end your best friends life. It has been very difficult to cope with.

Fortunately, Bob didn't have to make that decision. I did, twice. I never had any problem with the idea of having to put my dog to sleep; I knew I would only do it because that decision was best for him, to end his life when it was not worth going on in misery. Where I had a problem was deciding WHEN to make that decision, deciding at what point he couldn't go on. I found that the vets (and well-meaning friends) had their own ideas, but nobody knows your dog as well as you do. You know best what he's feeling, how he's doing, and only you can (and should) decide when his time has come. Yes, it's difficult, it's a decision I regret having to make, but I would do it again, in a heartbeat. It's the last thing you can do for the sake of your best friend.

 

[RSO 34]

I found that the vets (and well-meaning friends) had their own ideas, but nobody knows your dog as well as you do. You know best what he's feeling, how he's doing, and only you can (and should) decide when his time has come.

Thank you for that reaffirmation of "my choice".

Nico had survived severe heart disease at the age of 9 and underwent a pacemaker implantation with which she lived for an additional 8 years without ever having any heart issues again. Many thought that I should have made "the other choice" in 2004.

She was diagnosed with Cushings and I would administer Trilostane daily in addition to twice daily insulin injections. Some commented that it was "a lot of work". I never looked upon it as work - it became part of our daily routine.

In May 2011 she suffered hypoglycemic seizures and spent 3 days in the ICU in the Animal Medical Center. I continued to bring her there for "extra care" beyond standard wellness visits locally because they knew if there was a chance. Others pondered why I would try to save her again.

She came home and needed daily IV infusions for a month. I chose not to bring her in to a local hospital and did it myself each day. I hung the IV bag on a hanger on the top railing of my canopy bed and she sat on the bed with me each day as I inserted a subcutaneous IV into her upper back, never once yelping, pulling away or being restless. After each IV she had a cookie and we went outside to play.

In October 2011 I brought her in for testing her blood sugars to make sure the insulin was the proper dosage. Her local vet suggested that I should make a decision because "she wasn't going to do it for me". She had been treated there regularly for 17 years but I never brought her back because I disagreed with the vet's assessment.

Within about a month she went into a diabetic coma and I stayed home with her because I thought it was her last day. She emerged after about 10 hours and was hungry and alert. I then retrained her to feed herself because I noticed that when her sugar was off she would look for extra cookies to snack on. Due to my work schedule she was on a regimented diet of 2 meals per day followed immediately by insulin.

On her "program" she would feed herself 2-4 times extra per day (I called it "grazing") when she "knew" her levels were off. This might be at 11 am or at 3pm or at 3 am. She regained almost 3 pounds, became more alert and grew a beautiful full silky coat (I had kept her in a puppy cut since she had been losing some hair with the Trilostane but Cushings went into remission and her "show coat" came back).

She survived another 10 months after emerging from the coma without ever needing to go back to a vet and with no further medical crises. Our routine remained the same on a daily basis including her last morning with me.

I "knew" she wasn't ready to go when it was suggested. And unlike the advice I got in October of last year, somehow I also knew Nico would go on her terms - in her sleep with her best buddy Patches.