I’ve known many pet owners who have give their dogs every treatment available to prolong their life; and it was always clear that their dogs were well loved and cared for. I’ve also known many that have opted not to operate on tough diseases and those animals were greatly loved as well. It’s such a personal choice, I don’t know if there is ever an exact right time. And even though I’ve had to make the choice a few times I’ve never felt that it was the “right” time, just the necessary time.

Beautifully put, Jodi.

Prepare yourself. The first time you leave food on the counter and Delilah leaves it alone is going to be a very rough day for you. Hope that makes you appreciate your little sneak-thief as you entertain family over the holidays. 🙂

Agree – Hospice was a god send in treating my brother and mom, both who died from cancer. We received such good thoughtful advice.

Just reading your comments about Kissy, your bond is obvious. Your Dad was prophetic. Your bond with her will last your lifetime.

Sorry to hear Mity is showing his age.

My dog Agatha lived to 16 and she was nearly deaf and blind toward the end of her life. But I also think she was very happy.

In fact, at sixteen years old, she got up to a little mischief. I came home from work one day to find she had gotten a loaf of bread off the top of the refrigerator. I can only guess she used a chair to get up on the table and then pulled the bread off the fridge.

I think she had the time of her life.

Dogs don’t know not being able to see or hear is a bad thing. They just adjust.

Your comments are why hospice has been such a helpful tool– for people and for other animals.

Sometimes it’s nice to have advice just about improving quality of life and decreasing pain.

Sorry the past few years have been filled with loss. You’ve probably learned many lessons you’d have preferred not to learn.

My Dad was here for Thanksgiving and our wedding anniversary (as he always was) and he said something to Sam that night that helped me make the decision for Kissy: “Sue and Kissy have a special bond between them like I have never seen, even between Sue’s Mom and our first three dogs. It’s a bond that will last throughout Sue’s life, even long after Kissy is gone.” I knew then that Kissy’s quality of life had deteriorated to a point where she was suffering without hope of relief. It was time to let her go with me at her side. I asked God every night to let her hold on until I could be with her while we administered her final relief. He did.

Wow, you shared so many different aspects of making tough end-of-life decisions in one short paragraph.

And I’m with you on not thinking things should be done because they can be done.

I shared in an earlier post that my previous dog Agatha was suffering from liver cancer at 16 years old (she was also blind and deaf). She was really suffering on a weekend when our local vet wasn’t available. So I took her up to Cornell knowing it was time and that she was in a lot of pain.

The vet resident suggested doing a complete work-up to see if we had other options. I felt terrible having to argue with this eager young vet student that she needed to kill my dog. But I knew it was the right thing to do.

Sometimes we really do know more than the vet when it comes to our own pets.