my 9 1/2 year old golden was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor in Feb. I knew this was coming but she has deteriorated despite meds a lot the past two days so we made an appointment with the vet for 6 so we could all be with her.

I did this less than ten years ago with my last golden. He was 13. Seems like it was last year.

Cancer sucks.

sorry to hear about your loss. An elderly friend of mine recently had to put down his sixteen year old mixed breed, he couldn't get up off the floor anymore. was very hard for him. all the best.

Sorry to hear that. We had to do that with our cat last December. I still miss her.

Sorry to hear this.... They really are one of the family.....

Our sympathies and prayers are with you and your family. God bless. Pete

You're getting me all teary eyed just reading this...:(

Sorry for the bad news.

Been there, done that. My dad always said pets live long enough to work their way into your heart but never live long enough.

You're getting me all teary eyed just reading this...:(

Sorry for the bad news.

X2...I have an 11 year old Golden & I cherish every day I have with him

My condolences. We have two Goldens (sisters) and one has muscular distrophy and the other has bad hip to the point of not being able to get up very easily. It's hard to see your "kids" suffer.

Thank you guys for the words of support. These dogs are really a great gift to us.

I know it's the right thing to do but it always feels like you are doing it too soon. Like you can postpone the inevitible for a little longer. You always hear that you will know when it's time. Because they can't talk you can't know for sure but I think it's time.

Just have to muster up the guts to stand up & do the right thing for her.

sorry To Hear This.... They Really Are One Of The Family.....

X2

hang in there, it's tuff, nothing like watching my 200+lbs. blubbering like a 12 year old girl everytime i go threw this. we had a couple of tuff years, after putting down a 15 year old friend, we lost a 1 year old in a freak accident, then we had a 18 year old cat pass away, all in the last year.

gee...did i just pick this weeks lotto tickets????

anyway, i'm sorry your going threw this, they are family, and it's funny how much you miss them. i bet most here can remember every dog they had, and how much fun they were.
hang in there, your doing the right thing....

We had to put down our yellow lab a few years ago. He was just old and wasnt able to get up anymore. Couldnt control himself and would just "go" while he was laying there. He was truly one of the family.

Im really sorry to hear about you loss, and just know that you are doing the right thing. Ive got a rottie and a shepp now and I think about it sometimes, I know that one day I will have to do it with both of them. Just hang in there....

Brian,
I feel for you. I had to put one down about 3 years ago after 14 years of partnership. She had lymphoia and lasted 6 months.

Here's a GREAT cainine cancer awarness web site that I support.

Look for Molly.

http://www.caninecancerawareness.org/html/FacesofCourageGallery.html

That sucks :sad:, I think were gonna have to put our rottweiler down soon. Hes 14 years old, which i guess is really old for that breed. Its gonna suck bad.

Im sorry about your dog...

Andrew

We've had four dogs and upteen cats put down over the years, always because they were old and in poor health. We were doing them a favour that we can't do for people who just suffer on. Too many people feel sorry for themselves and keep the poor suffering animals around for far too long. I guess being raised on a farm makes stuff like this a little easier.
Animal deaths were just part of life.

I understand your situation, I went through the same thing a couple of years ago with Jasper. Apparently healthy to diagnoisis to putting him to sleep in 6 weeks. Remember the good times and take solence that God's gifts to animals is that they have no concept of time or death, just day to day living.

Just have to muster up the guts to stand up & do the right thing for her.
Been there too, about 8 months ago we had to do the right thing for our 12 year old black lab.

Don't want to come across as being callous but it's not about you anymore, it's about her. I applaude your decision to do the right thing for her.

Dan

That's why I will not have another animal. It is just too hard to go through after a few times. Almost like losing a member of the family, well I guess you really are.
Sorry to hear this but you made the right decision. We can only hope someone is as humane to us when it's our time.

A super good vet told me that I should not feel bad about letting my 13 year old chow go when I did.This man LOVES animals.He said that he feels that they,our pets,in his opinion look foward to leaving.I know it sounds way wierrd but I believe him.You had to be there. Now 10 years later and my lab abby is getting there,I hate to think about it but I will not let her suffer,I hope.

:sad:

That's why I will not have another animal. It is just too hard to go through after a few times. Almost like losing a member of the family, well I guess you really are.
Sorry to hear this but you made the right decision. We can only hope someone is as humane to us when it's our time.


Someones gonna get that critter, might as well be you if you love em. At least you know they will be happy and taken care of while they are hear and will keep you happy, entertained and smiling - win / win.

Cant let the natural cycle of life dictate this kind of thing. If you did it would make no sense to make new friends, stay in touch with old friends, be happy about a family member having a new baby.....cause whats the point, we're all gonna die anyway.


I understand your point though. Hard to go through and if you dont have a pup you dont have to go through it. Building and maintaing a chevelle is also rough at times and not having one would mean you didnt have to do it. I guess point being dont let death control your living or the potential for pain, sadness and hurt to steer you away from happiness....we're all gonna get there eventually whether dog, cat or human.

Very sorry to hear about this 2guitars. Your staying strong, have it right and your doign the right thing hard as it may be. I'll have my pups salute yours when I get home tonight. :(

A super good vet told me that I should not feel bad about letting my 13 year old chow go when I did.This man LOVES animals.He said that he feels that they,our pets,in his opinion look foward to leaving.I know it sounds way wierrd but I believe him.You had to be there. Now 10 years later and my lab abby is getting there,I hate to think about it but I will not let her suffer,I hope.

i wish my vet had this approach. except for a freak accident last year, all my animals have lived far into thier late teens, and are well taken care of. every time i start to let him know it might be time to let one go, he looks at me like i'm killing a kid. i would rather my animals go to sleep with dignity, than be left on a table with thier guts everywhere, trying to stem the enevitable. when i had to put my wiemeriner down, we actually had words. i spent a week giving her the meds he said would make her better, i slept on the floor next to her, slipping spoon fulls of water down her, after a week, i just took her in, and said DO IT!

this guy is a great vet, but he doesn't know when to let go. i asked him, what good i was doing for a 15 year old dog? how much more could i get from her? a day, a week, a month? it's a horrible choice to make, but suffering is not an option. i keep saying, "no more" then some animal follows me to church, lands in my garage, or is abondoned on the street, and i'm just soft enough to make sure they get somewhere safe, either a rescue center, or my back yard.

the dog we have now, was starving, and i suspect used for sparring. but now she's safe, healthy, and part of the family......and when it's time to let her go, i'll be that 200+lb. blubbering idiot holding her till she sleeps.....

my 9 1/2 year old golden was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor in Feb. I knew this was coming but she has deteriorated despite meds a lot the past two days so we made an appointment with the vet for 6 so we could all be with her.

I did this less than ten years ago with my last golden. He was 13. Seems like it was last year.

Cancer sucks.

Not to sound heartless, but it really bothers me when I open a thread and read this stuff. Can't you guys keep it to yourselves? I'm fully aware that you're attempting to share your grieving with all of us here, but it simply bothers me to read it. Yes, and for some unknown reason, I do read it and can understand how you feel.

I can see the next round of posts coming and I believe it's gonna hurt.

I "killed" my dog a little over twelve years ago, and it still bothers me that I was constrained to do it. :sad:


Respectfully,
John R.

Been there, done that. My dad always said pets live long enough to work their way into your heart but never live long enough.

That is so true. I'm really sorry to hear about you loss :sad:

Well,

You're gonna think I'm weak but this dog perked up quite a bit around 4pm. This tumor is huge & it's killing her but she seemed so much better after two days of having to be picked up to go outside and not eating. Tonight she was looking for food so I gave her some grilled meat as a last meal & then went to the vet for the 6pm appointment. She continued to perk up on the trip and started acting like a normal golden.

My vet is super supportive & here's this dog behaving like a happy animal (though dying) & we (wife & 2 kids) went there to put her down but all agreed including the vet, to give her until the next time she crashed which he expected would be a few days given the aggresivness of the tumor.

I'm not kidding, if I had done it this morning, I would have felt as though I was doing her a favor, but tonight, I would be killing her.

So I chickened out for the moment but really, the turn around was very surprising. For now, she seems quite happy to be limping around but I will not let her suffer.

Sorry, I didn't mean to cry wolf. It's only temporary.

Brian, I've had 2 Golden Retrievers in the past. Lost the last one about 2 years ago and it was really hard. A few months later my daughter brought me home a yellow lab. Not a bad dog at all but I missed the Golden's personality. Well, a few months ago my brother saw a Golden Retriever at a pet store. My daughter asked if I would really want another dog. I said I would if it was a Golden Reteiver. So comes father's day and my kids got me a new little guy! He plays with the lab and he's a firecracker. I'm already seeing the mannerisms that I enjoyed with the previous Goldens. Hang in there and love her till its time.

We had a Dalmation that lived well past 15 years and had to put him to sleep in 2003. Around him becomming 12 or 13 years old. I chose to start prepairing myself for that day. I spent as much time as I could cause I knew that he may not be around for years to come. He had become blind, couldnt climb stairs because of arthritis, couldnt control bowels. I knew it was only a matter of time so I chose to prepare myself mentally. Finally one day I got home and my dad said he had to put Bandit down today. I was ticked at first that I didnt get to say goodbye but I think that may have been the best thing for me personally, I got through that much easier because of it. I still miss him. The vet said he was one of the oldest Dalmations they had ever seen when dad took him in. I was living at home at that time. My parents currently have a black lab and a mix of cocker spaniel and what else im not sure of but they are great dogs.

After all is said and done. Im thankfull to have owned dogs that have lived full lives. I cant imagine what it would be like to have a dog tragically pass way before his time.

Glad to hear you dog is feeling better. You didn't chicken out -- you did the right thing for a good friend

glad To Hear You Dog Is Feeling Better. You Didn't Chicken Out -- You Did The Right Thing For A Good Friend

X2


Respectfully,
John R.

Brian - you do what's right for you and your dog. Dogs and kids are probably the two best things about this big rock. I wish you the best.

Sorry for your loss.... My Golden/Shepard mix (12) was the hardest, but it was time.

Just sitting near me at this very moment , my 19 years old cat ...

One of those days , I know I'll have to go to the vet to take her asleep ...

We decided , my wife & I , 4 years ago , to take two more cats in the house , we're sure we will be crying when the old one will leave , we still will have the two others near us ...

I used to be a dog guy , but when I had to put down my last dog , I decided to quit having dogs , too painful when they have to leave ...

Regards ,

Laurent

Very sorry to hear about your dog, that is the ruffest part of animal ownership.
My Goldenlab/pit mix is going in for an expensive eye operation Monday morning to remove a mass growing on the white part of his eye, and we are hopeing all goes well. he is 9 and the greatest friend of ours.

I remeber when we put our yellow lab to sleep, probably the hardest night of my life, he was very disobedient but he had more personality then most people i know, it still effects our family and we still miss him
2 days later i bought my chevelle and i keep his dog tags on my keys as a dedication to him:thumbsup: