Pet euthanasia - to do it or not

 

Two my best friends are very sad now, their pets died this month. Julie was a great dog, loving and faithful, and my friend will remember her all his life.  Mister C was a special cat who loved to sit on my friend`s computer as she played computer games. I know that Mister C – the C is for cool by the way –  also will be surely missed.

If you’ve never loved and lost a pet, well than I don’t know whether to be happy for you or sad. The love of a pet is one of the most special relationships a person can have. I’m sure you have heard of at least one study that concludes people, especially older folks living alone, live longer when they have a pet. 

      

As you mostly likely know if you’ve followed this blog, my first dog Ilan was a very special pet. Ilan got me through a bad break up and the loneliness that followed. But Ilan had health issues, and a lot of them. He almost died when his Addisons Disease went undiagnosed and he collapsed. Thankfully the good doctors saved him. A few years later he came down with Diabetes Insipidus and he ultimately died of complete liver failure. Ilan did not live a long life, but he surely enriched mine. 

                               

When is the right time to euthanize your pet? We as dog and cat owners are plagued with the ultimate responsibility for our pets health. They can’t tell us when they are in pain. They can’t tell us that their quality of life makes life no longer worth living. As I struggled with Ilan’s health in those final days I remember well what our Vet said to me. He said that it was my responsibility to put him down when it was the right time for Ilan, not for me. He explained how he had seen countless pet owners who fail to do the right thing because they selfishly keep the pet around for themselves, not for the good of their pet. I made the right decision, for Ilan, no matter how much it hurt at the time.

Immediately after I lost Ilan, I thought I’d wait some time before getting another dog. I lasted two months. Although Ilan meant the world to me, the house was just too quiet and lonely without a dog around. I found Tana at the pound and brought her home. She’s been a member of our family ever since. A most spoiled member of the family I might add.

                 

It’s a fact of life that we out live our pets. The average life span of a dog is 12.8 years. We live much longer than that and can expect to outlive numerous pets through the course of our lifetimes. Treasure each pet that comes and goes in your life, for however brief the moment.

As I’m trying to write this, Emma’s head is on my keyboard and I can barely type. One day she will be gone and I will remember this moment, probably shed a tear (or bawl outright), but I will always hold dear her sweetness, her playfulness, her loving spirit.

              

As for Tana, she will most likely go first, but for now I will enjoy every day with my 4 legged children. They brighten my days and comfort my nights.

I’d love to hear your stories of your treasured dogs, ones that are here today and ones that have moved on to the great dog park in the sky.          

Leave your comments below. And thanks for loving your dogs like they were family – because of course, they are!