How do you know when it is “time”?
This has got to be the toughest thing to deal with when being a pet owner. How can you make the decision to say it’s time to put your dog and best friend to rest?
If you are someone who starts your relationship with your dog as a puppy you will go through some very exciting and some very frustrating experiences. And most certainly there are way too many times to count when you will say out loud or to yourself “she/he is SO cute!” Most likely some of the toughest decisions you will make are whether to crate train, how many days a week at doggie daycare ☺ or what to feed them. If you fall into the category of adopting your dog you will also come across some tough choices. Not knowing the history can be though when first bringing your dog into new situations with children or other dogs. There is certainly a lot of times when you may have to make tough decisions but, without a doubt, all the good times out weigh the tough times.
The same should also be said about making the toughest decision, when is it “time”? I am sure just about everyone who has to make that choice will have the thought cross their mind about not doing this again because of how hard and painful this decision is. I am going through this right now and I will say that it is awful! My best friend is sick and not doing well, she has a tumor near her brain. Nesta has been with me for 12 years and she is the reason I am doing the things I am doing with dogs. So I have nothing but thanks to her and will not be selfish in this process by keeping her going if she is uncomfortable and in pain. She is the reason I will always have dogs in my life and will dedicate my life to helping dogs and their parents have a happy and healthy life together.
Ok so how do you know when it’s time? I would say it’s only fair to your dog to be as unselfish as possible and make sure he/she is not living with pain. If your dog is not able to walk by itself and needs help going to the bathroom these are signs of diminishing quality of life. Our dogs can’t tell us when they are in pain or uncomfortable so we need do our best to watch for changes in them. It can be not wanting to eat as much or as often, not running to the door anymore, not wanting to get up to go outside, and just not seeming like there is much interest in anything anymore. Sometimes your Vet can help with this by diagnosing a sickness and sometimes they just get old… In the end it is your decision when it’s time to say goodbye and I just encourage you to remember all the good times you have had and to be fair to your dog.
“I have sometimes thought of the final cause of dogs having such short lives and I am quite satisfied it is in compassion to the human race; for if we suffer so much in losing a dog after an acquaintance of ten or twelve years, what would it be if they were to live double that time?”
~ Sir Walter Scott ~
”Hope is the feeling you have that the feeling you have isn’t permanent.”
~ Jean Kerr ~
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