Getting towards the end

[hoegaandit]

Unfortunately things are not getting better. I thought he had diarrhea but realize now it must be constipation, and it has gotten to the stage where I am having great difficulty in getting him to take his meds. (He is not eating much and won't take his meds in chicken, cheese or ice cream). That is a major issue as he suffers severe pain otherwise and snaps and cries when I pick him up. I am going to try some milk as I read that may be a laxative. (I've tried cooked pumpkin and soft canned dog food but he won't eat them).

He was up three times last night with his poo problems. We did not take him on his walk today as he didn't respond as he usually does when our other dog started jumping around excitedly when we got the leads. I am going to take him to the vet tomorrow (fortunately open on Sunday); it is possible that the present problems are just iatrogenic (caused by the tramadol) but still, overall it is very distressing that his life quality is now so poor and he is in pain now as I can't get him to take all his meds. I have alerted my grown up kids who shared their teenage years with him and they will be there with him if I do decide he needs to go.

 

[Cbrugs]

I am so sorry you are going through this. I type this at 3 am while I sit in the ER (again) with my French Bulldog Jax. I am of the opinion that at some point you have to think of THEIR quality of life.

Good luck with your decision.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[helsonwheels]

You mentioned.....”I have alerted my grown up kids who shared their teenage years with him and they will be there with him if I do decide he needs to go.” It’s a decision nobody wants to face. But his quality of life isn’t there anymore. Sadly, Aibou knows what has to be done. Knowing what has to be done and to do it, it’s so not the same. My thoughts are with you n Aibou.

 

[hoegaandit]

Thanks for comments - and CBrugs and Jax - hope you are ok.

Took him to the vet who put him on a drip, antibiotics and a pain injection, and stayed on for an hour past their closing so that was nice. This vet thinks he has pancreatitis, so was not constipation but the pancreas etc not processing the food properly (and very painful). She said that if we wanted they could try and treat him but as his case is severe he would need to at least be at the vets during the day for five days straight on a drip. Also she could not be sure he would come right.

I feel his time has come. He is sedated and sleeping quite peacefully back home now, but I just can't put him through again what he has gone through the past few days (especially as he stopped eating/taking his meds and pain meds). Also he has always been distressed whenever he was away from the family (as he was never away for the first 7 or so years of his life); he was even howling the first time he was ever away for an op, when we went to pick him up, and would take 1/2 - 3/4 an hour to settle down whenever we picked him up from kennels - so he is unlikely to handle separation adequately, even if sedated. Even if the vets did get on top of the pancreatitis it seems to me that his overall health is such that other issues will arise and his quality of life be too compromised.

The vet who saw him a couple of weeks back indicated that it was better to euthanize sooner rather than later, so he won't suffer. Also I am mindful of a number of human deaths of close relatives (no euthanasia legally allowed in this country) where there has been suffering. I don't want any more of that for Aibou. The vet today pointed out that it is a kinder way to go (and he has the catheter in his arm now so it would hopefully be a quick and painless process.

Posters on this thread have said I will know when it is time. I feel it is time now, and have 95% made the decision that he will be euthanized tomorrow - which we can also do at home, probably best as that will be most comfortable for him. It gives time for my adult kids to come over too to say goodbye.

 

[Manydogs]

Comforting prayers go out to you. A difficult decision,but when you feel the time is right,it is. The best thing is that he will be at home with his family.

 

[hoegaandit]

Well Aibou has gone now, after 12 years of an often rambunctious life. He had stopped eating and in the last couple of days was very weak but did not seem too uncomfortable when medicated, which thanks to a tip on this forum to give meds with ice cream did mean I was able to keep giving meds to the end. We would've preferred that a vet came to our home to euthanize him, but as they could only come tomorrow, we did manage to carry him up to the car and put him on a mattress to take him to the vet today. He was basically sleeping peacefully all the time he was in the car and in the vet. There the vet gave him a sedative through the catheter already in his arm, which seemed to send him deeper into sleep. She then gave him the injection to kill him, and after about a minute said his heart was slowing down, and then that his heart had stopped and he was dead. I shed a few tears, and said goodbye to my best friend of the past twelve years.

Thank you to all the posters on this thread. I will write up his life when I get the chance.