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We Put Down Our Dog On August 25Th


Cneil99

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Sunday August 19th my wife and I noticed an issue with our dog, Neo. He was a Boston terrier pug cross. He was the youngest of our three dogs. Anyways we left him in the kennel that Sunday to rest cause we thought he pulled a muscle or something. Later that night I let him out and he was walking wobbly almost like he was drunk. I immediately got scared and my wife took him to an emergency vet. The vet spent around 5 mins with him and gave my wife some medication and said he was to be on strict crate rest. We did that hoping for an improvement but nothing so on Wednesday my wife took him back to the vet. They took X-rays and said he had an issue with a vertebrae in his back and referred us to a surgeon. We called the surgeon and made an appointment for August 28th. Friday came and our poor dog couldn't even use his back legs so we took him to the surgeon as an emergency. That's when we got the awful news. Our dog was basically paralyzed and the surgery would cost upwards of $7000. There was also a chance it could be a clot but the only way to tell was a $3000 CT scan, but chances were remote. The surgery had a 5%-30% chance of working along with the usual risks. My wife and I were devastated. We would have done anything to save him but by that point we were basically too late. We made the heartbreaking decision to put him down. It was the toughest decision of my life but we thought it was best for our dog. I hate myself for it. I also hate that money was a factor. We both loved our dog very much and now he's gone. I have a lot of guilt for not acting sooner. I feel like I let him down. He was a special dog. Today is the 3rd anniversary of us adopting him. He was only 4. I will forever wonder what if. I'm also upset with the vet for their lack of urgency with the situation. They were an emergency vet clinic, why was my dog not deemed an emergency. Had the surgeon gave him better odds we would have done the surgery, but the odds were against him. I feel had we brought him in sooner he'd still be here today, and for that I am ashamed. I miss him like crazy, and our 2 other dogs lost their good friend.

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First, PLEASE let go of the choices that were made. You and the vet did the best you both could (and I LOVE the emergency vet on Cactuse and 4St in Phoenix of the I-51) I had my beloved Thunder that I helped birth that I had taken in and the regular vet told me was arthris,when 5 mnths later was actuall a football size tumor that was wrapped around the lungs and heart. I was insanely overcome with grief and anger at that.

It is kust that it is never enough time, and when it is short we wish we gave them more. My dog June was a rescue that I got from Best Friends and turned into a therapy dog in under 30 days when she had been unadoptable. Ironically, we had just gone thru Hospice of the Valleys Pet connection training when she was diagnosed with cancer - lymphoma. I also had her for suck a short time.

Can you focus instead on how WONDERFUL that Neo got to know your love? Think about the suffering he would have gone through that you saved him from. Now THAT is love, to chose to end their suffering rather then keep them alive for us (which they hare happy to do!) Do not confuse grieving for his loss with anger and sadness with the ending. I feel absolutly certain that we KNOW the truth of their condition deep inside, that there us a dialog between us and the dog on a very deep level as to what is going on and when to let them go. I also believe that dogs do not feel about death what we do, waitng joyfully for us at the rainbow bridge, ready to visit us when we are ready to let go of our grief to feel them next to us.

I know that words cannot ease your grief but know you are in such good company!!!

I am so sorry for your loss.

CJ

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I am so sorry you had to lose your beloved dog. That is one of the single hardest decisions one can be put in the position of having to make. Having made it, try not to look back and second guess yourself or the vet, which does no good, but like CJ said, try to focus on the good that you brought into this dog's life by adopting him.

My husband and I were only married 3 years and 8 months when he suddenly died of a heart attack. I could beat myself up for not pushing him to get a different doctor who might have taken his symptoms seriously, I could be bitter that we didn't get more time together, but the truth is, we aren't allotted a certain number of years, it's us that think we are entitled to it. But we have no such promises. We might have a short life or we might have a long life, and it doesn't seem to go by averages either. Instead I choose to focus on the love we shared, the wonderful, albeit short, time that we had together. My husband lived more in the time we were together than in all of the rest of his life! I'm sure it was that way for your dog. I wish money was no issue, but it is. This last year as I was out of work all year (and am still underemployed) I had to make decisions I didn't want to have to make...I had to pick and choose what I spent money on. I have a cat that could use expensive diagnosing, but I can't afford it, so instead I do the best I can. She's 17 and not likely to be adoptable, so whatever life I give her is better than she'd have w/o me. It's hard, we hate it, but we can only do our best.

Your dog knew you loved him, and he loved you back. You may have only had a short few years together, but they were undoubtedly the happiest years of his life. I'm so sorry you have to go through the missing him, and your other dogs do too.

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Thanks I thought putting my situation down would help healing and understand how others cope. It's been a few days since I lost my friend but it's getting a bit easier but I'll always have some sadness and regret in me for not taking him to the emergency hospital sooner.

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I understand. I'm not sure they could do anything other than spare him the last bit of his life. At least, that's how I felt when my cat George died. He was 19 and he got cancer, but the hospital I took him to didn't diagnose him properly, just sent him home with antibiotics, which did no good. I live in the country and our vet only comes to town once a week, so when he came to town next, I took my cat in and that's when I found out. Sometimes these old country vets have seen everything and know what the younger ones in the city miss. I feel bad that I hadn't had George put to sleep a month sooner, the misdiagnosis threw me off, I really wish I could have spared him the pain and misery he endured. But all in all, even with tremendous pain and suffering, he relished the love showered on him at the end of his life. I will always miss him and it's been over six years. I never thought I'd get so close to a cat since I'm basically a dog person, but George was special, he was our greeter, and so self assured, we called him "King George" because even with his hump nose, halitosis, and dandruff, he strutted like he was God's gift to the world and meowed out orders to the dogs. :)

Our pets are so special...

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