The Diane Rehm Show

I think each situation is different. Fifteen years after an obviously maltreated (and therefore extremely claustrophobic) large mix-breed puppy arrived at my home and decided he lived here it was fine because we are rural and by leaving our garage doors open and giving him a bed there he thrived. He was a great big friendly oaf who at the same time greeted friends and by his size discouraged strangers until an OK was given. Our vet saw him every time he was here for our horses. Then came the time we saw rectal bleeding. The verdict was either possible surgery that would have meant caging and the stress of that with only a slight suggestion of success at age 15 or doing what we did. One evening the vet arrived, played with him and after that I sat on the ground and his big hulk flopped on my lap while the vet made his injection. When I compare that to his going under some bush alone and dieing from the blood loss
I find it far better. You?

I look forward to listening to the show today as I count the hours down to my cat's final vet visit today. Cats get cancer too. I grew up with cats and I am no stranger to animal loss. Today will be the 5th time I've had to euthanize one of my cats. It does not get any easier! I repeat to myself it is the quality of life not quantity...atleast that is how I try to justify it to myself. Putting an end to her suffering is the last gift I can give to her.
jeff

I have dogs, and have participated in lots of terminal dog events, natural and euthanasia. I recognize most of the stuff about dog awareness and emotion that I perceive in my precious pets is projection of my feelings rather than objective truth. I respect others rights to their feelings, but please keep this in perspective. Making healthcare decisions about your spaniel is qualitatively different than making similar decisions about your aunt. It is perfectly legal, and perfectly ethical to treat pets as livestock, making healthcare decisions about healthcare based upon the ability of the pet to function.

She's describing exactly what I did. I kept my dog alive (17 years) when she couldn't even walk sometimes, couldn't hear, could barely see, and when I took her in for a skin condition, her doctor took one look at her and just said 'you know she's past her time, don't you?' I just thought that was how dogs aged. But I feel bad now for the years when the younger dogs raced circles around her and she couldn't do anything about it. :(

As to animal's ability to understand impending death....I was a hospice nurse and saw many signs of both cats' and dogs' ability to understand their owner's death. I witnessed first hand changes in an animal's behavior as their owner's death drew closer and closer. My own father passed away in a hospice facility and the resident cat who had a reputation for entering the rooms of those patients who were near death did indeed try at one point (and the only time it tried to do this) to enter my father's room at which time we shooed him away. Within the next 30 minutes my father passed. I think they have a keener sense of death than we do

This is a welcome topic today. I have been struggling for the past couple of months with what to do about my cat, who is going on 15 years. She came with me to the home of my 92 year old mother-in-law who has dementia, when I took on her fulltime care following the death of her husband of 65 years. My cat has been the best companion, displaying an intuitive nature that lets me know when something is not right, but which I may not have noticed yet, and providing me such comfort at the end of many long and difficult days. So, in this house of three older females (I am 62), we learned together how to do this dance of aging and coming to grips with end of life issues. A few weeks ago my cat began displaying signs that she will not be with me much longer, and I will miss her terribly. The comments regarding the comparison of end of life options for humans and animals is particularly timely, and I hope we can look forward to more discussions on the topic of providing more humane and compassionate choices for both people and animals.

Thank you for covering this topic today. In no way am I disagreeing with the above response of quick digression of a birds health, my cockatiel( not a particularly large parrot) was 13 when he passed away. His quality of life decreased quickly but he seemed to hold on for about a month until I verbalized that It was ok to go. I know birds are smart but it was probably better for me psychologically.

That was several months ago but I had to stop driving home due to my sobbing. Thanks again.

I had to put down my 18 year old daucshund in August. I suggest that people who must euthanize their dogs read "Good Dog. Stay." by Anna Quindlen. It really helps to understand that it's the kindest thing to do.

My partner and I have six Wonderful pet rats Who frankly we call our daughters. A perfect family pet they are exceptionally affectionate very intelligent and comically mischievous At times. However over the Years we have lost many due to their short lifespan - Roughly 3 years For a healthy female rat - And to other a ailments like cancer and Fast-growing mammary tumors Which are very common in female rats. When one of our rats get Sick we stop at nothing to promote their long life health and well-being Just as any parent would further child. But during times when things are not looking well or when our rat is dying it's exceptionally hard as any pet owner know. Sometimes what makes it harder is that my partner and I can tell that they know their time is coming and in response to that they almost seem to become more affectionate and Cling more to us during that time for comfort it's their way of communicating to us I think that I love affection appreciation for us comfort for us. Someone once asked me would I rather not have pets so I didn't have to go through the grief and watch such wonderful living creatures die over time and my answer was no. I feel every moment with them as a precious moment and I cherish every moment with them it's an amazing connection we have. -ari in Grand Rapids michigan

I am in the awkward position of being the "stepmom" to an elderly, failing dog. She is deaf, her lower back and back legs are too weak to support her, and she is increasingly incontinent, but my husband, who has had her for 16+ years, will never be ready to make that decision for her end of life. Having been through this myself with a much-loved dog, I understand. It feels selfish to keep her going with her diminished quality of life, but I don't know how to tell my husband that I think it's time. Suggestions?

I agree that every situation is different. However, I believe that sometimes people euthanize for convenience. The dog is getting older and can't run like it used to run, so time for it to go. I lost three of my elderly dogs this year, two at 15 and one at 17. For me, walking a little slower or adapting for their sight or hearing issues was worth it to continue to have their companionship. I did have to euthanize 2 of them, both for serious health conditions that were becoming increasingly painful and would have gotten worse. For me, the only acceptable reason to euthanize is to limit pain. Too often I think suffering is merely projection. I also don't consider my dogs livestock. I consider them pets and members of the household.

It gave deep peace to euthanize my beloved cat at home. I could not save him but at least give him a peaceful passing without the stress of going to the vet.

I scheduled with my vet but he had to cancel due to family issue so He suggested to bring him in the office and squeeze the euthanasia between appointments.
Almost in hysteria - I called a friend who referred me to Angel's Paws. They helped me go through this experience with peace and calm. They provide hospice care, euthanezia at home, and single pet cremation service that it could customize.

I am very grateful to them.

Our 17 year old Jack Russell Terrier passed away just 1 month ago. The first 24 hours of him letting go were the hardest for us because we were not ready to accept that it was time for letting go and transitioning to hospice care for our old man. When we accepted that it really was his time we were able to change the way we were caring for him and just focus only on his comfort and not on nursing him back to health. It was an extremely difficult transition for us and I wish at the time we were better prepared to change our focus of providing care. He died during the night with the whole family snuggled around him. I am thankful we were able to be there for him and with him as he passed away. I wish that along with sit, stay and come (not that he actually listened) puppy training that we had given more thought to his end of days and were better prepared for knowing when it was time for hospice care.

I loved my Barney - an amazing friend of over 10 years. No one could tell me what went wrong with him., not cancer, not Lymes, still unknown. Nearly $8,000 in vet bills in about two weeks due to tests, CtScans, doggie intensive care, etc.

I did not have pet insurance. There is no medicare for older dogs.

My inability to make that decision cost me what little savings I had.
Having been there, I would never ever judge another for a decision at end of life. There is no right answer, only what you can live with.

I have a 16 year old hound dog lab mix who is a great joy. I know he knows death. A few years ago, he was staying with my 99 year old grandmother while I was overseas. She passed away one night in her sleep, and he stayed with her laying on her bed until they took her away. He never wondered where she went.
He is still very spry and I am committed to keeping him as long as I can. Though he isn't the same as he was when young, I so appreciate his quiet qualities now, due to age, and wouldn't think of putting him down if he just didn't seem what he once was.

Thanks, Amanda West