(01-17-2016, 09:49 PM)Yojimbo Wrote: I had to euthanize my cat back in October, she had terminal kidney lymphoma. My vet took a completely different approach to the procedure. She came to my apartment, gave my cat a very strong sedative so she was almost unconscious and then was able to take her time finding a good vein

(01-18-2016, 12:37 PM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: Sorry to hear it, it's always very tough. Have solace that you were good parents and it couldn't ask for more.

I had to put my beagle down due to cancer at 14.

I remember calling the vet at 4 PM and saying can we have a couple more hours, she said sure. He wasn't moving for a couple weeks. He looked up at the sky and saw a bird fly, that was the biggest moment for him for a few days - so I knew it was time. I picked him up and put him in the car.

That was the first time I saw my mom cry, I was 31 at the time. She didn't come to the vet.

My Dad couldn't go in the room with him. So it was me and my sister. My dog was afraid. He stared at me for like 10 seconds and my sister says he was probably saying Thank You. I also agree, I will never forget the look on their face. I don't believe it's our emotions pressed into theirs, it's that moment everyone realizes what's happening. It is sad to think dogs can't speak a word of English but communicate better than most people. I remember telling him all of the good stories he created for us, stealing/eating an entire chocolate cake and living to talk about it, all of the socks he stole/tried to eat, etc.

I always kissed him on the nose, and he'd breath out really fast in response. After he was done, I kissed him on the nose and there was no reaction. He never wanted to be alone, so even after that, I had trouble leaving his body there by itself.

It was a month later we purchased a new beagle puppy who is nothing like him at all. It makes us appreciate him that much more, he was the perfect dog. He made me realize all the mistakes we made and we try to improve on with our new dog, for instance the new dog has a fenced in yard to run around in.

I worked at a Pet Insurance agency at the time, where people could bring their dogs in to work and I would see the word "Beagle" every day. It didn't make anything easier, I cried at work too. I think it took me a month to get through the hard stuff, but I still thought about him every day for a few months. It may take her a long time to get through it, but as anything else, time heals all.

The years of life before this occurs has to make up for the biggest gift you can give them back when the time is right. Remember that you treated them better than other owners may have not, so they were adopted into the right family, what more could they have asked for?

(01-19-2016, 03:20 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Man, this entire thread has been tough to read, but especially this post.

I have a beagle myself, and she's 13.  Up until recently I've tried to not even think about the day I have to make that decision.  But she's really started to show her age.  She's losing her hearing, which in and of itself is heartbreaking.  This was a dog who could hear a potato chip bag crumple from across the house, who now can't even hear me come in the house.  She's got a couple of lumps on her side, which I pray isn't cancer, but I know can't be good.  And I can tell she's having more and more trouble with arthritis.

She still moves pretty good, but it's in more and more limited doses.  She gets some pep when she wants to, but she pretty much sleeps all day.

But yeah, I know it's coming sooner than later.  And I'm not sure how my other dog is going to react either.  He's always had her around and he'll be alone for the first time ever.  I can't even imagine how much it's going to suck whenever it's actually time.  Like I said, I hate even thinking about it.

I do think that whenever the time comes I'm going to try to have the vet come to the house though.  My beagle absolute hates the vet and freaks out even when I pull into the lot.  So I would like to try to have her be as least anxious as possible.

Ughh.. Sorry to the OP and everyone else who's been through this.  ***** terrible.

(01-19-2016, 03:33 AM)Wyche Wrote:   She has some lumps too....but the vet said they were fatty deposits/cysts.  If your dog shows no pain with the cysts.....it's most likely the same thing. 

(01-19-2016, 03:55 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: My vet guessed that was the same thing with mine, I guess just by feeling them.  I made the decision to not even do a biopsy on them, which makes me feel like kind of dick, but still makes sense to me.  Even if they come back cancerous I wouldn't choose to try to treat it.  She's so old already and the last she had her round of shots that damn near knocked her out.  It's not a money issue as much as I don't want her to lose any quality of life or be in any unnecessary pain at this point.  But yeah, she shows no sign of pain from the lumps. 

Man, does she like to sleep nowadays though.  She's got made as far as that concerned.  Couches, doggy bed, my bed, she gets her pick.  And I think that's alone is something I can take comfort in.  All of us really.  The fact of the matter is that we all have likely provided a helluva life for our pups. 

(01-19-2016, 08:31 AM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: This is not to scare you, just part of my beagle's story. He had a checkup a week before and I asked what all the lumps were on him, she said fatty deposits.

A week later after having steroid medication for a rash on his foot, he was walking towards me and collapsed. The absolute worst thing was he did that on my birthday. I thought, I'll never have a good birthday again.

But I do! It definitely stung but it just gave me a connection with him that I won't forget. The doctors wanted 10K to operate. It was hard to tell him that he was 14, and beagles expectancy is only 15 - so it wasn't "worth" it. It's hard to say money is worth more than life, but his quality of life would have suffered.

One thing I will tell you, is to get your dogs orthopeadic beds. One of my sadder memories is he wasn't moving much and sleeping a lot, I decided to buy him 3 or 4 ortho beds. He went to each of them and slept on each of them throughout the house. He obviously wanted them. Get them an ortho bed.

When the time comes, the vet will ask if she/he is having more bad days than good. That is when you know. Also obviously eating/drinking, pooping OK. When dogs decide it's time, they will go outside and not come back in.

When we brought him home from the cancer specialists, he decided to sit outside in the rain in the front yard. I covered him with an umbrella and sat there with my sister. A van drove by full of kids and slowed down, stopped, stared, then kept driving. That was the most rude thing I had ever experienced in my life. As if the adults don't understand what was happening.

With my new beagle, we will not let her suffer. It took a long time for the whole family to come to a consensus that he had to be put to sleep (almost a month of suffering). My mom especially couldn't understand it, which was the biggest broken heart of all, I couldn't convince her.

(01-19-2016, 09:26 AM)Cure4CF Wrote: I actually just had to put down my 12 year old lab Shepard mix yesterday.  We had been putting it off forever but he started to yelp out of the blue so I knew I had to do it.  It sucked!  I'm still in kinda disbelief that he's gone and look for him if I walk into a room where he would normally be in certain spots.  Sorry to all that lost pets and to all that will.  It sucks hard!