When my last dog had cancer and treatment wasn’t working they said when she stopped eating, it was time. It was incredibly painful because she was all there mentally, not even a senior yet. Dogs (and cats) hide their pain incredibly well; this poor boy is in more pain than he appears, which is already a lot. Just because they can still experience happiness doesn’t mean it isn’t time to go.
I would recommend googling "at home pet euthanasia" for your area. When I had to say goodbye to my old pup last year we used a wonderful service called Lap of Love, and my dog got to pass on her favorite bed in her favorite spot, pretty much completely unaware that anything out of the usual was happening. Then when we were ready the vet took the body with them and a couple weeks later delivered the ashes to my usual vet office.
It was definitely more expensive than having them put down the normal way, but so beyond worth it to me and I very much recommend it.
It was definitely more expensive than having them put down the normal way, but so beyond worth it to me and I very much recommend it.
100%. I went through this in the last year and I took a lot of peace from the process. My dog didn't have a moment of anxiety and there was a... dignity to it. I don't regret the cost at all. His final moments being at home with the sun on his face and the sound of children in the neighbor's yard... worth it.
I also had to put my 15 year old baby down this past December. It was a difficult decision but she spent her last moments surrounded by her family and being held by me... I'll hold on to that memory for the rest of my life.
I know exactly what you mean, for as terrible as it was saying goodbye I really can not imagine a more peaceful end for any creature, and that has been a great source of comfort for me during the grief process.
I felt the exact same way. The cost was more than worth it if it meant she could pass in my lap at home comfortably and I didn't have to drive immediately afterwards.
I tried to move mountains for that dog. When the time came, the least I could do for her was get her a nice boat to travel comfortably to the other side.
I think I paid $800 total, with about $300 of that being for the optional cremation service (they also offered to either just take the body or let me bury it myself for no extra charge). All in all it was roughly twice as expensive as my normal vet would have been and I'd pay it again in a heartbeat. I also live in one of the highest cost of living areas in the US, so it might be cheaper depending on where you live.
They do, but our vet has a "rainbow room" that is set up like a living room with couches, rugs and candles that they use for euthanasia. We were able to hold our old guy while sitting on a couch. It was actually better in the long run since I didn't have to associate part of my house with the procedure.
There are traveling vets who do house calls for euthanasia. We called one for my childhood cat when he 'told' us it was time, and it was very peaceful.
Yes, I had this recently. They charged $4/km of travel on top of the euthanasia, it wound up being about $700 all up. I waited too long and she was very uncomfortable and not herself in her final hours, but I was able to bring her out into the sunshine and sit with her in the grass as we said goodbye, and her final minutes weren’t spent in the cage in the car on the way to the vet.
I'm bawling. Lost one of my childhood dogs seemingly out of nowhere a few months ago. Took him to the vet they ran blood work cleared him (although im now skeptical) and shortly after he suddenly passed on now I feel we didn't do enough 😭🥺
We just put both of our dogs down last Thursday. They were 10 and 12 and although we already had the appointment scheduled, they had no appetite the day of. It just confirmed it for us even more. We let them sit out back enjoying the sun and the breeze for hours and even then just looking at them you could see how tired they looked. It’s such a hard decision but at the end of the day it’s better than them being in pain.
Yeah I waited until my cat stopped eating and even that felt like it was too late, there were a plethora of issues that I learned about at that appointment, I beat myself up sometimes about how if I weren’t so selfish I could’ve saved her a lot of pain and discomfort. But at the end of the day you do the best with what you’ve got, and even if you wait too long I’m certain our pets know it’s done out of love not apathy
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u/FearlessPudding404 25d ago
When my last dog had cancer and treatment wasn’t working they said when she stopped eating, it was time. It was incredibly painful because she was all there mentally, not even a senior yet. Dogs (and cats) hide their pain incredibly well; this poor boy is in more pain than he appears, which is already a lot. Just because they can still experience happiness doesn’t mean it isn’t time to go.