When you are a pet owner...
 

It is almost inevitable that your pet will die before you do. So, when you have to take your pet to the vet for a humane, pain-free ending, I want you to know something: You have been the center of their World for THEIR ENTIRE LIVES!!! They may be just a part of yours, but all they know is you as their family.

And I beg you: DO NOT LEAVE THEM! Do not make them transition from life to death in a room of strangers in a place they don't like. The thing that most of you need to know but don't know is that THEY SEARCH FOR YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE THEM BEHIND!!!

They search every face in the room for their beloved master. They don't understand why you left them when they are sick, old, scared, or dying from cancer, and they need your comfort.

Don't be a coward because you think it is just too hard for you; imagine what they feel when you leave them in their most vulnerable time. and the vet is left to try to do his best to comfort them, make them less scared, and try to explain why you just couldn't stay.

Have had to do the final with a lot of my pets. Have one right now (Maine Coon Cat) that is in the last stages of a untreatable kidney disease. He is not in pain but has lost a lot of weight an cannot jump no more. He is still eating and drinking and sleeping OK. We believe in quality of life and know his end is getting very close and we will be there at the vets.

When we put our chocolate lab down, we had the Vet administer the drugs to him in the back of our SUV. We then drove him to the cremation society to ensure we knew we were getting our own pet back.

I have never and will never take one to the vet to be put down. Why would you put a loved one though this. Their last moments on earth in a scary place. I have always had the vet come to them so they are as comfortable as possible. :sadangel:

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I stayed with our Haley,rubbing her head as she went to sleep.....was very sad but she was then out of pain.

The only time a pet breaks your heart is the day they say goodbye.:sadangel:

we've lost 3 pets over the years. first was my MIL's doggy, was running in her backyard, fell over dead. i went and buried Sammy.

next was Mrs. DAB's long time cat. he got old, went blind/deaf, and she took him to the vet to be put down. a sad day for her.

then we inherited my MIL's next doggy, Rosie, and she came out to NM with us, really enjoyed her freedom of being off leash, and one night i let her out to do her thing, as i had many times before (and she normally barked 'let me back in' after about 5-10 min), and she never came back. pretty sure the coyotes got her, as her hearing was failing.

and now we have Leah

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who got bit by a coyote about a month ago, so now she is either on the leash with me in the AM and late PM, or i'm with her on our walks, with my pistol on my hip, to chase off coyotes.

one day, Leah will get too old to do doggy stuff, so i'll deal with that day then.

old timers would take their sick or injured animals out to the far pasture and put one round thru their skull to put them out of their misery quickly. but now we have gone the route of fast acting drugs administered in a clinical setting.

This topic makes my heart hurt and my eyes tear up.

I am very fortunate in that my vet will come to the house to provide this service.

I have been at the side of many of our pets over the years, no way could I just leave them

Legitimately one of the hardest things I've had to do is put down our bulldog. I stayed with her and loved on her until she passed. Love and miss that dog.

DAMMIT!!!!

Had to put my best friend down in May. 15 years old Boston Terrier. Was with me before my kids. Our first born about a year after we got married. It was HELL.

I cannot imagine not being at my pet’s side when that time comes. Have had to do it multiple times over the years and it never gets any easier. We have a geriatric Tonkinese cat who is suffering from kidney disease and probably won’t be around much longer. But if the time comes where her quality of life deteriorates too badly, there is no way I will not be with her at the end

One of the hardest things I had to do was put my buddy Cabo down. I was with him and unfortunately he did not go peacefully, which is still upsetting to me. I am glad I was with him.

We have had many pets over the years. Every one of them we have been with them until and after the end. Our last couple the vet came to the house to end the pain. It never gets any easier with them. They are our family and it is heartbreaking each time we have to say goodbye.
When we eventually have to say goodbye to the two Berners we have, I'll probably be the biggest cry baby in the world. These two have stolen our hearts from the first picture we saw of them. We know their life span is short and we ensure their time with us is the best it can be.

I just went through this on 11/3 with Cosmo...feels like yesterday still. :sad:

I held his paw, gave him hugs/kisses/pets, and sang to him as he left...although he was asleep beforehand anyway, hopefully he knew I was there with him as he passed. :sadangel:

This holiday season isn't the same without him. :(

A few years ago my eleven year old Chow (Puta) passed unexpectedly. It was very peaceful. She simply lay down on the patio one sunny afternoon and went to sleep. I cried the whole time I buried her in my back yard.
July a year ago we lost our eleven year old Lab, Sandy. We had been out of town and when we came in she wasn't at the gate waiting as usual. I walked around the back yard and found her lying behind one of one storage buildings, unable to stand. I carried her up to the patio. I stayed with her for over four hours as she passed at about 2:30 am. The whole time I kept talking to her, telling her what a good girl she was and stroking her head. I buried her the following morning next to the spot where I buried my Chow fourteen years before.
Our Jack Russel (Lil Bit) is now ten years old and has asthma. She is a little slower than she used to be and sometime has trouble breathing, wheezing for a few seconds. Treatment works most of the time but the occurrences have become more frequent. I'm afraid she may get worse and before too long I will have another pet to say goodbye to.
All three of these dogs have lived their whole lives in this back yard. The Lab passed during the night so I wasn't forced to have to make the decision to take her anywhere for her final moments. Not sure I can do it with Bit. Guess I will see when the time comes.
That Chow was the best damn dog I ever had. While I have loved the ones that followed I never allowed myself to become near as close to them. I still miss her.:seasix: