I HATE IT! Euthanizing my canine companion Dec 3

[fdcg27]

I was so glad that our Great Pyrenees died of natural causes in his own (our) house without our having to have him put down.
The dog had gotten to the point that he had great difficulty walking and he would have had to have been put down fairly soon.
He was a wonderful friend and guardian, especially when our children were younger.
He loved to run and he loved to play in the snow. This was a little irritating when walking with him after dark after a nice snow on a below zero night, since the dog was happy taking his time and pausing to roll in the snow while not really feeling the cold, while I would start to freeze.
You have my empathy as well as my sympathy.
A dog is truly a member of the family and any properly looked after dog knows this.

 

[slo town]

Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Scott.....I was wondering why the decision was made ... does Harley have a bad medical condition?.....

It's a variety of things. He has crazy high calcium levels in his blood, which is a cancer indicator.

He's also become increasingly incontinent over the last three months. He poops out one or two easy to cleanup logs while sleeping at night, starting once or twice a week but now he's doing it about 5 nights a week. We can tell he is embarrassed by it. Harley is an indoor dog - totally indoor. He has nice, clean beds throughout the house. He sleeps in our bedroom at night.

And over the last two months or so he's had situations where he cannot get up. His back legs are totally unresponsive and splayed out forward beside his abdomen. We lift him and steady him, and after a few minutes he can walk off, though a bit unsteadily. He has been unable to get up on his own two out of the last three mornings. One night about two months ago we heard him flailing on the bedroom floor. He had pooped and fallen on top of it. His back legs gave out and were totally unresponsive. The floor was "greased" with his poop, which made it worse because it was slippery. He was so panicked my wife and I thought he was going to have a heart attack. He was absolutely electrified with fear and confusion.

Lastly, his appetite is not normal. He eats his regular, twice a day meals like it's a race. He's always been a dinnertime gentlemen until recently. And his hunger never seems satiated. When we let him out to go potty before bedtime we have to find him in the backyard. He's now eating grass, dirt, rocks, and small sticks. He's even started to eat bathroom trash - and not what you think - he's eating hard stuff like plastic containers, stiff wrappers, floss, etc.

All this started about 3 months ago. The incontinence and inability to get up are probably related; some kind of neurological problem. The appetite/dietary behavior is probably cancer related.

Great Danes have relatively short lifespans, 7 to 10 years typically. Harley is 12 1/2, and for this breed he is a very, very old man. His age is about the only thing we find solace in. He has lived a very long, healthy, and happy life. He has been like a child to my wife and me.

Scott

 

[Whitewolf]

We are thinking about you this evening.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I dread this day.

I have three cats, two about 15 years old. Lost my beloved St. Bernard a couple years ago.

Excuse me, I need to hug one of my cats now.

 

[TxHeat]

It is one of the most difficult things you'll ever do, and you won't ever get completely over it.

We had a little Bichon for 15 years. I bathed her, clipped her, cleaned her ears, trimmed her nails, brushed her teeth! I brushed her coat every day for all those years!

She was my petit cherie. As I had taken her to her vet visits for so long, I took her that last time. I held her while the vet, who had come to be our friend, gave her a sedative, and then I held her while he gave her the final shot.

I cried like a baby. The vet cried. (I have tears in my eyes right now and that was five years ago.) But she was in peace. She didn't hurt any more. She no longer had to suffer the indignity of falling over while taking a drink of water or "doing her business". Or the worse indignity of all her "accidents" in the house.

You'll do what must be done, and if he could, Harley would thank you for your love and compassion.

Dogs are some of the best people I know.

Larry

 

[ClutchDisc]

So sorry for your loss! That is very difficult. My neighbors just had to put their dog down today. I had known the dog quite well and we all loved him. Even though he wasn't mine, it was still very difficult.

Take care!

 

[Number_35]

SLO Town -

Heartbreaking ... so sorry to hear of this.

We had to have Nug, our elderly female rescue pug put down in May. I held her while the vet did the injection. My wife, older son, and I were crying our eyes out.

Now we're busy giving her mate Deuce, 'the widower', lots of love. He's asleep at my feet as I type. His time will come, but I hope not for a few years yet.

I sure like to think the Rainbow Bridge thing is true, and they'll be waiting for us in the afterlife.

 

[Doog]

Man my heart goes out to you....I dread the day I have to do the same with my little buddy.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Always heartbreaking to a real lover of animals. Keep your chin up, and remember you did the right thing...

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: bornconfuzd
It is one of the most difficult things you'll ever do, and you won't ever get completely over it.
Larry


So true!

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
. . . I had a 12 year old Airedale that was my buddy...my pal....my boy. We had a relationship probably very much like you do with Harley. I still get a lump in my throat when I so much as hear his name (Ripley) or look at his little cremation box I keep at the side of my bed.

Hang in there....it is the right thing to do when it is time. Stay with him. He knows what's going on and will want to see you as he passes.

Take care and be strong.

My best wishes for SLO_Town, and for Harley. He'll no doubt be waiting for you in heaven when you get there. "Where've you been? When's dinner? Let's play!"

I too tend to keep my cats' cremation boxes, in my case on a bookshelf. One, the little tuxedo cat Oreo, is flanked by a ceramic figurine I found in a store that looks just like her. An exception to the "Keeping" rule was my big Maine Coon mix Arizona. His ashes are up in the Colorado mountains not far from Winter Park.

 

[Whitewolf]

I told my family and we are thinking about you today.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Yes, thinking of you ... knowing this will be difficult, but for the best. You and your wife obviously gave Harley the best life ever, and he knows it.

 

[SatinSilver]

You'll be ok and he won't be suffering at all anymore. It's the hardest part about owning a pet. Twelve years is a long life for a Great Dane since I thought their life span was 7. My brother just had to put their Boxer down because of a brain tumor and he was only 5. Put my cat down in July after 13 years. Much harder than I thought it was going to be. Play with some puppies, it takes the edge off. Take care.

 

[sleepery]

Sorry for your loss .It is a very sad thing to lose a loved pet . Doing the right thing is sometimes very heartbreaking .

 

[oldhp]

SLO-Town, Had you and Harley in my thoughts today. Hoping things went as well as they could. Beautiful Dog.

 

[slo town]

Y'all:

It's been done, this morning at about 11:15 Cali time. My wife and I were there with him to the very end.

Words here cannot fully express my appreciation for all of your kind words. Thank you very much.

Scott, Sue, and Harley

 

[cjcride]

God Bless

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: SLO_Town
Y'all:

It's been done, this morning at about 11:15 Cali time. My wife and I were there with him to the very end.

Words here cannot fully express my appreciation for all of your kind words. Thank you very much.

Scott, Sue, and Harley



My eyes are watering.

I mentioned our Shepherd a day or so ago, and the symptoms you described for Harley match his to a "T," including the desire to eat all sorts of rubbish. When the day came, my wife and I were both there and cradled him to the end. It was sad, but also a release for all of us.

Again, my sympathies.

 

[BreakerBreaker]

I'm sorry to hear, OP.

I don't even know what I would do or feel if my pets life came to this.