Making A Difficult Decision About Your Pet

Adding a pet to your family (or simply to your life) is usually a happy occasion. Hopefully, you've done some background research & are intelligent enough to know whether or not you're choosing the "best fit" (cat? dog? which breed?) for your lifestyle as well as the animal's. 

So, you bond with your new friend, you play together, make sure s/he gets the appropriate veterinary care, nutrition. All is going well for the most part. Time goes by and (seemingly) all of a sudden you notice that 12 or more years have passed, and your once-spry dog is now having some trouble climbing the stairs he used to race up every day. Your cat is not as interested in playing and is losing weight. Now is when many veterinarians are asked, "How will I know when it's "time"?" 

No one wants their beloved companion to suffer, but we also don't want to act too hastily about something as irreversible as euthanasia. So, how DO you know when it's "time"?

Everyone wishes that their pets would, in the best-case scenario, simply die quietly, no suffering, in their sleep. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. We humans are the ones who have to be prepared to act in the best interest of our animal companions---that's part of The Contract we sign up for when we first bring them into our lives. 

Sometimes it's painfully clear that euthanasia is the most compassionate decision, such as when a pet has terminal cancer and is in pain, or after a severe trauma such as being hit by a car and is suffering serious internal injuries. But most of the time, it's not as clear. They're getting old, and they've developed health problems that affect their quality of life. 

"Quality of life" can mean different things for different animals as well as for different humans who are the ones who love their pet(s). Whenever someone asks me this question (How will I know?), I usually explain that THEY are the ones who know their pet the best, so they are the ones who should be able to tell if the scale is tipped one way or the other.

In other words, if your dog, Scotty, used to LOVE to go for long walks (or runs) with you every single day and now he's having difficulty getting up from lying down due to the arthritis that's worsened over the years, and even walking outside to the backyard is a struggle....maybe Scotty is not experiencing much joy anymore.

But I am not the one (nor should another person, unless they know your pet really well) who can decide if Scotty has a reason to wake up each morning. It's possible that Scotty never was much of an exercise fanatic, and the arthritis can be managed, for the most part, with some medication prescribed by your vet. Scotty might still enjoy simply laying in the sun or at your feet while you read, and his quality of life is not so bad.

It's something that, as our pets are getting older, we should be aware of watching for---the "signals" that will tell US whether or not we're being selfish & keeping our older/sick pets alive because we just can't bring ourselves to "lose them". It IS painful to suddenly not hear their toenails tapping on the floor, or seeing their leash or food dishes still where you left them...they're not coming home again, and it stinks. It hurts. You'll grieve...

But it is up to us to do the right thing when "The Time" comes. It is the last kindness we can do for our faithful, loving companions who've given us so much love & happiness during our time together. I usually suggest that people make a mental list of the things that THAT particular pet enjoys in life; these activities will probably be different for every single animal you'll ever have in your life, but YOU will know what they are if you're paying attention to the changes that will become obvious, even if you don't want to see them....and THEN "It's Time".

Naturally you'll want to check with your veterinarian about whether or not anything can be done before resorting to euthanasia. But ultimatly, the decision should be yours. And please, don't abandon him/her at that last minute---have the strength & compassion to hold or pet him/her as they're released from this life. YOU should be the last person s/he sees as the transition is made from life to death...it's the least you can do after all the good years you've spent together.

Dr. Paula Loniak

Vet-To-Pet

House Calls for Dogs & Cats

Athens, GA