So do you REALLY know when it's time?

Thanks Jean, I actually copied & printed those questions. They make a lot of sense & help more than you can know.

Right now the answer to the first four is yes. The answer to 5 is also yes, but not all the time. I suppose that's what I'm waiting for. That or an inability to move around without help.

But I saw something different in her eyes today. We're having that talk tonight. Whether she understands or not maybe I will feel better telling her if she's ready, she can go.
 
No answer for you Laura. You've gotten some good ones. Just some hugs and a pat for Cosmo. I'm not looking forward to the day you post the sad news....
 
Laura - more {{{{HUGS}}}} from another dog lover who will be devestated when it's time for her pet to go. No advice, just wanted to let you know that you and Cosmo are in my thoughts and prayers.
 
Well Laura I thought I would pop in here and give you an update on mine. You know the saying "Be carefull what you wish for" I should have thought of that before I posted that I hoped they found something in the blood test, because they did. I finally got in touch with the vet on my way home from work. Her liver numbers show something wrong is going on with her liver or gall bladder which the vet says would relate to the recent bout of vomiting. Of course without further testing they won't know if it's treatable. So dh and I will have sit down and talk about our options. If it is treatable, then we have to decide if the treatment will affect her other health conditions.


My heart goes out to you and everything you are going through with Cosmo.

Jean
 
LM:

I don't know if this will help at all, but I asked my vet and a pet grievance counselor about this when my Springer Freddie was nearing the end of her life. The big question is really one of quality of life. They said to think about the 10 favorite things Freddie did, and to think of how many of them she could still do.

It really is so hard to make the decision for our loved ones when they can't really speak to us about their wishes.

My heart goes out to both you and dear Cosmo, and I truly wish only peace in your heart around this very difficult decision.
 
Laura,

I'm sorry you're going through this it's hard. We lost two older dogs this past year. Mandy was 16 and had been showing signs of aging for a while but was doing relatively ok till last fall. She did go downhill fast after she became incontinent though so Cosmo's time may be soon. Our other dog we lost suddenly this summer. Austin was only 12 and was doing really well until he started hemorrhaging internally. At his age the most likely cause would be inoperable cancer and so we had to have him put down. I think we let Mandy go a little too long but but my hubby was having a hard time with it and didn't want to put her down. He couldn't bring himself to see how miserable she was and I had to push the issue. He got really nasty at first but when he calmed down and took a good look at her he saw I was right. It was really hard losing both dogs in less than a year. Both times we had to step back from our emotions a bit and evaluate what's really best for the dog and not how much we'd miss them to make the decision. Not easy by any means.

Diana
 
Hmmmm Cosmo's 10 favorite things:

10. eat
9. eat
8. eat
7. cuddle
6. eat
5. poop
4. lie around
3. eat
2. lie around some more
1. eat

She's still doing well with all of the above. :)

She was a little better this morning (I had about 4 hours sleep on the couch b/c I got home AFTER FREAKIN MIDNIGHT but that's an entirely different rant about my job), but she's still hobbling a bit more than she was a few days ago.

Guess I'll stick w/the couch & see what happens. Hoping I can give her decent quality of life for a little while longer.......
 
Laura Max,

I can only share as others have . . .

I had my first dog that was truly mine from a puppy. She was lovely, energetic, a great mother to two wonderful litters, the best dog you could have.

She got to the point where she couldn't see, find her bowl, make it outside to "do her duties" and finally couldn't even stand to be touched so I could pet her.

Until that time she seemed to still "enjoy" being with us. When I couldn't even pet her (one of our animals favorite things), without her cringing, I made the decision that she probably wasn't enjoying her life anymore. It seemed the joys of most typical dogs had left her.

Wow was it tough and you can see I held out until the end. ;(

It is good that she is doing better - I thing the quality of life is as important for animals as it is for humans.

I hope for you that things stay the same or get better for a long while.
 
Well when I went home for lunch yesterday she was lying in yet another big old pile of poop. It's so sad for her. And so yucky for me!

Diana, when you say incontinent, was Mandy just pooping in the house or peeing too? Cosmo's only peed in the house once & she does drink an awful lot w/the prednizone, so you'd think if she was totally losing control she'd be peeing a lot too.

I think she might make it thru the holidays, but I don't think she'll make it much further than that. During the last few weeks I keep having these memories of her when she was younger pop up--you know, the head sticking out the passenger side window & tongue blowing in the wind (she can't even get in the car anymore), the wagging tail knocking ornaments off the tree when I walked in the front door (she doesn't even get up anymore when I walk in), all the goofy, mischevious stuff she used to do. It's so hard to see her this way.

But on the other hand, she's still eating, drinking & walking around, & she does still seem happy, so I just don't think it's time.
 
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