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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 14,488
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 14,488 |
Sorry you're going through this. KC. I know how hard it is.
Don't be the darkness.
America will perish while those who should be standing guard are satisfying their lusts.
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,241 Likes: 3
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,241 Likes: 3 |
Went through this last April. My GSP Max had a knot come up on his hip and foot. He was 11 years old. Vet said we could biopsy but odds are it was cancer. We let it run its course. When Max started not eating well and started losing weight, I made the call. No need to waste away. At that point, a few days or weeks of painful living was not worth it. Vet made it easy and peaceful.
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Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 1,384 Likes: 3
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 1,384 Likes: 3 |
My daughter has been a Vet for about 12 years. She will tell you that putting an animal down is the worst part of her job. She has three dogs at home. When it was time for a prior dog to go, she had to get a friend (Vet) to do it. Tore her up.
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 8,136 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 8,136 Likes: 1 |
Sorry you're going through this. KC. I know how hard it is. Indeed. In my experience it's rare for a dog to die of natural causes in his or her sleep. When we bring a puppy home we know this is what we're signing up for. When she's in obvious chronic pain, it's time.
“Factio democratica delenda est"
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,764 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,764 Likes: 2 |
I'm sad to hear your buddy is on her way out. She's a member of the family and you've shared some adventures so it's going to be a painful decision. I don't wait too long once they turn a corner and start losing control.
Give her lots of treats and love and let her go....
Our latest to go loved hotdogs so that's what she got with love and no hidden pills!
Sorry my friend!
"Camping places fix themselves in your mind as if you had spent long periods of your life in them. You will remember a curve of your wagon track in the grass of the plain like the features of a friend." Isak Dinesen
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 45,050 Likes: 33
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 45,050 Likes: 33 |
14 yrs is a good run. A lifetime.... BTDT with the decision like many others on the thread. 😔
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Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 5,228 Likes: 5
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 5,228 Likes: 5 |
Best of luck with your decision, we all feel your pain.
Life is good live it while you can.
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 5,530 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 5,530 Likes: 2 |
Sad situation. I had a retriever that I lived with and hunted with from his 45 th day of life. He developed a bad hip at 10 years old and there wasn't anything to be done. I could tell he was in pain and the day finally can when he could not get in and out of the truck much less hunt. Even walking down the steps of my deck was working on him. I thought at first he was just getting older and maybe after hunts he was just a bit tired and sore. But as time went on it was evident it was more than that. The vet confirmed my fears. It was hard but after 11 years together I owed him a easy out. So I had him put down.
About two days later my girl friend at the time called me a said she saw an ad for chocolate labs in the next town over. She got me to go over to have a look. I picked one out and a few days later we picked him up. What a handful that little guy was. A lot different than my mellow old golden retriever. Keeping up with him did take my mind off my loss and the new dog ended up being a great one in the field. He loved to hunt. He would go batsht crazy even when you got your hunting clothes out of the dryer and carried them to the closet.
Life can be rough on us dreamers.
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,832 Likes: 3
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,832 Likes: 3 |
Another example of decision by campfire. You bought the ticket for this trip14 years ago…time to visit the vet.
And no good Dog deserves to have their brains blown out by the hand they came to for a head rub. This isn’t the 1800’s. “Oh let’s go to a favorite spot and when you’re not looking I’ll blow your brains out buddy.” Some don’t deserve Dogs or guns.
Last edited by battue; 07/21/22.
laissez les bons temps rouler
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,966 Likes: 2
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,966 Likes: 2 |
This is a tough decision for me. Please help me make the right decision. Sounds like it's time ....... Buy another pup straight way.
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 26,752 Likes: 27
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 26,752 Likes: 27 |
Oh man, I truly feel for you. I dread the day that I have to make that decision with Shadow. 14 years old is the end of a dog's life. It's time to say good bye to your beloved friend. Most dogs are better than most people.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,966 Likes: 2
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,966 Likes: 2 |
Another example of decision by campfire. You bought the ticket for this trip14 years ago…time to visit the vet.
And no good Dog deserves to have their brains blown out by the hand they came to for a head rub. This isn’t the 1800’s. “Oh let’s go to a favorite spot and when you’re not looking I’ll blow your brains out buddy.” Some don’t deserve Dogs or guns. Agree on all counts.
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 239
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 239 |
I’m sorry your going through this my friend as I and many on this thread know the feeling all to well. I’ve been there more than I wanted and each time it gets harder, perhaps because we learn more to recognize and return the love they give us. Enjoy her while you can, she will let you know when she’s ready to say goodbye….
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,818 Likes: 2
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,818 Likes: 2 |
We lost our 14 1/2 year lab one month ago. She had several cancerous lumps removed over the years. As long as she was mobile, ate, drank, and wagged her tail all was good. One day she was unable. We knew it was time.
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 12,262 Likes: 14
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 12,262 Likes: 14 |
Take her to her favorite place.
Feed her her favorite treats.
Take some pictures.
Scratch her in her favorite spots.
Send her on ta her next adventure. This ^^^^^^^
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Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 520
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 520 |
Had a Australian Cattle Dog that I rescued as a young dog and when the time come that he couldn’t get up wife and I took him to vet and to be put down. Vet came in to give him the shot and I had to step out….wife was with him till he took his last breath. I waited out in parking lot and they brought him out in a blanket to take home and bury. On way home my wife said he was laying on the table and looked up and tears was running down his face….then he died and she took her hand and closed his eyes. You think they don’t have feeling…told my wife wish she had not told me that been several years now and it still haunts me thinking of that last moment he had.
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Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 323 Likes: 1
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 323 Likes: 1 |
We've had two put down over the past 18 months. They were 14 & 15 years. One my wife adopted when she first moved here and the other was a wedding present and wonderful golden retriever. They had been part of our family since before our son was born so it was hard for everyone; but... There comes a time when it is the right thing to do. At 14 years of age and with a tumor, keeping it alive is not doing it a favor. Do the right thing, try to ensure it has a few good days and put / have it put down painlessly or at least quickly.
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 5,253 Likes: 6
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 5,253 Likes: 6 |
Hate stuff like this. Either way, it won’t be easy.
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Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 3,106 Likes: 7
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 3,106 Likes: 7 |
It's probably time now, or very near it. You'll know. My Maggie is 15. Deaf as a post and half blind. She's "day to day", but happy for now. Considerations like how quickly your vet is available may figure in. Cancer often works quick and her time with you is probably measured in days or a few weeks. Sorry for your loss.
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Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 3,599 Likes: 11
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 3,599 Likes: 11 |
The call isn't hard to make. It's the timing that's difficult.
When they can't get around? Time to go. More bad days than good days? Time to go. When upkeep costs more than food and normal care. Tine to go.
I have always hated to see the "cost" word thrown in, but I wasn't a doctor or lawyer, nor do I have a 6 digit retirement account. It's just one of the factors I have no choice but to add to the calculation.
Sorry for your crisis, but I'm waiting for the "other shoe to drop" for my 10 year old Rotweiller.
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