How to Know When it’s Time to Say Goodbye to Your Fur Baby…

by becky on in Useful Tips 121
older pug

Ask yourself the following questions and always keep in mind what's best for your dog. If you decide it's time to say goodbye remember you are saving him from further physical pain and suffering, even though you may be emotionally suffering yourself.

•Does your dog have a terminal illness? Ask your veterinarian what to expect at the next stage and then ask whether you’re prepared to go there.

•Is your dog in the kind of pain that cannot be significantly alleviated by medication?

•Will more treatment improve his quality of life, or simply maintain a poor quality of life?

•Can you afford treatment? End-of-life care can run into thousands of dollars, and people can end up prolonging their grieving while paying off credit cards.

•Is your dog so old he has lost most bodily functions? If he can no longer stand up, get down stairs, defecate, and urinate on his own, the quality of his life is pretty poor.

•Does he still want to eat? Once a dog loses his appetite he’s signaling he’s close to the end.

•Are his gums pink? When gums aren’t a normal pink, your dog isn’t getting enough oxygen.

•Is it in his best interest to extend his life, or are you extending his life for yourself? This last point is the most difficult one for most of us to sort out, but it may well be the most relevant.

Yes, it’s one of the worst things you will have to do and we are honestly dreading that day as well. It’s not just having to say goodbye to a friend or fur “child” you have had in the family for years but also needing to talk with your birth children about why Rover is no longer there by your side.

For more information, including list making and other considerations, check out dogtime.



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121 thoughts on “How to Know When it’s Time to Say Goodbye to Your Fur Baby…”

  4. Tammy Creech-Baxley

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    I have 2 pugs and 2 duachunds and it will tear me apart if one of them has to leave or be put down I even get freak out when they don’t come when I call when out to pee I wonder if they got stolen or someone let gate open I freak out i.cant image my babies getting put down

  5. Nancy J Tiemann

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    And your heart hurts so bad you think you might die from the pain. It is soooooo hard, but for their sake you have to make the decision. These precious fur babies who make our lives so much better are family members!

  6. Jarred Keith Justice

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    They have a way of letting you know. My baby did. And I stayed with her until the end. I will miss her every day for the rest of my life. But I know I made the right decision for her sake. I have her paw print tattooed on my side, where she slept, so she will be with me forever.

  7. Nicole Spivey

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    I can’t even read the article. I don’t want to think about the day that we have to make that decision again. Three years ago we had to say goodbye to our 16 year old Pug, Bart. It is still difficult.

  13. Rosemary Trawick Sayers Johannesmann

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    I just had to do this last Friday, September 22, just one day past my CarrieAnne’s 13th birthday. She had Mast Cell cancer. She had a tumor the size of a tennis ball on her right hip. The skin ruptured and it was just raw. It bled and weeped fluids. She cried a lot and she wasn’t sleeping. It broke my heart to lose her, but I couldn’t stand that she was in pain. I have been begging for her forgiveness in my prayers. I hope I never have to do that again. I miss her like I lost a limb.

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