Help/Support ► Death of Pets

[Ordeith]

In the course of the past few days, I've been informed that my dog has an auto-immune disease, which has been sapping his health (unknown to me) for more than a month. The past few weeks have finally made this apparent to me, as he lost all of his former energy.

In all probability, he is going to die soon--or I'll have to euthanize him before then. What bothers me is the uncertainty; he still has a chance of recovery, but I won't know until two days.

Does anyone have experience with the death of a pet?
I'd like to at least discuss it before a final verdict is reached, so as to be more prepared.

 

[Nutari]

Well a dog I was very close to died last year. He just got really old and passed away after he had went blind and had a raging tumor in his throat. The best thing you can do is uthanize him if he isn't going to make it. Take your time to grieve, get another pet and be happy

 

[Ulti]

Two dogs and a cat. Both dogs lost to stomach cancer and the cat just got too old to even move. Actually went to put down the second dog. I wish that sort of experience on no one. But, you do what is best for them. Even if your dog recovers, what is the quality of life then?

 

[Ophan]

One of my Cats i believe was possibly injured by raccoons, but died later hiding under a car. It was pretty tough cause i never thought i'd feel so sad over the death of a pet...but you almost never think they'd die.

 

[Mason Stark]

A lot of my pets have died over the years (I've had a lot of pets since I was little, so... yeah, it makes sense :c) and one of my dogs had passed away unexpectedly a few days ago. If you have other pets, they can help you to feel better and a bit of a solution is to get another pet, though that's not the best solution because no other animal can replace your dog. Getting another dog is like expecting them to be the same dog that you have now, which they won't, and it may not be helpful. But, if you think it would be helpful, then go for it.

I really hope everything turns out alright, though, and that he can recover :<

 

[Cosmic+Amarna]

How old is your dog? If it's more than 6/7+ years I'd say it's sad . It's almost pointless to go thru surgery, etc. to try and recover if their life is reaching it's end. I don't mean any offense at all, I can relate almost exactly. My lil ouuch a papp died a cuple years ago. He was probably about 10 years maybe 11, but unknown to us(me and my fam) he had an internal injury/ malfunction which caused internal bleeding. He had been bleeding out on his insides for weeks even months maybe. It all started with him being unable to make it up the stairs. This persisted so we took him to the vet. We found all that out then, and ever since then he pretty much was doing exactly that, fading away and bleeding out. He was given meds that were supposed to help him and they did for a few days, but I knew and it was true; he didn't recover bcus it was too late and too much damage had occurred.

He eventually went blind and became totally weak with his body gradually shutting down like that. It hurt me very much to see him like that. Me and my mom wanted to put him down bcus we knew he wouldn't recover and there's no sense in having him suffer. My dad wouldn't let us for his own deluded reasons. He hoped he would recover and just wanted him in our house v.s. whatever the alternative(taken to the vet and put down). His reasons were delusional and selfish, he didn't want to pay for him being put under but claimed he was being loving and caring by not doing so. I regret that so much, if I could go back I would have used my own munny to put him down, bcus he suffered proly for days. One day tho he eventually shit blood all over the floor(he couldn't even walk at this point) so my mom said kupo this we gota do something. Then they took him and he left us.

It's hard and sad, I feel for you. My advice is to put it down if it's gonna suffer. Like I said it sucks but you'll get over it, better to have love and lost than to have never loved at all.

 

[Hillboy]

I had a dog named Shamrock who was hit by a school bus in front of our house. My entire family ran out and huddled around him and comforted him as he lived for another 15 minutes. He just lied there crying and gasping for breath, but I think he was comforted that we were all there with him. He was just 2 years old. It was very sad for all of us.
After a year these breeders told us that his parents had a liter together and we ended up going to the breeders house to get another dog. We ended up picking a girl and named her Clover, she is currently four years old and a great pet.

 

[Orion]

A cat, one who was at my house when I moved in some sixteen years ago, who I basically grew up with. She was 'my' cat in the same sort of way that I was 'hers', since she'd occasionally try grooming me whenever her head was near, say, some hair on my arm. She was always a fairly big cat, and would put up with whatever attention she got - Although it of course left her prone, she always seemed to like being held upside down and like a baby because it meant she could have her stomach scratched.

About eighteen months ago she began losing weight, eating less and starting to becoming incontinent. Soon enough the notches in her spine became pronounced, and she developed a solid bloat in her sides towards the rear end of her body. Several months ago, on a bad-weather night when she was outside, was the last time we saw her. We rationalised that if she hadn't snuck away to find a quiet place to wind down and pass away, then someone had come across her and, perceived her relative skinniness to be a sign of ill health, taken her in and taken care of her. Ultimately, I don't know to this day, and I haven't really cried about it unless someone else does. Not seeing her actually dead just makes her apparent death seem so unreal and impossible, I guess.

 

[Taochan]

I've lost a lot of animals to illnesses who I loved very much. Nothing, in my opinion, makes this easier to cope with or helps you be better prepared. If you love them like family then you usually are heart broken by their absence in your life. Just try to be with him as much as you can, so you don't regret it later.

 

[Hillboy]

I've lost a lot of animals to illnesses who I loved very much. Nothing, in my opinion, makes this easier to cope with or helps you be better prepared. If you love them like family then you usually are heart broken by their absence in your life. Just try to be with him as much as you can, so you don't regret it later.

This is great advice, nothing else to say

 

[MegaWallflower]

A fish, a dog, and a cat. There have been more since then, actually, there were multiple cat and dogs deaths. These were just the three that hit me the hardest.
My fish died because we went out on a trip and my mother left too much food in his tank so he wouldn't starve. Poor little guy tried to eat it all at once...
My dog, I was really close to growing up. Every time I visited my dad, Fate would be there waiting for me to play with him and sneak him snacks when dad wasn't watching. I wasn't there when it happened, but he died when a milk truck ran over him.
My cat, Milkshakes, was one of many neighborhood cats that we pretended were ours when we were kids. She was my favorite of the bunch, but she died in childbirth because she was too young to be having kittens.
I also had a dog that had to be put down because it's back was broken(car backed over it) and it was in unimaginable pain. Another was old so a bunch of other dogs came and killed it in the middle of the night. But those were more my cousin's dogs than mine.

 

[KeyofEvil'sBane]

This is the hardest part of being a pet owner. When I left for my first college year, I had a hard time because one of my dogs was around 11 years old, and I knew that she was getting old. She seemed perfectly fine when i left that september, and she was gone before Christmas due to basically too many lung tumors. It was hard because this was really my dog, as we had a bond that I had never shared with another pet. My mom ended up coming to pick me up (this actually happened the weekend before my finals) and taking me back just so I could be there when we put her down. I had already decided long ago that I would be there for her no matter what. That was easily the hardest thing I had ever gone through in my life, but I would do it again for her in a heartbeat.
Its very hard, I've been through it multiple times. The important thing is that it will get better, but I can tell you, don't ever try to replace that pet with another, because it won't work. Instead, hold that pet in you heart, and should you get a new pet, let it carve its own place within your heart, which happens pretty easily.

 

[Shawty]

Well, I've had pets ever since I was born so I do have experience with the death of them. Except for my dog they all got really old so I could see it coming. My dog was only 4 years old when she died. My aunt picked her off from the streets because she was really sick and abused. When she came to Holland we took her. As she turned 4 she started to get sick again, like really sick. It was so devastating to watch her like that. When we took her to the vet they told us that she needed to be euthanized. It was really hard for me to say goodbye to her, but then again it was for the best. The same for my 3 cats who have passed away, they all got sick around the age of 19-20 so it wasn't a surprise that they needed to be euthanized. It's hard because you grow such a bond with them. I don't think there is a best way to deal with it, you just have to deal with it your own way.
Since your dog doesn't have much time left, spend as much time as you can with him. Good luck with it because I know it isn't easy dealing with a pet's death.

 

[theirlosthearts]

Oh dang, this brings back a lot of memories. When I was around six, my parents bought a puppy from the pound for me. I swear that I had to clean up after that puppy every four or five minutes, and I had to keep him with me all the time. I don't think the little guy really had much time with its mother and might have put all its attachment on me. We put it in a cage in my room at night and, since I slept on the floor, it was less than two feet away from all night. That thing howled nonstop through the night. I went through a week of caring for this puppy all of each day with no sleep at night. If I wasn't with him, he went crazy. All of it seemed almost like having a kid. I put all of my effort into caring for that dog for a straight week (which is a lot for a six-year-old). He was finally starting to become housebroken and I was finally getting to have a very little amount of sleep. Then we went to see the vet. The vet said, "He's got the mange, and he's got it bad. You and I can't catch this type, but we can't cure it either. If I had seen this dog at the pound, I would have told them just to put it down." My mother and I drove to the pound and she took the dog in and told them what the vet said. I stayed in the car and cried my eyes out. Other than that one time, all the other tears I've shed have either been from intense pain or eating something really spicy. That was the one time that I ever cried for emotional reasons. It was tough. The only advice I can give is to make the most of the time that you do have.

 

[Haeralis]

One of my dogs was killed a few weeks ago. It was really sad to the entire family, including me. It's one thing when an animal is killed due to a disease (it's still very, very sad) but to have a two year old dog get killed so suddenly was horrible...

 

[king_mickey rule]

I had a dog named Shamrock who was hit by a school bus in front of our house. My entire family ran out and huddled around him and comforted him as he lived for another 15 minutes. He just lied there crying and gasping for breath, but I think he was comforted that we were all there with him. He was just 2 years old. It was very sad for all of us.
After a year these breeders told us that his parents had a liter together and we ended up going to the breeders house to get another dog. We ended up picking a girl and named her Clover, she is currently four years old and a great pet.

This was hard to read yet so heartwarming to see that your entire family was there to comfort him.

Anyways, sorry to hear this Ordeith. I haven't had any experience with pets that pass on but my cat has been on the verge of death several times. I always end up spending a lot of time with him on those moments (more than usual) and I suggest you should do just that.

Spend as much time as possible with your dog. Not sure if it's gonna help the dog's situation, not gonna give you any false hope either but you'll feel better and you'll be certain that your dog enjoys his last days as much as possible.

However, keep in mind that it still can get better. To put it 'simple', don't hope for any miracles but also keep believing in the chance he can recover and spend as much time as possible with him.

I hope he gets better. If you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to PM me.

 

[Ordeith]

I hate to be redundant, but I felt a need to at least bring some closure to my first post.

Duncan, my Miniature Schnauzer of nine years, will be euthanized tomorrow afternoon. I've since come to "accept" his death, but the emptiness will just be awful. He was a dog with quite a bit of personality, and would have lived for another four or five years.

It's unrealistic to think so, but I can't help regretting a few empty moments, in which I just went through the motions of caring for him. Every pet owner has those moments, but I feel guilty nonetheless . . .

 

[Professor Ven]

I hate to be redundant, but I felt a need to at least bring some closure to my first post.

Duncan, my Miniature Schnauzer of nine years, will be euthanized tomorrow afternoon. I've since come to "accept" his death, but the emptiness will just be awful. He was a dog with quite a bit of personality, and would have lived for another four or five years.

It's unrealistic to think so, but I can't help regretting a few empty moments, in which I just went through the motions of caring for him. Every pet owner has those moments, but I feel guilty nonetheless . . .

If you ever need someone to spreakens to Wormwood, I'm always around. ;~;


I'll bet Ser Duncan was happy when he was with you, and he'll be happy to go to the mystical paradise of tennis balls, chew toys, and treats that all dogs go to, after giving us humans bonds of friendship that won't ever really go away. He'll be in a better place.


After all, his Heart is really just going to slumber, and await it's Birth By Sleep. Then the Wheel of Time will turn evermore, and his soul will be rewoven into the Tapestry of the Ages, and perhaps in the next Pattern, he will once more be your chivalrous friend. ;A;

 

[king_mickey rule]

I hate to be redundant, but I felt a need to at least bring some closure to my first post.

Duncan, my Miniature Schnauzer of nine years, will be euthanized tomorrow afternoon. I've since come to "accept" his death, but the emptiness will just be awful. He was a dog with quite a bit of personality, and would have lived for another four or five years.

It's unrealistic to think so, but I can't help regretting a few empty moments, in which I just went through the motions of caring for him. Every pet owner has those moments, but I feel guilty nonetheless . . .

Sorry to hear that man! And it might not daze your pain but now he can rest in peace, he doesn't have to suffer from his disease anymore. Be strong and give it some time to 'get used to'.

If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm sure people here (including me) would be happy to do so.

 

[nelly <3]

i have a 2 yr old golden retriever. he's still alive but poor dog has epilepsy. he currently has about 4 seizures a month. we're afraid if his condition doesn't get better. we're gonna put him to sleep. breaks my heart, everytime i see him have a seizure. i've never been so attached to a pet before. unfortunately there's no cure for epilepsy and medication will just make it worse. or so the vet said there will be more side effects than cure in order to help him "get better". we're keeping our dog alive because we love him. but we don't want to see him suffer at the same time. i think it'll be hard ever having to see him go :|