My Dog what to do What to do!

[Bobcat]

Some years ago , I had to put my German Shepherd down as his hindquarters became paralyzed and he had lost control of his bowels . He knew something was wrong and his face showed it . He had been a fixture with the family and the kids had known him ever since they could walk . Talk about something that was hard to do . His Vet agreed to come to the house and give him the shot here on familiar territory with his family with him . He went to sleep with my youngest holding him in her arms .... as I said , that was the hardest thing I had ever done .
Unfortunately , I will be going through that again as I adopted a 10 year old Doberman about 10 months ago who belonged to a Marine who was deployed and had to give up his dogs , and because Billie was 10 , no one wanted her .... especially since this breed doesn`t make it much past 10 . Good news is that she just had her 11th birthday this past December .
When her time comes , I`ll have this same Vet come the the house again .
Considering that dogs give so much companionship and love , that`s the least I can do .

[Tommy]

One of my sons loved dogs from a very early age. If he encountered a dog at Disney World, he'd pass up the attractions for the opportunity to pet the dog. It was because of him that I learned to tolerate dog lovers, for I am not one. I mention that because all of the other posts so far have been from people who care deeply for their pets. Like you, jams, I've always weighed the pluses and minuses of dog ownership and come up with a total number that was slightly negative.

The view from this non-dog person is that now is the time to start thinking about life after the current old dog. Will your wife want another one? Will the deal of joint responsibility for it be the same as for the current dog? Depending on the answers to these questions, I have some suggestions. If you believe your wife will insist on having another dog that you will have to share in its care, see if you can get her interested in the next dog now. See if you can convince her to let go of the old dog in exchange for getting the new dog. Even if she won't agree now, having the new dog may allow her to take the death of the old dog more easily and sooner. ... If you believe your wife will insist on having another dog but you can escape responsibility for sharing in its care, now is the time to make your case. It won't get any eaiser when she is greiving for the loss of the old dog. ... If your wife will agree to let the old dog pass and not replace it, maybe the best thing is to let her enjoy this one while she can. Like dog ownership, marriage does not come without its costs. .. Good luck in whatever you chose to do.

[Ron61]

Jams,

I have had to have 4 of my dogs put to sleep and it hurt very much, but was the best thing for them as I couldn't bear to watch them suffer. Every time I said I would not get another dog, but I was lost without them and I now have two Poms that I got to replace the last two that I had to have put to sleep within a month or so of each other. There is no easy way to do it. I felt like I really let them down, but they are far better off now. Whatever you decide, it won't be easy, but once it is done and you have a few days to get over it, then it will begin to make more sense.

Ron