[Dailydrool] Long Story

[Cheryl Medlin]

Thank you for your long, detailed story about your baby's passing. It is one more confirmation to me that my baby didn't need to be put through the extra pain of tests in his last day. We had to help him to go at the vet. I am glad your baby went on its own and had those last hours of pleasure with the family. My baby was almost 13 and had a huge growth in his mouth and an advanced heart murmur and his sight was going. He ws very tired near the end, so much that I let him pee on the porch and cleaned after him. His bowels had been slipping for months increasingly. I refused to allow him to be put under for dental cleanings, lest he not wake up. His oral tumor was bleeding out the morning I took him and the vet said it usually has spread on to other parts of the body. I had thought his hips and spine were bothering him when he hesitated at the steps and needed so much help to get up them. He would try anything to please me. It makes me cry to think how painful he must have been those last weeks.

 I want to encourage any drooler who has never had to euthanize a fur kid, to read about the process ahead and understand the way it should go. Older, sicker dogs can experience a collapse of the veins if given a sedative before the euthanization, causing the prepared vein to fail. It is very upsetting to have the vet search for places to administer the shot. Older dogs can already have poor veins with heart disease. It might not be best to let them give the sedative. Also, you aren't sure how aware your baby is in his last moments after a sedative. It should be an informed decision, and it should be your decision. It caused me to have doubts and more distress as she gave him two more injections, the last in his chest. She said he wasn't aware of anything, but before she gave the last shots, he raised his sweet head 3 times until I told him it was ok to lay his head down and go sleepy.I'm not saying she did anything wrong, but it made the dreaded decision much worse for me. My baby needed us to let him go, but the experience should have gone better than it did. I know it isn't a subject we like to think about, but it is better to understand ahead of time because you might not have time to study it when you have to make the decision.I had taken my neighbor to the emergency the morning her pet was euthanized, and it went so quickly. One moment the Beagle was walking in circles on the floor, and the next moment he received a shot on his mama's lap and he fell asleep. I assumed it would be like that always, but my assumptions were wrong. I am sorry to be so gloomy, but if it saves one fur mom or dad my awful experience, it will be a good thing. My sympathies to you and all sad droolers today.    
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