Just need some reassurance that this the right thing

[Binkyridesagain]

I've posted before about my collie, last post was when he bit me.

He's nearly sixteen and we have decided that tonight we have to take him to the vets, one final time. But I'm wavering.

He's in pain, he has a heart murmur that is getting worse, his breathing when walking is becoming laboured, his quality of life is not what it should be.

BUT my dog as he was 12 months ago, keeps coming back, he tries to raid the bin, smiles and bounds up to you when walk through the door, begs for chocolate. I know these times are few and far between but they are special, they're memories and I want to hold them for a little longer.

Please just give me some words to reinforce that what I know to be right, is.

[WeatherWitch]

Oh Binky, this is heartbreaking. But I suspect that you're only asking because you know that this is the right thing to do. There is never a time that feels right, because they always manage to find one more moment of being their old selves when you're about to take that final trip. The alternative though is to leave it to the point at which he collapses in pain and dies slowly and in distress. By taking the decision that you have taken, you spare him this. I feel so much for you, because the feeling that while there's life, there's hope is so hard to shake. But you know whether there is any hope, and you yourself know what's best for him.

I don't know if this has been any help but I remember the way that this feels and it's such an awful decision that I didn't just want to read without posting.

[Binkyridesagain]

I know there is no hope, I know that it will end in extreme pain for him, rationally I know this is right. I can't look at him ATM because it feels as though I am looking at a condemned man, he's been given his last meal (chocolate) and I'm waiting for the surgery to open.
This is my final act of love sorry if this is jumbled, I can't seem to get my thoughts in order.