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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think our healthy dog has just been put down?

110 replies

AfternoonTeaIsLovely · 09/08/2018 11:55

Our dog was a bit jumpy and yelpy yesterday. She didn't want to come in the house and when she did, she was panting a lot. A few months ago we reported some excessive panting and her snapping at our daughter and it was put down to age and hormonal issues (had her womb out last year at 14years old). So yesterday we presumed it was anxiety again and stubbornness when she didn't go out for another week later. Her panting continued through the night and we took her to vets first thing. She had applied herself and was displaying signs of a stroke.

It's all a bit of a blur but my husband tells me the vet said it looked like advanced Vascular disease. We were told we could try steroids but she may not be able to eat them at home and also told that putting her to sleep was an option. I trusted my husband to make the right decisions as I wasn't understanding what we were told. I know 100% my husband would have given her a chance if he thought she had one so
we had her put to sleep.

I've now come home and googled to find most sources saying a full recovery can be made. Hubby doesn't think I should call the vets as they are busy but I just don't understand why this happened so quickly and why her prognosis was made to sound so terrible. I had to take my child out so couldn't stay for the final moments, hubby says the vet told him after it had been the right decision.

This was a PDSA hospital and out dogs treatment was free. I'm.not so cynical to think they would have pushed us to the lowest cost option but I'm so confused right now that she was so healthy two days ago and now she's gone with an 'advanced' disease.

Has anyone else been through this. I cannot get it out of my head that I should have took longer to consider the options and assess her chances of recovery.

OP posts:
Original poster
AfternoonTeaIsLovely · 09/08/2018 11:58

*soiled herself

OP posts:
TheQueef · 09/08/2018 12:01

No advice.

Just wanted to say sorry for your loss Flowers

Floralnomad · 09/08/2018 12:01

Sorry for your loss but what do you think will be gained by calling the vet , ultimately it was your decision and you left that to your husband and he made the call to PTS . I really doubt that the vet pushed for a cheap option as steroids are not a particularly expensive option IME .

Lollypop27 · 09/08/2018 12:03

For you op Flowers

With dogs illnesses can happen so quickly. Also if she was 15 it may have been too risky to do treatment. And at her age may have distressed her more. Sometimes the kindest treatment is to let them go peacefully.

Sorry for you loss

ThatchersCold · 09/08/2018 12:03

Hi op, sorry to hear about your dog. Did you mean to say vestibular disease?

hammeringinmyhead · 09/08/2018 12:04

I'm so sorry. At 15 though there are limited humane options for this type of problem. I would have made the same decision.

If you call the vets it won't achieve anything as they already told you it was the right thing to do. Their story won't change.

3luckystars · 09/08/2018 12:05

Sorry for your loss. If you want to call the vets for a chat, then do that if it will help you understand.
I hope you are ok.

RandomObject · 09/08/2018 12:05

So sorry for your loss.

Sometimes animals can decline very quickly - I had a cat who appeared to be completely healthy one day and the next was blind with kidney failure.

I'd be inclined to trust the vet here - there can be so many factors involved in treatment and it's totally dependent on the animal.

Munchyseeds · 09/08/2018 12:07

She was an old lady, she may have recovered to some extent but what would have been her quality of life? Hard as it is, I think your DH made the right decisionFlowers

TheHodgeoftheHedge · 09/08/2018 12:07

I am really sorry for your loss. I would wait until later in the day and then give the vets a call to talk it through. Please don't go on the attack with them, just simply ask them to walk you through it in a bit more detail.

Nancy91 · 09/08/2018 12:07

Steroids aren't expensive, my dog needs them daily, but they do affect her appetite and sometimes she has other side effects but she is young and her quality of life is very good. I think the vet might have thought about your dogs age and how much time the drugs would have bought her, and known that it wouldn't be fair or worth it. The medicines we give our pets have side effects and the vet is the person who was best placed to advise on what is best for the dog.

I'm sorry for your loss, what a shock Sad

adaline · 09/08/2018 12:07

I'm so sorry about your dog Thanks

However she was old and ultimately the decision to PTS was made by your husband. I understand you're upset but calling the vets won't change anything - your husband, as her owner, made the decision to have her put down.

I think at 15 treatment options are very limited. Things like surgery and anaesthetic carry big risks and so do lots of medications. Dogs are also very good at masking signs of illness so it's very possible that she'd been ill for a long time and symptoms only came to light when they did.

Again I'm so sorry but I think your husband made the right decision Thanks

ArmySal · 09/08/2018 12:09

Oh I’m so sorry. It really is one of the worst decisions you can make, I wouldn’t let my DP take our dog to the vets at the end, in case the vet said he could be saved for £thousands and he’d have refused, given his age. (I don’t think he would have, I just wanted to hear the vet’s words myself).

I’m so sorry for your loss Flowers

MarthaArthur · 09/08/2018 12:13

Sorry about your dog op Flowers

Your dh did the right thing. Dogs can be very good at masking the pain they are in and at 15 recovery and quality of life can be seriously affected. Please rest assured you did everything right by her and shes now at peace x

5000KallaxHoles · 09/08/2018 12:14

It's a natural feeling - we lost DDog1 just after Christmas and he had been declining and obviously in pain and struggling to keep his back end steady for a good while (shot us that piteous "I've had enough mum" look on Christmas Eve poor guy), so obviously we'd made the judgement call that the time had come - but the contrary bugger had one of those spurts of inner-puppy coming through and decided to practically skip into the vets!

Was definitely the right thing though for him as that burst of youth was just one of those brief flashes of the old guy coming through and his quality of life overall had gone completely by then - but you do sit and think it through and worry you've done the right thing and it takes time to process which you can't rush and just have to wait it out.

I still really really miss our daft old bastard - to be fair, with the amount of fur he shed (shedding and farting were his two top hobbies) I'm still finding bits of him under the bloody sofa and in all the corners now!

Branleuse · 09/08/2018 12:14

im sorry for your loss.

It doesnt sound like she has been healthy the other day. You said she has been panting and snappy on and off for some months. She was an old lady and on rapid deterioration of her symptoms and vets advice you and your husband made the difficult decsion to PTS, out of kindness and love for your dog.
Youll never know if there was anything more you could do, and you can drive yourself crazy wondering if you could have squeezed another month or so out of her, but that would have been for you, not her. Please, dont torture yourself. Better a day too early than a day too late. xx

GoblinSharts · 09/08/2018 12:18

I don’t think there are many vets who would suggest putting an animal down as it’s the cheapest option. I think it’s fair enough to phone them but not in an accusatory way. I would ring an ask them to explain again the reasoning behind it all so that you know for the future and can come to terms with it. The internet is rife with “facts” but I wouldn’t be relying on it. So sorry for your loss.

LEMtheoriginal · 09/08/2018 12:18

If it helps vets dont take euthanasia lightly. Its used as the kindest option.

I wonder if they said vestibular disease?

I am a vet nurse and deal with similar situations. Usually if ethanasia is offered as an option we are gently trying to steer owners in that direction anyway.

It soubds like your dog has been uncomfortable for a while now. Dogs are very good at masking pain and discomfort and we odten dobt see it unless it is quite severe.

We often get owners questioning themselves as to whether they made the right decision and we are more than happy to discuss things and go through thongs again. Invariably the right decision has been made. I can tell you that i have never ever felt (im a vet nurse) that any euthanasia i have assisted in has been premature or incorrect. Sadly it can often be the opposite scenario and people cant bear to let their pets go and the decesion isnt taken in good time.

It is true that the PDSA have limited funds however if appropriate treatment was indicated but without their capanilities they would have given the option to take the dog elsewhere.

Without knowing furthet details it is impossible to say what the options were but my feeling is that you have done the right thing.

Flowers
Original poster
AfternoonTeaIsLovely · 09/08/2018 12:19

Don't get me wrong I wasn't thinking of calling to be angry but to understand what the diagnosis was. I'm sure she said Vascular Disease and when I Google that it does throw up Vestibular so I think they are one an the same? Vestibular isn't usually fatal and a good recovery can be made. That is what is upsetting me that I sat back and trusted my husband instead of taking the time to form my own view. I trust he made the choice at the time based on the information her had. I'm not looking to apportion blame, if anything it's myself I blame for not taking some time to process it all. Even if she hadn't been able to be as sprightly, I think she'd have been happy to just be with us. Right now I don't feel as though I have 'put her out of her Misery'.

I think I am in shock at how fast its all happened. Annoyed I didn't do more last night thinking that she could have been saved?

OP posts:
DowntownDallas · 09/08/2018 12:21

My dog was pts with no notice. Similar age, took her to vet with heavy breathing that had come on over a couple of day. It was the right thing, no suffering, she had a good life.

It is how I would want to go

LEMtheoriginal · 09/08/2018 12:21

Vestibular syndrome can have many causes and whilst many dogs do recover mamy don't and this is often dependant on cause.

Merrylegs · 09/08/2018 12:22

Oh dear, I'm sorry. A similar episode happened to our elderly dog out of the blue and he was put on 'dementia pills'. I also googled his symptoms and read many tales of a complete recovery, given time. He did seem to rally round for a few weeks but then sadly dropped dead at home (I'll spare you the details. Suffice to say it was not the peaceful end I would have wanted for him, which is what you have given your dog at least.)

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 09/08/2018 12:22

I suspect it was a quality of life decision given her age. She may not have tolerated treatment very well and in the meantime she may well have been in pain and suffering symptoms that she found distressing.

Vets really don't like having to put an animal to sleep so it is not something they would have recommended lightly.

I am sorry for your loss.

CocoaGin70 · 09/08/2018 12:22

It does sound like her heart was failing, and that can happen very suddenly. If your girl had been 8 or 9, I'd say talk to the vet but at 14/15, she was elderly and chances were she was suffering. I think your DH did the right thing, and no vet would put a dog to sleep if there was even a small chance of recovery. You're in shock Flowers and I'm very sorry for your loss.

MarthaArthur · 09/08/2018 12:23

@LEM when you are gently steering someone towards euthenising a beloved pet can it be hard when explaining the condition and prognosis without being too explicit? I'm just wondering if the vet has tried to be kind without making a big issue about the dogs pain so as not to be too upsetting?

Its a terribly sad day when a pet passes but it is the kindest day. Flowers

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