To think our healthy dog has just been put down?

[AfternoonTeaIsLovely]

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.

@AfternoonTeaIsLovely

I am very sorry for your loss OP, but I think the vet would have done what was best for your little dog. Vets won't put a healthy animal to sleep, and will do their best to keep them alive if they know a certain treatment will give them a better quality of life.

15 y.o. is old for a dog. Like the equivalent of late 70's for a human. I know some people will claim they know some people who are running marathons, (at 90,) and walking 10 miles a day, and are much fitter then they are. But the fact is that when people reach their mid 70's, most people will start to go downhill health-wise. (Sometimes earlier.)

Similarly, 15 is a very good age for a dog. I agree with gwen up there ^ that the full recoveries would be much more likely in a younger animal.

How sad to have lost her though. Dogs are family. You have my sympathy.

I'm so sorry for your loss. No-one ever gets used to putting a dog to sleep, no matter how old and ill they are.

However, at 15 she would have been much less likely to recover from a stroke than a younger dog. She would also have been aware and very distressed whenever she soiled herself.

There is no easy way to make the decision. I let my westie go two years ago - she was only 12 and 1/2. (My others for to almost 20, and two to 18). She had a condition I'd never heard of, commonly known as "westie lung disease". The vet told us it was incurable and progressive, but that we could buy her time with steroids (which we did). I really think that the vet was buying us time to come to terms with her death TBH. When we had her PTS after 3 months, and I picked up her dear little body, and felt the sheer weight of all of the fluid that had flooded her tissues, I realised that she had been suffering far more and for far longer that we had thought. I'd kept her going for myself - I hope I never do that again.

Your lovely dog is now beyond pain and distress. You did everything you could - had she been brought back from the vet, the decision would have been even harder, and you would have grasped at straws, as we did, to keep her alive when really the kindest thing is to let her go.

There are much worse things than death. Animals don't fear it the way we do - but they do fear pain and being out of control of themselves. She went to sleep with her Daddy with her for comfort, and never woke up. It is a kind death - one we could all wish for. Do not blame yourself, or each other - just remember what a wonderful girl she was, and how much love and joy you had from sharing your lives with her.

So sorry for your loss. We had a similar thing with our 15 yr old terrier a couple of months ago. She was wobbly on her legs but over the course of 24 hours she went from being able to jump onto the furniture with the aid of a footstool to being unable to lift her head off the floor.

We got her to the vets the next day and had the same diagnosis that you did and we had her PTS straight away.

Although it doesn't lessen the pain of losing such a faithful, longstanding friend hopefully knowing that you did the kindest thing for her will be a comfort in the future.

Sorry for your loss. I think putting her to sleep was the kindest thing to do. At 15 years old it would have been hard for her to recover and probably very costly, because of her age chances are other things would have been going on inside her too.

My girl is 12 and had major surgery last year (was touch and go), recovery was hard and she’s never fully recovered, if she was to get poorly again I would have to let her go.

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

What LEM said. Please believe that.

Sorry for your loss

It's a horrible shock to lose a beloved dog suddenly. You look for reasons to blame yourself and that you let her down. I was the same when my last dog died at xmas.

She was an old dog that had had a few issues and was struggling. Would it have been right to give her drugs and keep her going? You gave her a quiet, stress free end. I'd have done the same (and also gone home and cried my heart out). Be kind to yourself and your husband. Try and let it go.

OP I have pm'd you. I hope having now spoken to the vet you have some comfort. It 100% sounds like the right decision.

I'm so sorry for your loss op. I too think you did the kindest thing you could. It's horribly painful for us, but for them it's not. She couldn't have understood what was happening to her, she was struggling and perhaps in pain or distress. You took that away from her, and now she's out of pain and you're in it. It hurts like hell, I know. But I've seen it described as the last duty of a friend, and I really think it is just that.

I asked my vet to consider putting my dog to sleep after he seemed not to be recovering from a serious operation that went wrong (he was being force fed and was often in pain) - the dog had no quality of life, the vet kept saying oh shall we try x y or z but I said no he can't cope he is so miserable and stressed, so the vet came to the house and we had him put to sleep it remains the most traumatic thing that has ever happened to me, and I've had some traumatic shit I can assure you, I felt like we'd murdered him - well, I murdered him. I felt afterwards that maybe there had been hope and I was too quick to have him put to sleep.

I did go back and had an appointment to discuss what had happened, which did help a bit. But I also used the Blue Cross pet bereavement service and I can't recommend them highly enough I would have gone mad without them:

www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-bereavement-and-pet-loss

You can talk to someone who is knowledgeable and understands.

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Pets are family and nobody should underestimate the effect that losing them can have.

I had to have my 16 year old cat put to sleep last Christmas morning. He'd been becoming old and creaky for some time, but his final decline overnight on Christmas Eve was sudden and unequivocal. So it wasn't unexpected, but I still felt shocked by it.

I have a 14 year old labrador who has been having a few problems with his hind legs. I know from an examination by the vet that his spine is now definitely degenerating. I have him on anti-inflammatory pain killers for now and he seems ok - happy and still able to go for short walks every day. I do get though that we are increasingly on borrowed time and it is likely to be weeks or months rather than years now. Or it could be sudden. I'm actually quite glad I don't have a crystal ball here. I just know that I too will have hard decisions to make in the fairly near future.

I think it sounds as though your husband made the best decision he could based on the situation developing in front of him and the information he was being given by the vet.

I am sure it isn't easy for either of you right now. Be kind to yourselves and each other.

15 is old for most breeds of dog. Remember the good times. Remember what a great life you both gave your dog.

to you. I will be thinking about you.

I'm so sorry, the heartbreak when they go is so painful.

I lost my 17 year old two years ago. She had been diagnosed with kidney disease a few months before and was actually a picture of health. She went downhill literally overnight and the vet was called in the early hours and came to put her to sleep. I tortured myself for a long time wondering if more could have been done, and I think that is only natural that we feel guilty and wonder if we could have done more. When you look back you will know it was the right thing to do but it will take some time for you to accept that - give yourself that time.

I'm so very sorry for your loss

We lost two dogs within months of each other and we had to make the decision for our cane corso. I knew it was coming as she had cancer but I didn't know how I was going to do it. In the end she made the decision, as she stopped eating. There's a thread on here about it as I was in bits. It was the hardest thing I have ever done but I know it was the rightest thing too. If that's even a word. At 14, it was the kindest thing for your dog, the vet wouldn't have suggested it or done it if there was any chance of a good quality of life. Be glad that you helped your dog when she needed it and didn't put her through any unnecessary pain. And try to remember all the good bits rather than this. i know that's easier said then done though, I still think about that day in the vets now and she passed in Feb.

I’m sorry to hear of your loss. My 14 year old lab took a really bad “turn” which was put down to vestibular disease (old
Dog syndrome) however we were told he would recover in time. It took him over a month to be able to go for a walk for the toilet etc and although he lived another year I look back now and think it probably would have been kinder to let him go after it happened. He was never the same dog sadly. We miss him

Someone seems to have tried to post a reply but accidentally made a new thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3331202-Breach-of-the-Veterinarian-Code-of-Professional-Conduct

Sorry for your loss OP

There are some lovely posts on this thread. SchadenfreudePersonified you made me cry... in a good way.

My cats are elderly now and we don't have children so probably put too much focus on them. I will be beyond devastated when my two go but know I will be straight out to adopt another. I have had pets all my life and have loved each and everyone equally if differently.

You can't replace a pet but the capacity for love is limitless.

Reading the lovely posts on here makes me so happy - so many lucky pets having/had wonderful lives. It's just a delight.

Sorry for your loss OP

elephant I too have been through some awful shit but am traumatised by and keep reliving having one of our cats put down. Won’t go into the ins and outs here but yes I feel I murdered him :( He was only 6. I was so upset in the room I think the vets were wondering if i’d actually gone mad. (I accidentally punched DH on the jaw in the middle of it all as well) :( awful awful awful.

Better a week too early than a day too late.

I always find that a very consoling thought after having to have an animal put to sleep. It's never easy for you but they can't really communicate how they feel and it is usually the kindest decision you can make. There are many fates far worse than a peaceful death.

laiste

Our beautiful girl went from happy waggy, to a bit unsettled, to gone in about 8 hours.

I didn't think she was dying. She went to the vet and didn't come home. Although my sister was with her as she died, I will never get over the guilt and sadness that I didn't go and that I didn't realise how ill she was.

Grief can have its own special form of madness. In a lifetime of spectacular fu*kups that is the only thing that I torture myself about daily.

She was my everything.

I suspect you were right OP and it is vascular disease and not vestibular. Vascular disease in dogs is the generic name for any problem with the circulatory system such as heart and lungs. And panting can indeed be a symptom.

She had a great life until the very latest possible moment. That's nothing to feel guilty about.

laiste sheldonesque

(my dog was only 5 )

You can't replace a pet but the capacity for love is limitless.

Better a week too early than a day too late.

Remember these are two very important comments.

And also if it was a vascular disease, and it was anything like what affected my little dog's lungs (she panted a lot - because she couldn't breathe; she was slow and constantly exhausted - because her tissues were full of fluid) - then believe me, you made the right decision.

I wish I had made it sooner -she was a beautiful little soul, and I miss her every day, but I should have let her go, (And now I'm crying my eyes out again)

I have been looking over photos and videos. I didn't realise how much she had changed in the last 12 months. She gained weight which we were told could happen with having her womb out but even months ago she was panting a lot whilst walking around. Hindsight is telling me this was taking a hold earlier but we put it down to age and hormones. I also think she had a seizure about 3 months ago. What's haunting me now is that we put her panting off last night thinking it was anxiety and wondering if we could have prevented the severe symptoms. I guess I will never know.

I'm quite annoyed by the speed in which we were pushed to make a decision, or at least how fast everything moved which I feel bamboozled me! One minute we were considering euthanasia,leaning that way and agreed then forms pushed straight at us and 'would we like her back', 'would we like her cremated' and a form was ticked. Now I know my girl is 3.5 hours away at a crematorium. I've tried to stop this so we could get her cremated closer but she was already collected. So have to wait til the morning g to check she hasn't already been cremated and if not have to wait til Monday day for her to be returned! I will have to ask my local company if they will collect her so we can get her back sooner as you need a special license to collect deceased animals so they won't let us collect her. Just want her back here now where she belongs

"I'm quite annoyed by the speed in which we were pushed to make a decision..."

In the nicest possible way please try not to be annoyed by this - the purpose was to stop your beloved dog suffering as soon as possible. Would you really have wanted her to be in pain, struggling for breath for longer so that you could feel less rushed?

I wouldn't. Easing my girl's suffering was the only important thing for me. Too many people, my dad's wife included, force their pets to continue beyond what is kind or right because they can't bear to let them go.

One of the most important things we can do for our pets is to take away their suffering, even though it causes us pain.

You did that for your girl, her pain and suffering is gone.