I've namechanged, I've no idea if I'll be flamed for this, so I'd rather it wasn't under my usual name. If anyone thinks I'm being cruel, please say so constructively! :)
My old lady JRT is 15. Nearly a year ago she had either a stroke or old dog vestibular disease. Since then she has deteriorated, lost loads of weight despite eating like a horse, has lost most of her hearing and sight.
She has been on vivitonin which I believe has kept her tottering along.
In the last week, she has taken a bit of a dive, she sleeps a lot, bumps into things when she walks around, she looks like she's lost more weight (if that's possible). She is still interested in eating, I would say this is the only time she has any spark now.
The vet can't find anything extra wrong, just age. We're to take her back next week where no doubt the vet will want to run a battery of tests (again).
The vets are the sort to keep animals going if they possibly can, doing all sorts of tests and scans etc.
In all but the most dire of situations, their advice will always be to keep trying, so dh and I know that it is likely to be our decision, which feels quite shitty tbh.
So how do we know when it's the right time to make The Decision? (:()
She's been a fantastic dog, gentle with our dc, bags of character (code for; a bit of a bugger!), bright, lively and lots of fun to have around.
It's awful to see how much she's aged recently, but I'm sure she could be limped on a while longer, but it's whether this is right for her.
Is the spark we see at meal times enough to say that she has a good quality of life?
On the one hand, we don't want to be hasty and make a decision that we'll regret, wondering forever if it was too soon.
On the other hand, we don't want to leave it so long that she has no quality of life and she's living because we're too selfish to put her needs first (iykwim)
If she was your dog, what would you be doing?