12 year old boy put to sleep, please tell me it gets better

[lolbrador]

Hi all. I suppose I'm just looking for a handhold.

We unexpectedly had to get our old boy put to sleep on Wednesday morning. A big, chunky, wonderful, patient Labrador.

He was old, suffered with arthritis, his teeth were starting to crumble and he wasn't able to go far and we knew it was nearing the time to say goodbye. He ended up hurting a leg and couldn't stand up.

I feel utter despair. My chest hurts and I can't seem to go five minutes without bursting into tears. I just miss him. I miss his quiet and unassuming presence, I miss opening the fridge and seeing him wake up and rush through, I miss his big furry chest and sighs of contentment when he lay with his head on someone's feet.

I know my feelings are selfish. He's free from pain now, free from trying to please us and there's no more suffering.

DC are distraught. I don't know how to make it better. It's even worse when DH is here, he's so upset. The atmosphere is so heavy.

We have a younger dog, and I feel guilty every time I hug him or kiss him or give him a treat.

It will get better won't it? Soon I will be able to remember all the fantastic memories of this lovely soul without bursting into tears.

Thank you, so sorry for all of you loss

Oh OP I'm so sorry. It's been four years since I put my boy to sleep and I still miss him everyday. But I promise it gets better. The pain I felt in the weeks after he was PTS was the worst I've ever felt, but now I can look at photos and videos of him and talk about him with a smile and remember the good times. I still wish he was here, but it doesn't ache anymore.

But he kind to yourself I tried so hard to be "okay" after I lost him, when really I needed to grieve properly. Pets are our family, often even closer than some of our family members, and we need to allow ourselves to grieve as we would with a human.

Love to you and doggy

You're not alone op I had a similar thread in April when our lab x was put to sleep , we found out she had incurable cancer at 1.30 and she was pts at 4 if we hadn't she would have collapsed and died that week , she too was 12. It's horrible and we all miss her so much , all those daily routines gone just like that. My ds6 had never known life without her and I felt so so sorry for him moving around ( made myself cry again now ). I can't imagine ever replacing her she was so well behaved I feel another dog would just irritate me as I would compare her. Then a few weeks ago my friends sister found an abandoned kitten and we took it in , this kitten is crazy and can't be compared to our dog but he has made us smile again and my son has a new furry little friend , watching them play together made me realise how much he needed that, I think we all did. I don't know how long it takes before you remember the good times without crying as I'm not there yet but I know how you feel and am sending you big hugs x

Moping not moving 😫

I remember having my 14 year old German Shepard put down, the most wonderful dog. We had a 7 year old Doberman at the time who stopped eating then stopped drinking, which we assumed was her pining for the older dog. Long story short we discovered she was “riddled with cancer” as the vet put it & she then had to be put down 2 weeks after losing our other dog. Absolutely devastating & 14 years on I still don’t feel I can have another dog. Unless you’ve had a dog you can’t comprehend the pain of losing them.

So sorry for your loss, it does get easier & you won’t cry forever. Try & distract yourself when you can. I found distraction the best thing, Just get through each day however you can & then one day you wake up & 6 months has gone by & you can get through the day without wanting to cry!

Thank you all once again. We got a lovely card through from the vet this morning with some really comforting words.

Sending hugs to all of you who have lost a wonderful and important member of the family

My dog was PTS three and a half years ago. She is still the desktop wallpaper on my PC and my parrot and I always look at her face. I have another lovely but totally different dog whom I acquired quite soon afterwards as I (and parrot) were too lonely without a dog in the home but I still can't bring myself to throw away my old dog's collar yet and it lives on the collar shelf. Dogs just don't live long enough, in my opinion.

Thinking of you lolbrador and so glad to hear of the card from your vet.