Hoping for some advice on my two female dogs. They are a similar age (one 14 and one 13.5), both terrier crosses we have had since they were tiny puppies. We had the older dog first and then got the second dog as company for her 6 months later, so they have always been together. As they are bitches, they have had a few fallings out over the years but the younger dog is besotted with my older dog (although she bosses her about on occasion). The younger dog has had a cataract in one of her eyes since she was 5 and when I took her to the specialist vet this week they said her eye pressures were now high and she has secondary glaucoma in that eye - the vet advised managing this with painkillers as likely to be giving her some pain. The alternative would be to remove the eye but I'm reluctant to do that as she does not stand for any interference and we wouldn't be able to bathe the area or tend to it without her snapping. She is very anxious, a lovely dog but incredibly nervous and therefore you can't even wipe her feet without her snapping or growling. We have a young child so we have had to keep the dogs separate and have multiple stair gates to manage this downstairs, a shame for our daughter as she isn't able to freely come into the kitchen but we manage. Since our daughter was born we have always said we would manage the situation with this dog as best as we can, but it is difficult.
My other dog has been diagnosed with cushings disease and is very unwell. The vet has prescribed medication but it's having limited impact. She struggles to get in and out of the back door even with help and is like a completely different dog. We have spoken to the vet about euthanasia but wanted to see if the medication would improve things for her.
My partner has very much decided that the best thing to do is to euthanise both dogs together as my younger dog would be extremely depressed without her pal. When we take the older dog to the vets the younger dog paces and pines for her. He thinks the kindest thing to do is to put both dogs to sleep together. He feels the older dogs is suffering and the younger dog is also in pain, plus her anxiety is a concern. We very rarely have guests, and most certainly not children as, whilst we know to close gates etc. behind us, others don't and then we feel this is risky due to the younger dogs anxiety and the fact she has snapped in the past. We are also up at least three times a night with the older dog barking to be let out as one of the side-effects of cushings is excessive drinking. This of course has caused tension in our relationship as we are constantly exhausted. However, I absolutely cannot put the dogs to sleep due to inconvenience and my partner says this is not the reason. Basically I just feel incredibly sad. Before our daughter was born we went through years of fertility treatment and the dogs have been like my babies, which I know isn't how I should have treated them but I can't cope with the thought of losing them. I don't want them to be in pain though, I couldn't do that either. Essentially I don't know what to do for the best, but my partner feels strongly that this is the best choice. He isn't being forceful or unpleasant about it, he just feels this is the kindest thing to do for the dogs and for us as a family.