Is this cruel?

[itspubnight]

My dog of 14years has had high blood pressure for about 4 months now. Medication has lowered it to a point but vets now want to refer him for further scans as he’s not responding to meds as expected .

He has already had X-rays, ultrasounds and numerous blood tests and the vets have been unable to find the reason for his high BP.

He is already completely blind in one eye and the vision in his “good” eye is very very poor. His hearing is declining and can only seem to hear when we either whistle or talk in a really high pitched voice.

Apart from all this, he is otherwise well and is a happy dog who eats well and wants to go on walks

My dilemma is would it be wrong to just carry on with the medication and to not have any further expensive investigations and for them still not get to the bottom of it? He also gets incredibly stressed going to the vets and we have to give him a relaxant when we go.

Absolutely not cruel. Just keep him as comfortable as possible, until the day when you realise that he's ready to go, and then get the vet to come and put him gently to sleep at home.

My old boy is 13, and he's got a bad heart murmur as well as chronic arthritis. The vets keep asking to do xrays/scans/blood tests but at this stage, it helps no one. He's happy although completely deaf, I think his eyesight isn't that great but he eats well and loves his walks. When that changes, I'll be ready to say goodbye.

I try to remember that Vets are private businesses and that they actively encourage pet owners to know everything about their pets, but at this stage of his life all I care about is his comfort. And that doesn't mean risking anaesthesia just in case.

Thank you, both of you, this makes me
feel so much better for the way I’m thinking xx

I asked our vet, what would you do if it were your dog? (After he’d suggested sundry tests that involved a long car journey to a specialist centre, for a dog who didn’t like the car anyway, was already old and hadn’t been 100% for quite a while.

He said in the circs he wouldn’t bother, it’d be too stressful for the dog, and probably achieve nothing, but he’d suggested it because some owners are desperate to do SOMEthing, anything.

At the time the dog was still enjoying her food. It was when
she no longer did, and couldn’t even be tempted with a pork sausage, that I knew it was time for the Horrible Decision.

How are you? How are your family feeling about it all?
do you think there are more good days than bad for you, the worry, stress, sleepless nights.
i kept a journal which i found helpful. It’s not just about the right thing for your beloved dog, it’s your quality of life that matters as well.

I just wrote my own thread yesterday about choosing comfort more than investigations for mines.
You know your dog best and to have 14 glorious years? Thats amazing and a privilege! Keep him comfortable and happy - enjoy the time you have left. He is old! Let him be, you are not cruel xx