My Parents want to put my dog down

pajodublin

Now i know it seems harsh but this has really pi**ed me off
we got him (gizmo - yorkshire terrier) when i was 6 or 7
we have him 19 years and he was about a year old when we got him
he's a member of the family to say the least
for the last year or so he hasnt been able to do the things he used to
he cant even jump onto the couch anymore but gives it every attempt
and when he jumps down from the couch he takes a bit of a tumble
recently he has been drinking alot more water than usual
the "Vet" says (without seeing him i might add) that its a sign his Liver and bowels are shutting down.
now i know he's the pro but i find it hard to believe.
we brought him for a check up in may when he was passing blood in his poo
parents wanted him put down then too thinking he was finished.
so i made sure i went with them to the vets and i said to the vet to do all the tests necessary, money being no problem, to determine what was wrong
and it was lucky i did.

he only had a kidney infection and a week of drugs and he was back to himself.
Now
he used to bark at the front door to be let out to go to the toilet
Now he just walks to the front door once
and if you dont happen to see him doing it he will go on the floor in the kitchen. I have no problem cleaning up after him at all.
Its not that my parents dont care about him, because i know they will be devastated when he's gone, its just i feel they are jumping the gun a little
He doesnt seem to be in any pain.
Eats regularly, drinks a bit more than usual as i said above. but thats about it.

Am i being selfish wanting to keep him around?

The Sweeper

19 years is a pretty good innings for a dog, and you really have to open yourself to the idea of what HIS life is like.

Is he in pain or distress? Is his mood low? Does he appear unhappy? Does he experience great discomfort doing the things he used to do?

Once you get past the vet doing the "19 year old dog, no point" thing, and your parents following the advice of the professional - once you take all that out of the mix, how happy, alert, and comfortable is your dog?

That's the answer. He could be five years old and I'd say the same thing.

pajodublin

sorry forgot to add a couple of things
very important probably
he's partially blind and deaf
He doesnt seem unhappy, is still running around like a mad thing
No discomfort, im always playing with him
not as playful as 10 years ago but you'd expect that
Now i feel selfish

Jimbo

Your not being selfish.

It dosen't sound like he should be put down.

If he is happy and playful and not in any discomfort and you are happy to clean up after him, I don't see the point in it.

Keep a careful eye on him though. Dogs can appear to be happy even when they are sick.

EGAR

To me it's a question of quality of life. Just because a dog is old doesn't automatically mean it has to be PTS'd. If he is not in any discomfort and still enjoys his life then why PTS him?

It has nothing at all to do with being selfish but rather alot with common sense.

pajodublin

my ma said the vet said to her on the phone
"how would you like to live in the dark"
sounded very insensitive to me
excuse the ramblings but ive recently lost another pet

EGAR

The vet sounds like a right ignorant blonker to me!

Have a chat with your parents and maybe persuade them to change vets? If my vet would have told me that, I doubt he'd still be practising now .

You and your parents know the dog best, you will see straight away if his quality of life suffers and/or when he starts to be in pain.

I have had quite a few old dogs whom became blind with age and they coped just fine!

Lauragoesmad

I had to get my dog of 14 years PTS in September and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. She was like my child!!!
Although it was really hard and I still miss her so much, I did it for her and not me. It would have been easier for me to keep her going up to the vets every few weeks but I could see that she hated it. Every time she went to the toilet in the house you could see how upset she was that she didn't make it to the garden.
We got the vet to come to our house to put her to sleep instead of bringing her to the vets. This made it easier on her because she didn't really suspect anything and a bar of dairymilk helped too.
Please just do whats in the best interest of your dog and not whats best for you. You know your dog better than anyone and will make the right decision if that time should come. I hope your dog will be ok.

kerrysgold

Unless the dog is in pain, then there is no reason to put him down.

he sounds like he is just a slower version of when he was younger which is understandable, 19 is a great age for a dog!

the vet sounds a tad ignorant/old fashioned so I wouldn't take any notice.

maybe bring him to a more modern vet for a check-up to see if there is anything wrong with him and get the right medications for him if there is?

pajodublin

thanks everyone for your replies
doesnt seem to be in pain but i will get him to a proper vet this week to see what they think

thanks again

Noopti

pajodublin wrote: »

my ma said the vet said to her on the phone
"how would you like to live in the dark"
sounded very insensitive to me
excuse the ramblings but ive recently lost another pet

Maybe the VET would like to say that to all the blind or partially sighted people of the world. Ignorant w*nker.

Anyway. Yeah, agree with what everyone here is saying. If he is not in any pain or obvious discomfort then there is no need to put him to sleep just because he is blind and can't jump up on the couch like he used to. Dogs are family member for life, and just because he can't hold his toilet breaks as well anymore is no reason to put him to sleep either.

Stick to your guns on this one. By the sounds of it, you know him better than anyone else and you will know when it is right to let go.

Sage'sMama

We had to get our dog put to sleep when he was 15yrs old. He was the same blind, deaf and generally wouldn't do much except sleep. Then he lost control of his bowls and stopped looking to go outside. You could tell he wasnt happy. I knew his quality of life was suffering so i agreed for him to be put down. It's a very hard decision to take but you will have to think about it because he will continue to deteriate.

pajodublin

Noopti wrote: »

Maybe the VET would like to say that to all the blind or partially sighted people of the world. Ignorant w*nker.

Anyway. Yeah, agree with what everyone here is saying. If he is not in any pain or obvious discomfort then there is no need to put him to sleep just because he is blind and can't jump up on the couch like he used to. Dogs are family member for life, and just because he can't hold his toilet breaks as well anymore is no reason to put him to sleep either.

Stick to your guns on this one. By the sounds of it, you know him better than anyone else and you will know when it is right to let go.

Has slept at the end of my bed for most of those 19 years (except for a couple of years i didnt lie at home

Sage'sMama wrote: »

We had to get our dog put to sleep when he was 15yrs old. He was the same blind, deaf and generally wouldn't do much except sleep. Then he lost control of his bowls and stopped looking to go outside. You could tell he wasnt happy. I knew his quality of life was suffering so i agreed for him to be put down. It's a very hard decision to take but you will have to think about it because he will continue to deteriate.

Sorry to hear that and im sure its a really hard decision to make
Another dog we had Black Lab, she was 13yrs old and she had a heap load of litters, in the last few days of her life her back legs went,
i remember it was a Wednesday winter night and me and my ma had to carry her into the kitchen,(she was a BIG GIRL)
me ma rang the vet to come the next day to put her down..
She died during the night
Still to this day im glad she died naturally.

luckat

You got him when he was six or seven and you've had him 19 years? So he's 25 or 26 years old? Wow!

I suspect that the problem is that your mother is cleaning up after him all the time after he poos and pees on the floor.

If you (a) volunteer to clean up after him (and wash your hands well afterwards, by the way), and (b) take him out to do his stuff outside at regular intervals, you may find things easier.

If he's drinking a lot, he may be developing kidney problems or diabetes poor old guy.

Does he have a comfy bed on the ground, with a cushion as nice as the couch? That might help him with the tumbling-off-the-couch thing.

When the time does come to put him to sleep - when he's obviously not enjoying life any more - you'll know that you've given him the best life any little dog could have.

seamus

What everyone else says here is pretty much spot on.

Without offending anyone, can I ask if the vet is an older man or perhaps a country vet? When my parents moved down the country taking our dog with them, we noticed a stark difference between the attitude of the vets in the countryside and the vets in Dublin city. They were brash, impatient and generally treated the dog like a farm animal - i.e. a tool or a possesion which needed repairing, and not a pet in need of care.

They seem to be very quick to recommend putting them down, particularly if the animal is past it's "useful" life. It's habit I guess from working with farm animals so much. They found a young female vet in the nearest big town (Blessington) who works mainly with pets, and she's much more caring and willing to do everything to save the animals before putting them down.

I think it goes without saying that if your vet is being unreasonably abrasive* or offensive, it's time to find a new vet. After all, if your GP said, "Ah sure your mother is nearly 90. Let her go, for God's sake", you'd report him.

*Sometimes though you do need abrasiveness to tell you the truth

I went through this , this time last year with my springer spaniel . She was 15 and had a growth on the side of her mouth which was mis-diagnosed by a vet who has a bad rep (other story) Anyway this groath got bigger but wasnt cancerus but was too big to remove without killing her.
She started to smell a little and we needed to wash her alot. The smell was really turning off my parents who have a sensative nose as it is.
They got it in their head it was her time.
We went to the Vet were an argument broke out between my parents and me with the Vet in the middle. My parents made out that she wasnt eating, which she was. They said that her legs were giving out on her. It happened twice in 2 months , both times that happened was when she woke up.
She was able to jump into the boot of the car on the way there ect...

One day i was in work they took her to the Vet and had her put down. They were in bits over it and even though i was angry for them doing it. I couldnt argue back as it cut them up for about a week.

Rev. Kitchen

This dog seems fine to me if i make it to 130+ im sure ill be a bit blind and deaf and might do a mess on the floor once in a while too.

Mine is about 16 deaf ( when it suits her if you are giving out or trying to get her to do something she doesnt want to but sure can hear her squeeky toy no problem ) has started wetting the bed sometimes finds it hard to walk but will still try to run and meet you when you get home with more life in her than her body allows.

It has been suggested she should be put down but after visiting the vet he thinks she is the healthiest dog of that age he has ever seen.

Old dogs like to sleep and they like to be around you so leave her be till nature takes its course.

Weidii

Our dog started drinking alot and wetting the floor when she was on the way out. To be honest it's harder to see what comes after for the dog than to deal with putting them out of their pain.

If you feel it's too early for your dog to be put down just make sure that you are judging by what's best for the dog and not what's best for you.

Profiler

luckat wrote: »

You got him when he was six or seven and you've had him 19 years? So he's 25 or 26 years old? Wow!

No, the OP was 6 or 7 when they got the dog, presumably as a puppy.

It's hard when you see a much loved pet like this but as long as you keep the Pet's best interests at heart then that is the important thing.

pajodublin

thanks profiler was just about to point that out
we got him when he was about 1
he sleeps a lot
drinks a lot (especially tea from my mug that i've left on the floor )

was just making sure with everyone to see if they thought it was me being selfish or not
the general consensus seems to be no,
my da brought it up again tonight and i lost the rag a little
told him straight, he's not puttin him down
we'll talk about it tomorrow he says

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
PARENTS :rolleyes:

wolfpawnat

I sympathise with you, I too am a yorkie owner and it has to be said they are almost bomb proof!
Do not put down a dog because they hit a certain age, humans suffer with incontinence, arthritis, dementia, blindness and deafness with old age but you dont see them being "put to sleep"
I agree with the statement, make Gizmo have as good a life as is possible. if there is no pain and suffering, then its not time to say goodbye yet. but remember the day will come and sadly when it does, please do whats right for gizmo and only gizmo!
Until then, Since Yorkies are little devils til they die, enjoy gizmos company and show the little fella how much he's appreciated. Soft chews are best I find:)

lostinnappies

I find the best way to tell is to use these simple guidelines to determine if your yorkie is ready to be let go ..... by the way 19 years WOW.

1 is he eating/drinking - enough to sustain him and his current weight
2 is he urinating/defecating enough and with ease
3 is he in pain - if even with medication he is still in pain
4 is he enjoying life - most important, you can keep a pet comfortable but he/she can still be miseralbe. If he used to go for walks but no longer wants to go out at all, or he used to enjoy playing certain games and no longer is interested, then perhaps you should objectivly look at his quality of life.

Weither Dog/Cat/Horse or Monkey these 4 rules should help you not be "selfish" and make the right decision for your pet and not for you.

I hope this helped.

PS. use your own judgment not the vet, he will only see him for 10min when you bring him in you will see him every day, but always keep in mind what the vet has just told you.

Dogs & Cats

I was the other side of the coin.

Try not to think too harshly of your parents, they are obviously trying to make what they see is the correct decision.

But do go and get a second opinion if you don't trust your vet.

I wanted to have Misty put to sleep but the family said no, eventually it got too much for me and I stood my ground and told them I could not bear to see her the way she was. She had a stomach tumour, appeared not to be in pain but in the end she didn't even answer to her name.
She continued to eat and beg for food though, I should have taken her to the vet (a very understanding person by the way) 2 weeks before I did.

We all miss her but I know that I did what was best for her and not for us.

We bring these animals into our homes and take away natures method of allowing them to die quickly, that is if they are too sick to hunt they die, ergo they have a swifter end. We take over though and feed them and keep them alive.

I also have another dog she is blind and deaf, on thyroid, heart and hormone tablets, but she has good quality of life, goes for walks with us etc.

Lilly/DNB

pajodublin wrote: »

Now i know it seems harsh but this has really pi**ed me off
we got him (gizmo - yorkshire terrier) when i was 6 or 7
we have him 19 years and he was about a year old when we got him
he's a member of the family to say the least
for the last year or so he hasnt been able to do the things he used to
he cant even jump onto the couch anymore but gives it every attempt
and when he jumps down from the couch he takes a bit of a tumble
recently he has been drinking alot more water than usual
the "Vet" says (without seeing him i might add) that its a sign his Liver and bowels are shutting down.
now i know he's the pro but i find it hard to believe.
we brought him for a check up in may when he was passing blood in his poo
parents wanted him put down then too thinking he was finished.
so i made sure i went with them to the vets and i said to the vet to do all the tests necessary, money being no problem, to determine what was wrong
and it was lucky i did.

he only had a kidney infection and a week of drugs and he was back to himself.
Now
he used to bark at the front door to be let out to go to the toilet
Now he just walks to the front door once
and if you dont happen to see him doing it he will go on the floor in the kitchen. I have no problem cleaning up after him at all.
Its not that my parents dont care about him, because i know they will be devastated when he's gone, its just i feel they are jumping the gun a little
He doesnt seem to be in any pain.
Eats regularly, drinks a bit more than usual as i said above. but thats about it.

Am i being selfish wanting to keep him around?

wow well done x
if he is not in any discomfort you hang on in there but if there is anyway he is in pain it would be best you let him go, he sounds like he's just an old man lol as i said if he's not sick or in pain i would also hold on good luck:D