How do you know when to let go?
Discussion
Please be kind- i have no idea how to post this because its a topic that i don't want to even think about (i have tears streaming down my face just thinking about it)
We have a bearded collie, a wedding present from the breeders (my best man's parents- who i was very very close to)
I can't bear the thought of life without him (we've had some really hard years in his 14.5 years and he is very loved) but I'm scared that it might better for him to slip away- how do you know?
He's been getting weaker for the past year, losing a lot of weight, not really eating (although now we just feed him whatever we eat and he's put a bit more on), he fell down the stairs yesterday (and this was a dog that used to clear a 5ft fence). He doesn't wag, goes in and out of the house constantly, growls just lying down quietly and/or woofs for no reason. He isn't happy at all- never wags, very hard to get him interested in anything. He's had a lot of back pain and struggles to poo as can't bend his back (although he does manage it). He's not incontinent and is clean overnight - although he did have an accident in the house a few days ago during the day. The vet reports that he's still got healthy lungs and heart.
I can't bear the thought of him living in pain and i equally can't bear the thought of losing him. I don't know what to do. i can't even bear to talk to my wife about it as i don't want to put the decision on her and i can barely talk about it.
Any thoughts gratefully received.
We have a bearded collie, a wedding present from the breeders (my best man's parents- who i was very very close to)
I can't bear the thought of life without him (we've had some really hard years in his 14.5 years and he is very loved) but I'm scared that it might better for him to slip away- how do you know?
He's been getting weaker for the past year, losing a lot of weight, not really eating (although now we just feed him whatever we eat and he's put a bit more on), he fell down the stairs yesterday (and this was a dog that used to clear a 5ft fence). He doesn't wag, goes in and out of the house constantly, growls just lying down quietly and/or woofs for no reason. He isn't happy at all- never wags, very hard to get him interested in anything. He's had a lot of back pain and struggles to poo as can't bend his back (although he does manage it). He's not incontinent and is clean overnight - although he did have an accident in the house a few days ago during the day. The vet reports that he's still got healthy lungs and heart.
I can't bear the thought of him living in pain and i equally can't bear the thought of losing him. I don't know what to do. i can't even bear to talk to my wife about it as i don't want to put the decision on her and i can barely talk about it.
Any thoughts gratefully received.
So we took barney to the vets this morning and I'm still sobbing like a baby- pretty much all day now.
He had stopped eating a couple of days ago and just lay quietly, he couldn't walk and it broke my heart to carry him to the vets- he slipped away quietly and very quickly in my arms along with our 8 year old daughter.
A massive whole in my heart just opened up- he had been with us 15 years, and some of those were really tough, he was a present from my best friends parents who had looked after me as a teenager and who have now died themselves. I miss him like a physical pain already, he had been through so much with us, always there, always loving, always crazy. He would happily go for a ten mile walk or sit on your lap and rest his head against yours.
The house is quiet, his bed is empty, i went to let him back in this evening before remembering.
I don't know when my wife or i will stop crying, but oh god i didn't expect to miss him this much.
So much sadness.
He had stopped eating a couple of days ago and just lay quietly, he couldn't walk and it broke my heart to carry him to the vets- he slipped away quietly and very quickly in my arms along with our 8 year old daughter.
A massive whole in my heart just opened up- he had been with us 15 years, and some of those were really tough, he was a present from my best friends parents who had looked after me as a teenager and who have now died themselves. I miss him like a physical pain already, he had been through so much with us, always there, always loving, always crazy. He would happily go for a ten mile walk or sit on your lap and rest his head against yours.
The house is quiet, his bed is empty, i went to let him back in this evening before remembering.
I don't know when my wife or i will stop crying, but oh god i didn't expect to miss him this much.
So much sadness.
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