What To Do

We found out our 9 year old American Eskimo Spitz has kidney failure, is the humane thing to put her down or keep her alive with medicine for anywhere from a few weeks to a few years. I know what should be done but curious to see what others think. We have until Monday to decide.

That's a tough decision to have to make and I don't envy you. My heart goes out to your family...

I think first I'd ask myself is she is suffering? Is she in a great deal of pain? Can the meds keep her comfortable for a few weeks at most? I realize your Vet is leaving the final decision up to you and your family, but what is he/she saying in regards to long term care for your pet?

Feeling the way I feel about my dogs, I know if I could provide relief to them for at least another year, and could afford to do so, I would. But if keeping them alive for just a few more weeks just to make ME feel better while they are suffering...well...I don't know if that's right, either.

Just my two cents...whatever you decide to do, your pet will know you love her and are doing everything you can to make her comfortable. Just be there for her in the end no matter when or how that happens.

Good Luck....(hugs)

Always sucks when a pet gets sick like that. We put our miniature Dashund to sleep a little over a month ago. Her stomach torsioned or twisted. We could have operated but she also had cancer. In the grand scheme of things putting her thru the operation when we knew she was living on borrowed time was not what we wanted to do. Make her suffer more just for a few more months? While we would have loved to have any extra time with her we decided not at the expense of more pain on her part.

When our beagle was about 7 years old, we discovered that he had some renal/kidney issues. But he never seemed to be in discomfort. The vet at that time, did not tell us what to do, but gave us all the information we needed. Our beagle was given about a year to live. Maximum. Well, 7 years later, we had to put him down as his kidneys started to shut down. He had no bladder control. He wouldn't eat or drink. The fur stared to fall off his tail. We knew the day had come. But, with lots of TLC he lived much longer than the year the vet first said. We called a family meeting about two months before the day we put him down. Everybody said their goodbyes. It was hardest on me. My hubby and I bawled for a week and this dog had only come into his life for about three or four years. You have to do what's best for the dog.
If I can leave you with any advice, it's this: mark your calendar every morning and afternoon. Did your pet have a good, bad or up and down day? When the bad days out weigh the others, you know it's time. Good luck. Not easy.

It is such an individual decision and I feel your pain. Our beloved cocker spaniel lived to be 17 years old. It was difficult at the end to make that decision and in all actuality he probably was allowed to live a little longer than he should have. That emotional bond was difficult to break. I guess you need to consider your pets quality of life and not make a decision based on your reluctance to break the tie. My prayers are with you.

bluenose2 wrote:

We found out our 9 year old American Eskimo Spitz has kidney failure, is the humane thing to put her down or keep her alive with medicine for anywhere from a few weeks to a few years. I know what should be done but curious to see what others think. We have until Monday to decide.

It's Mondy bluenose. What did you decide to do? I hate dates like this...decide by Monday. I am confident that you did what was best for your pet and your family.

I would like to thank everyone who responded. It is tough to write this as we decided to have her put to rest at 5:30 this afternoon. This was just as hard a decision as when we put our Shih Tze to rest 2 years ago. Thanks again, it was greatly appreciated. Also thank you very much to the person who contacted me by e-mail, that was very nice also.