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+--- Thread: My Old Dog (/showthread.php?tid=17127)
My Old Dog - opihikao - 04-21-2016
Aloha PW ohana,
My heart is heavy as my old boy (12years, 7months) is nearing the end...He is no longer eating (4 days) and is only drinking water. He is a male (unaltered) Akita, that weighs/weighed 132 lbs. in his prime. He is not moaning, whimpering, crying, etc., nor showing any signs of pain, but I know in my heart it is his time...
Now, I humbly ask, what would you do at this point? I CANNOT bring myself to call the vet to "end it", as he isn't "suffering", but his "quality of life" is in question...(Can barely type, and feel horrible asking for advice, however, this is a rough one.)
I just keep praying that Akua take him in his time, and give us all mercy in this process. Mahalo for any thoughts that may help us deal with this great dog, that is part of our ohana. He has been my rock since my husband died. I'm just so damn torn.
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][V][]RE: My Old Dog - Tink - 04-21-2016
So sorry to hear Opihikao. My heart feels for you. Best you can do is keep providing him with his comforts and his favorites just as you would if he were human. He know it's his time, but confused as he may feel "what will my momma do when I'm gone, how will I protect her?".
Let him know with praise that it is OK to go if he feels it's time, and that you will catch up when it is time, and what a marvelous job he has done protecting you and your Ohana, and it's time to protect Poppa.
Of course if his quality of life goes, and he "talks" to you he needs a little help, understand and let go.
Community begins with Aloha
RE: My Old Dog - Rob Tucker - 04-21-2016
Just love him and give his his time. Not suffering, he is just living his natural end. We could all be so lucky.
Aloha to you Opihikao.
RE: My Old Dog - Chunkster - 04-21-2016
Oh, my heart goes out to you, Opihikao. Keep him comfortable and talk to him about how good he is. If he cries or lets you know he is suffering, you will know what to do. Meanwhile, keep loving him and know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.
RE: My Old Dog - Kenney - 04-21-2016
Oh I'm so sorry to hear, Ophihkao. My heart reaches out to you and your Ohana. I am certain that your loving presence is all he wants. Nobody knows how to love better than you. Trust yourself. You will do what's right. Asking Akua to bless you and your boy and to give you strength to endure.. Aloha Nui my friend.
RE: My Old Dog - terracore - 04-21-2016
That's how one of our dogs got. We found out that she WOULD eat raw steak.... but really nothing else. Then eventually she would no longer eat that. Here's my post about her from the punaweb archives. It almost had a euthanasia outcome.... I understand that's not what you are interested in, maybe you don't want to read further. Our hearts go out to you. Dogs are often our best friends and it seems unfair that we can't grow old with them:
I worked at a humane society, and I fostered dogs that were unadoptable. They were the dogs on death row. Of course, I couldn't save them all, but one at a time, so long as I had them, I could either improve their medical or behavior conditions to the point that a family would want them. The process took anywhere from days to months and I would contact breed-specific rescue organizations to help find homes for them. The longer I had them, the harder it was to let them go. Some of them I had for a very long time and saying goodbye was incredibly difficult. The only way I was able to do it was going into work every day and knowing there was always another dog that was going to die if I didn't help it. The last dog I fostered was named Sugar. But I usually called her Booger. She was a great, loving dog, but she had terrible epilepsy. It was easy to adopt her out but she kept coming back when the families realized they couldn't handle her medical condition. She was on twice daily medication and once she started seizing, it wouldn't stop until drugs were injected. It didn't happen very often unless they forgot to give a pill, which is easy to do. She was also really good at jumping tall fences. Long story short, I fostered her something like 5 times. When the last family brought her back it was clear she was the last dog I was going to foster. Because I kept her. I was the only family who could care for her, and there was no way I was going to allow her to be euthanized because people were too self-involved to give her medicine. She was incredibly bonded to me and for a large dog she lived a very long time, I used to joke that her separation anxiety was so bad that she would never die. It was like Yoda who lived so long using the force. But, even if you can slow the grains of sand, you can't stop them, and eventually Sugar's hourglass ran out. When her time came, it was on a Sunday, meaning it was an after-hours "emergency" call to have her euthanized. My wife and I carried her to the car and made her comfortable. Somehow Sugar knew what was going on, and remembered how hard I had worked to make sure she was never euthanized, and she died right there in the back of the car. I was trying to give her the ultimate gift, and she reciprocated by giving me the even greater gift of not having to do it.
http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9861&whichpage=3
RE: My Old Dog - Lodestone - 04-21-2016
Deciding when to put one's dog down is one of the hardest things we deal with. They suffer bravely and often without complaint, so it's really hard to know how much pain they are in. We had to put down a 17 year old and a 20 (!) year old in recent years, and reactions (aside from massive grief) were the same:
1) We should have done that sooner - the immediate change in appearance made it clear how tense (with pain) they had been in life.
2) We can only hope we pass that peacefully - they just close their eyes and go to sleep in just a few seconds.
That said, don't assume that now is the time; you'll never forgive yourself (maybe he was just sick?). Give him a few more days to get better.
No getting around the fact that you are "killing your best friend". You have to remind yourself he is already gone and you are merely easing his suffering, which is what friends do. Sometimes being a good friend is really, really hard. My thoughts and best wishes are with you.
RE: My Old Dog - dakine - 04-21-2016
I am sorry to hear this opihikao. Having been down this path with many many fury friends all I know so far is what is pono is unique to each. My line has always been at observable suffering. But in a few cases, in hindsight, I felt I left that until it was too late and live with regret over my lack of foresight. As hard as it is allowing them to pass rather than holding on to a minute or a day is often the wiser path. Humanely helping them along their journey can bring release for all concerned. God Bless you, your friend, and your ohana.
RE: My Old Dog - birdmove - 04-21-2016
Sorry to hear this about your dog. We have our son in law's old chocolate lab, and she is close to 15 years. We were happy to take her, as he kind of splits his time between Oahu and here. Also, his house here has too many steps for old Koa to be climbing. We know she won't be around too much longer, but are giving her love, and takling care of her. She is also deaf.
Maybe 10 years ago, we had two retired racing greyhounds, and one had to be put down. She basically lost the use of her rear legs. My wife could not deal with it. I took her in to the vet, and stayed with her the whole time. The vet tried to help me feel better by reminding me that dogs have no conception of death. It was hard to be there with her, but no way would I let her die alone with a stranger. It was not a painful death at all, and it was like a huge weight had been lifted off her as she slipped away. I stayed there petting and talking to her.
It's a tough thing, but celebrate the good times
Jon in Keaau/HPP
RE: My Old Dog - alaskyn66 - 04-21-2016
As long as he is not in pain... let nature take its course. .
I used to raise sled dogs.. and I know the pain of losing 'family' members.
Work..Consume...Obey - There's your meaning of life....