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Words cannot express my sincere appreciation and heartfelt aloha for all of you, your kindness, compassion, and wisdom. The hardest part is trying not to be "selfish", and all of your sound advice is taken to heart. Mahalo so much.
Life can truly be trying...It helps knowing we are not alone. Going to spend the rest of the eve/night with my old boy.
Bless you all. Mahalo ke Akua.
*Special Note: Thank you, Mr. Tucker, for this venue, which at times like this, is especially appreciated. Aloha to you, Sir.
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opihikao...rest easy...https://rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm
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My heart goes out to you, Opihikao, and to your precious dog. May you both find some comfort in spending these last days together. There is no easy way to go about it when the time comes near for a pet to cross the rainbow bridge. We have had a pet die in our arms, been there when we had one euthanized, and had to put one down ourselves. You will know what is the best thing to do.
Wahine
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Im so sorry to hear about your dog opihikao.
When my old girls didn't eat for a few days I fed them soft dog food, (Little Ceasars, they're small) through a large plastic syringe I bought from the vet. Once the food made it into their mouths thay would swallow it.
I've also given them fried Mahi Mahi from Pahoa Fresh Fish. Just the smell brought them around. I hope your friend gets better.
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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quote:
Originally posted by Wao nahele wahine
My heart goes out to you, Opihikao, and to your precious dog. May you both find some comfort in spending these last days together. There is no easy way to go about it when the time comes near for a pet to cross the rainbow bridge. We have had a pet die in our arms, been there when we had one euthanized, and had to put one down ourselves. You will know what is the best thing to do.
Wahine
We've been through this too many times, most recently last year. Our little dog ended up needing to be euthanized. Shortly after that our cat (19 1/2) stopped eating and just went off into the bush to die. Be aware that panting can be a sign of pain in dogs and they put up with an awful lot before making a fuss, but the advice above is very true. You will know what is right. Much aloha at this difficult time. It brings tears to my eyes just hearing about this situation.
Just call me Mike
Me ka ha`aha`a,
Mike
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I feel that I waited too long with my dog. She essentially got senile as well as physically infirm. She wandered off a couple of times on her own. The last time she went to the park next door and ended up rolling down a steep embankment in tall weeds. I must have been within 50 feet of her while searching. perhaps she didn't hear me calling. She was pretty deaf by then. A girl whose house backed up to the park heard her crying at 1 in the morning and called the police or humane society. Fortunately they were able to get hold of me even in the middle of the night. just prior to that she had been unable to get up while I was away and she was out on the lanai. She would push herself up almost enough then sort of collapse. In doing so she would move maybe 1/16 of a turn. Eventually she rubbed her elbow raw on the concrete. When I found her she was lying in the middle of a bizarre flower pattern of smudges of blood.
I remember thinking that she wasn't having all that much fun in life at that point and that if I did things right she could go without ever seeing it coming. I pondered whether I could do the job myself since dying in her sleep after a nice meal and plenty of pats, without any suspicion of anything, would be ideal, and taking her to the vet's would sort of give away the game. I don't think she hated the vet's but she didn't like being up there on the steel table, I assume because that's where she got shots. No, dying in her sleep would be the best, but how? In the end I took her in. This was on Oahu in a townhome. Here I might very well have tried to do it myself.
Apart from the drugs that the vet can provide, the only instantaneous way would be to shoot her in the head while she was sleeping. Gosh just writing that sounds nasty but it would probably be worse for me than for her. I once flew with a guy from Alaska who had various parts missing. His toenails were all gone. I asked if from frostbite and he laughed. No he said he just had chronic problems with them and had them removed. What really caught your eye though was that half of his face was missing. He had been in the air force and was working on an aircraft when an oxygen cylinder exploded in his face. He had no recollecton of the actual event nor did he associate that instant with pain. He just woke up in the hospital and had to be told what had happened. Now that's as close to being shot in the head as one can come and still live to tell about it and from his story I deduce that if he had never woken up he would not have experienced any pain.
Of course if you could ask the dogs or anybody else if they wanted to be euthanized they would say no. However we have the power to arrange things so that they don't know what's coming. We usually don't take advantage of that. The last trip to the vet's, often not a pet's favorite place to begin with, is usually made all the worse by the crying and fussing of people who normally give snuggles but who the pet can now see are themselves traumatized by something. Gee, thanks peeples.
In the end my brother and I took her in tothe vets and held her while she was anesthetized and then euthanized. I was afraid that anything I might try would not be as gentle as that. I had researched the options on the internet and thought CO2 might be viable but there is some controversy over whether it is painful. People who have breathed in pure CO2 report that it burns their eyes, nasal passages, and lungs and animals being euthanized do often show signs of aversion. On the other hand people delivering CO2 cylinders to restaurants have walked into rooms full of leaking CO2 and stood around till they passed out and animals often don't show any aversiion to CO2 when euthanized I think that CO2 was actually used as a general anesthetic for people in the past. The trick seems to be to gradually increase the concentration of CO2 since it has an analgesic effect at low concentrations and an anesthetic effect at more moderate concentrations. It seems CO2 can be administered such that the patient doesn't feel negative effects before they pass out but that it requires a degree of control and time that first is hard for the amateur to master and second is time consuming in settings like labs where a lab tech is in a hurry. Anyway I wish I could have spared her the last trip to the vet's but I probably would have botched CO2 and I could not shoot a gun in my apartment.
When she was dead the vet assistant took her and lay her on the steel table. I felt a pang as I saw her tongue about to touch the cold table, but she was already gone of course.
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So sorry to hear this, Opihikao, and can imagine how you are feeling right now, I've been through it too many times and it's the worst part of sharing your life with a pet since they give so much love back.
As others have said, my experience is that your dog will let you know the right time to help, but in the meantime make this time a special one between you and the dog. One day, in the not too distant future, you will look back at this time without tears and treasure those last few days or weeks.
Tom
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+1 with TomK. So sad that you and your faithful companion are at this crossroad. I wish you both all the best.
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You folks really touch my heart. Your sound advice, all of it, lends great comfort. Again, beyond mere words.
He and I are talking about all things, and we're going through "the process" together. Heartbroken/breaking, and appreciate the support so very much.
If I may say, this part of "life" really sucks! (Sorry, not sorry. [xx(]) However, looking forward to that "rainbow bridge"...
Difficult to say Aloha O'e (One of the best renditions)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXOzNiKceps
Mahalo ke Akua, e na Aumakua, e na Kupuna.
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Thank you for that, Opihikao. Both Pam and I are thinking of you and your family tonight.
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