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Letting Go



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 11th 08, 12:44 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Sharonpo
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Posts: 24
Default Letting Go

Tomorrow we're saying goodbye to our precious Sydney, who has been a
member of the family for 14 years. He has kidney failure, and the vet
is willing to attempt to prolong his life; but, the prognosis is, of
course, bleak.

We have never had to do this before and are terrified for him. Is there
any way to make it easier for him? I have heard such horror stories
about how dreadfully traumatic it is for the dog. Is there anything
special we can request from the vet to make this transition peaceful
for him?

Thank you all very much.


  #2  
Old December 11th 08, 12:56 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Nessa[_2_]
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Posts: 322
Default Letting Go

On 10 Dec 2008 23:44:13 GMT, Sharonpo wrote:

Tomorrow we're saying goodbye to our precious Sydney, who has been a
member of the family for 14 years. He has kidney failure, and the vet
is willing to attempt to prolong his life; but, the prognosis is, of
course, bleak.

We have never had to do this before and are terrified for him. Is there
any way to make it easier for him? I have heard such horror stories
about how dreadfully traumatic it is for the dog. Is there anything
special we can request from the vet to make this transition peaceful
for him?

Thank you all very much.




I am so sorry for your loss. I had to do this in September for my
Bagel. It's hard.

He was already in board at the vet (and pretty unable to move due to a
neck injury) so when we got there at the right time he had been moved
to the area where they would euth him.

A tech was feeding him chicken she had made him.

we visited with him a bit (we all said goodbye to him)
I hugged him.

the vet gave him a tranquilizer and left us a few more minutes.

his breathing became deep and regular and I could see he was NOT in
pain any more for the first time in a long time.

the actual injection was quick and as far as I could tell he was not
in pain nor was he afraid.

The only thing I wish I had done was brought my other dog with me so
she could say goodbye. I think it was very very very hard on her.

IF you can do it, be with him till the very end.... that's my
personal advice.
Best Wishes,

Nessa
----
Dog Mom to:
Hannah age 6.5 Pitador rescued age 9 weeks
Harley small shaggy cow that I love and adore (landseer Newf rescued 10/08)
(Angel) Bagel went to Rainbow Bridge 9/18/08 my Newfandstuff age 8.5
  #3  
Old December 11th 08, 01:27 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Phyrie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 427
Default Letting Go


"Sharonpo" wrote in message
...
Tomorrow we're saying goodbye to our precious Sydney, who has been a
member of the family for 14 years. He has kidney failure, and the vet
is willing to attempt to prolong his life; but, the prognosis is, of
course, bleak.

We have never had to do this before and are terrified for him. Is there
any way to make it easier for him? I have heard such horror stories
about how dreadfully traumatic it is for the dog. Is there anything
special we can request from the vet to make this transition peaceful
for him?

Thank you all very much.


We went through this with our Sheltie, Lacy, nine years ago. The final
diagnosis was made on a Thursday. The vet gave us some medication, and we
were going to try to get through the weekend. But when we arrived back
home, we decided not to prolong her suffering any more, and I took her back
over Friday. My husband couldn't do it, so I went alone.
Although Lacy had a great fear of strangers, and wasn't fond of the vet, she
allowed him to shave her foreleg and start an IV without any fuss at all. I
held her in my arms, and she was calm and cool. I was watching her eyes,
and the vet said, "That's it." I had missed it! It was so gentle and calm
that I didn't even know he had injected the drug. Lacy had simply slipped
away, right in front of my eyes, and it was so subtle I didn't see it
happen. I closed her eyes, and said my goodbyes, and left her with the vet.
He had her cremated, as we didn't think we could bear to bury her ourselves.
It was the greatest gift I could give the old girl, and I'm forever grateful
that I stayed with her, to make sure she was unafraid and calm.
I'm very sorry for your loss, and I wish the same easy passing for precious
Sydney as Lacy had.

Phyrie


  #4  
Old December 11th 08, 02:09 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Kathleen
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Posts: 942
Default Letting Go

Sharonpo wrote:
Tomorrow we're saying goodbye to our precious Sydney, who has been a
member of the family for 14 years. He has kidney failure, and the vet
is willing to attempt to prolong his life; but, the prognosis is, of
course, bleak.

We have never had to do this before and are terrified for him. Is there
any way to make it easier for him? I have heard such horror stories
about how dreadfully traumatic it is for the dog. Is there anything
special we can request from the vet to make this transition peaceful
for him?

Thank you all very much.


When it was our Mollie's time we brought along a quilt from my bed where
she'd slept so many nights. We folded it to make a pad on the floor and
she laid down and made herself comfortable. I knelt down and took off
her collar and scratched the itchy part of her neck and stroked her face
while the vet gave her the shot. She drifted away smelling home,
looking into my eyes.

Know that this will be much harder on you than it will be for Sydney.


  #5  
Old December 11th 08, 02:50 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
sionnach
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Posts: 825
Default Letting Go


"Sharonpo" wrote:

Is there any way to make it easier for him?


Stay with him, and stay calm. Be there for him, set your own feelings aside
until afterwards.

Is there anything
special we can request from the vet to make this transition peaceful
for him?


For ALL of you, not just for him, and not necessarily in order - I list all
suggestions for general purposes, I realize it may be too late for some of
them to be practical for you; also, some vets are not willing to do all of
these things:

Request that the vet schedule your appointment for first thing in the
morning, or last before closing.
Request that you be allowed to enter and leave by a side or back entrance,
and that you not be required to sit in the waiting room.
Request - BEFORE leaving home - that you be allowed to leave the dog in the
car and discreetly take care of payment & paperwork beforehand.
Request that the vet use a shunt rather than doing multiple injections.
Make sure what the vet's policies are regarding owner participation BEFORE
you go in. Some don't want owners to stay, and/or don't want to let you be
there when a shunt is put in.
If he's a large dog, ask that the vet let you sit on the floor with him
rather than putting him on a table.
Decide beforehand what you're doing about body disposal.





  #6  
Old December 11th 08, 02:58 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Sharonpo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 24
Default Letting Go

Nessa, Phyrie, Kathleen, elegy

Thanks guys - so much. It's the IV that I wonder about. Can Sydney be
sedated before that, or is it even necessary to go the IV route. I know
that's gotta hurt and cause pain, fear, etc..

I thought we were more mentally prepared for this than we are simply
due to his age.


  #7  
Old December 11th 08, 03:04 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Nessa[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 322
Default Letting Go

On 11 Dec 2008 01:58:45 GMT, Sharonpo wrote:

Nessa, Phyrie, Kathleen, elegy

Thanks guys - so much. It's the IV that I wonder about. Can Sydney be
sedated before that, or is it even necessary to go the IV route. I know
that's gotta hurt and cause pain, fear, etc..

I thought we were more mentally prepared for this than we are simply
due to his age.


IF I recall correctly the sedation does not require an IV just a
shot... then the IV is done when sedated
Best Wishes,

Nessa
----
Dog Mom to:
Hannah age 6.5 Pitador rescued age 9 weeks
Harley small shaggy cow that I love and adore (landseer Newf rescued 10/08)
(Angel) Bagel went to Rainbow Bridge 9/18/08 my Newfandstuff age 8.5
  #8  
Old December 11th 08, 03:10 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Rocky[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,421
Default Letting Go

Sharonpo said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Is there anything
special we can request from the vet to make this transition
peaceful for him?


Will your vet do home euthanasia? This is what I did with my
old girl a few years ago and it went very well.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.
  #9  
Old December 11th 08, 03:28 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Phyrie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 427
Default Letting Go


"sionnach" wrote in message
...

"Sharonpo" wrote:

Is there any way to make it easier for him?


Stay with him, and stay calm. Be there for him, set your own feelings
aside until afterwards.

Is there anything
special we can request from the vet to make this transition peaceful
for him?


For ALL of you, not just for him, and not necessarily in order - I list
all suggestions for general purposes, I realize it may be too late for
some of them to be practical for you; also, some vets are not willing to
do all of these things:

Request that the vet schedule your appointment for first thing in the
morning, or last before closing.


Yes, it was hard to walk through the waiting room with other people there
with their pets, although we did not have to wait, but were ushered right in
the moment we came in. I did go in ahead before bringing Lacy in to make
sure they were ready for us.

Request that you be allowed to enter and leave by a side or back entrance,
and that you not be required to sit in the waiting room.
Request - BEFORE leaving home - that you be allowed to leave the dog in
the car and discreetly take care of payment & paperwork beforehand.


That's a great idea too. I wish I had thought of it. I had to stop at the
desk on my way out to take care of that.

Request that the vet use a shunt rather than doing multiple injections.
Make sure what the vet's policies are regarding owner participation BEFORE
you go in. Some don't want owners to stay, and/or don't want to let you be
there when a shunt is put in.
If he's a large dog, ask that the vet let you sit on the floor with him
rather than putting him on a table.


Decide beforehand what you're doing about body disposal.


This was very helpful in our case. We knew we didn't want to bring her home
again, and the cremation service (rather than "disposal") eased any guilt
that might have occurred.

One nice thing: we later received a card from the Western College of
Veterinary Medicine saying that a donation had been made to the College in
Lacy's name by our vet. I was surprised and touched by the gesture.

Phyrie



  #10  
Old December 11th 08, 03:44 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Sharonpo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 24
Default Letting Go

Sharonpo wrote in
:

Nessa, Phyrie, Kathleen, elegy

Thanks guys - so much. It's the IV that I wonder about. Can Sydney
be sedated before that, or is it even necessary to go the IV
route. I know that's gotta hurt and cause pain, fear, etc..

I thought we were more mentally prepared for this than we are
simply due to his age.




Just a bit more information.

I'm still trying to learn the numbers, and don't fully understand it
myself. His creatine (?) is 7.1. In healthy dogs it's below 1.4. The
other number is BUN and should be under 25 or 28, I forget which.
Sydney's is 188. I don't know what it all means, but an IRIS Staging
graph does finally put it a little more in context for me. The vet was
pretty non-committal and was willing to stand behind whatever I
decided. Making a decision is the hard part.

 




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