My dog Cramer he is a 12.5 yr old German shorthaired pointer who has been diagnosed with a cobblestone type adenocarcinoma in his rectum, colon area. Because of his age it was decided not to go in and remove the tumor via colon,recital dissection and instead the doctor went though the rectum and debunk it with a cauterizing knife It’s been 4 months now and I’ve noticed his stool has become daily diarrhea and the red blood has returned, He also needs to go out and try to go 10 to 13 a day and try to relieve himself, sometimes it’s just a few drops of blood other it’s more prominent.
But Cramer still behave like a 5 year old dog, well at least the front half has becomes unwelcoming to outsiders and friends alike with the perchance to nip or bite which is another issue that could be age related .
What I would like know is when should I take the unwanted but unavoidable steps to the veterinarian hospital and have him taken out his misery? At this moment I feel horrible because the front part of him is full of life and tail waging. When is one to know the time for the end …Thank you in advance for any advice
I know it kills you to make this decision, believe me, but it should be done pretty quickly.
Dogs and cats instinctively hide injury and pain. If the problem can be fixed, have it fixed, but if it cannot, give your friend peace and escape. It sounds like your little boy needs it.
From a logical standpoint I think it should be done on the sooner side, but I always wait too long. When I’m in the situation, I can’t take that step emotionally until it’s closer to the end. One thing I wholeheartedly recommend is to have it done at home. It’s still tough, but it’s a little easier being in a relaxed and familiar environment. Your vet can probably recommend someone who does that service. Sorry to hear you’re going through this. Sounds like Cramer has had a long and wonderful life.
My daughter is still really upset that the vet put her cat down when the cat, in her opinion, still wanted to live. The cat had an inoperable tongue cancer. She was having trouble eating and grooming herself, and her face had a lot of drool on it. But she WAS still trying to eat. She didn’t want to be in the vet’s office. She wanted to go home. And she wasn’t allowed to do that. The vet put her down.
My son has a friend who recently survived tongue cancer, and wrote a graphic description of what it felt like. His didn’t get as far along as the cat’s, and his sounded horrible. (and the treatment wouldn’t have been an option for an elderly cat, even if we’d caught it early – the treatment was pretty terrible for an otherwise-healthy young man who understood what was going on.) I’m pretty sure the vet was right. Like, maybe if we’d been able to take her home and have someone put her down a couple hours later, that would have been better? Not a lot better.
I know when my mother was dying she desperately wanted someone to “put her to sleep”, and that isn’t legal, and she suffered quite a lot. If the cat knew the prognosis, the cat might have wanted to be put down, too.
Anyway, it’s really hard. I’m afraid there aren’t any good options.
I had to say goodbye to a very special cat Jan of 2020, right before the pandemic. Sophie was diagnosed with what we thought was benign hyperthroid about 18 months prior. The medicine caused a bad reaction after which she stopped eating much for a while, I took her for ultrasounds, tried liver supplements, and she bounced back for about 6 more months of being a normal cat, eating normally and living a happy life until she stopped eating again right after New Years. I was scheduled to bring her in for a biopsy on MLK day, but I noticed she was withdrawing and hiding under my bed a few days prior. I called the vet and had a difficult but very helpful conversation. The key question I remember was “is she able to get joy out of life”. I had to answer, no she isn’t. So I spent that weekend with her, watching movies and cuddling on the couch with her in my lap (I wasn’t watching the movies, just her). I took her in that Monday and said goodbye. I was worried about how I would handle it, but a very powerful thought occurred to me, I had an opportunity to do one more kind thing for her. I was surprised how strong and calm I was.
It turned out she had thyroid cancer and at 13 years old there wasn’t much more I could do for her. Feeding tube was right out, no way I would do that to her, and surgery/chemo at her age. Again, not happening and she probably wouldn’t recover anyway.
Sophie’s sister Sagan is still alive and doing well. She just turned 17. She has the benign hyperthyroid which is under control with medicine that I give her every day. I was freaked out a bit at her diagnosis considering what Sophie and I went through, but she is doing well.
I guess the moral of the story is you will know, they will tell you, and it is important to make sure you are listening. I’ve heard it described like we are making the choice to take their pain from them and carry it with us. That is how it feels.
I put down a cat with cancer. He was my bestest boy ever and still is (don’t tell my current boo cat). When I knew he had the cancer and that I couldn’t afford the treatment, I just started watching him. He had already started peeing outside his box to tell me something was wrong when we discovered it was cancer. We removed the tumor we could see but both my wonderful vet and I knew we hadn’t gotten it all. Then, I just started watching him and as the lumps appeared elsewhere, I would look into his face to see if it was time. Four months later, he told me with his eyes, so I cuddled him all day and night and the next morning I brought him in. All the vet office personnel turned out for the sad occasion. He was an absolute star on every visit and they loved him, too. And then it was goodnight.
So, what I am saying to you is that he will tell you with his eyes that it is time to go. Yes, it will be hard, but you will know that it’s time.
I’ve had to make this decision with so many pets over the years. I’ve never looked back and thought I was too hasty, but I do think there were times I let it go on too long. My last dog was elderly and incontinent, he could eat only soft foods (and that with a lot of coaxing), and he could barely stand up from a lying position without help, but because he still wagged his tail when we petted him and seemed really happy whenever we were with him, it was hard to realize that the time had come. In retrospect, the last three months of his life were very, very hard on him, and I’d go back and spare him that if I could.
What does the vet say about prognosis? Is Cramer able to hold it through the night? Is it a mess to clean him up after?
I’m surprised - and gladdened - to see as many folk in here acknowledge that many people wait too long. For me, eating and drinking - and elimination, are likely the 2 biggest factors. Along with mobility. If any of those 3 is significantly impaired, IMO it is probably time. (One of my best friends currently has her old dog in diapers - which I would never do.)
Does he seem like he is really stressed about the frequency? Does he really strain trying to go? If not, just letting him out that frequently would not alone be enough IMO. But you gotta figure, 12.5 years and cancer - the days are not unlimited. Enjoy what you’ve got!
If you’ve got a good vet.: talk to the vet. I’ve trusted mine, more than once, to help me with this.
And of course you have to pay attention to the dog. But they often won’t show pain; the vet. may be able to tell you whether he’s likely to be in pain, or in how much discomfort otherwise. The irritability and tendency to nip may be a sign that he is – though also check whether he can still hear and see people coming.
I’ll echo others, it’s not an easy decision. My own dog is approaching 17 years, and while he’s doing pretty good for his age, he’s still on heart medication, he’s suffering from dementia, he’s mostly deaf, he’s going blind, and I have to put him in a diaper at night because he can’t hold it until morning. I’m not going to lie, it’s painful to see him get lost, unable to find the front door when I take him out to pee or see him have difficulty locating his food bowl. But he’s not in any pain, our vet agrees that overall he’s in good health and not in any pain, but given his age and overall health, we’re looking at making an unpleasant decision probably sooner rather than later.
My wife and I have have spoken about his end of life situation. We honestly thought his heart would give out, but it’s entirely possible his mind will go first or maybe he’ll go completely blind. So long as he has a decent quality of life we’ll take care of him, but if his dementia gets too bad or he’s blind and scared all the time then we’ll let him go. And now I’ve got something in my eyes so I’m going to go pet my dog.
It is certainly not an easy decision.
But it is your responsibility to make it.
After all, he gave you years of friendly and devoted service, and in turn you’ve fed & cared for him all these years. So this is the last caring thing you can do for him. And you owe it to him to make this hard decision.
You said in your OP “taken out his misery”. This shows that you know it is time.
A friend and her husband found a pet service that would come to your home when it was time. This vet made a house call, and was extremely compassionate, almost like a therapist. They had a small leave-taking ritual and my friend said that this really helped with closure, and letting go.
My wife and I have been graced by the presence of many wonderful pets over the last 30 years. We’ve always arranged for our vet to come to our house at the end. No freak out about the car ride (for the cats; the dogs always liked to get in the car) and no unpleasant time in a scary vet office. Just a visit from a known friend and a calm procedure in a totally relaxed environment.
We just had to say goodbye to our good boy Badger about a week ago. As, always, it was a really hard decision, but ultimately, I thought back to a question I asked our vet years ago when we lived in Seattle. I asked him if we were making the decision too soon and he said that he’s never seen anyone decide to put their pet to sleep too early, only at the right time or too late. I can’t say that I never stop to think “what if,” but I always think of that conversation and understand that I did the right thing at the right time.
Thank you to everyone for your experience & perspective on this very tough of stage of have a family pet, I’ve contacted my Veterinarian and explained where we’re at and she gave us a appointment to bring him for a look, she said the problems I’m seeing were to be expected in time and to add some 100% pure pumpkin to his chicken & Rice to tighten him up till we she sees him. Also if him is really struggling or advise pain bring him anytime there open. Thank you again to everyone!
