He loved seeing people / dogs enough that for him going to the vet was always exciting and enjoyable. He had a good time seeing some people there and didn't really mind getting an IV put in him, etc. Liked seeing the vet, receptionist and 3 assistants who helped with it all.
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We decided it was best to do it with this visit to the vet because they had no real way of helping and we hadn't been able to get him to eat. He had at most 1-2 weeks left before not eating and not being able to stand up or lie down without help was going to force it regardless.
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He was definitely still very interested in food and seemingly hungry but would reject nearly everything. Was able to get to the park for a few mins 2x daily with an increasing amount of help. Was deteriorating rapidly near the end and we decided his last day should be a good one.
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Had an amazing life where he got to see other dogs/people daily including many of his friends. Living right next to a 21 acre park near downtown Toronto full of dogs and occasionally going to cottage / beach to swim was a good life for him. Glad he was happy to the end at least.
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Could have made it another 5-20 days but he was starting to panic about being unable to get up / lie down on his own or stand up / walk. Was on strong pain killers and monthly injections already. Didn't want to start having him partially sedated and needing to be force fed.
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Previous 2 dogs I've had didn't get to go out on a high note like this.
13yo springer spaniel had stomach torsion at around 13 when I was 6 or 7.
12yo golden had brain tumour we got removed. Not themselves anymore after. Had to be put down from aspergillus mold in sinus/brain.
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The only downside of dogs is they don’t live long enough. When you ready adopt a new best friend. Take your time to heal.
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Yeah, and being unable to talk to them makes it rough figuring out what to do in this situation. Was seemingly happy but starving himself to death and he'd get into such a panic when he needed to pee/poop esp. since he had diarrhea for weeks. Think it was the right decision.
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Had to go down 3 steps to get to the backyard and up another 3 steps and then a hill to get into the park. He absolutely wouldn't willingly poop in the backyard even with diarrhea not because we ever taught him that but because he decided it wasn't acceptable at 2-3yo on his own.
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He was going to end up breaking/spraining his legs going down those steps. Was really awkward and clearly just skirting disaster. Wish we could have known what he was thinking and what he wanted though. Would have been nice to know what was stopping him eating too.
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The worst part is thinking that if only you had done something differently like trying different painkillers or medication to increase his appetite it could have gone differently, or blocking him following us upstairs at night earlier because it definitely accelerated it a bit.
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My friend fate is fate unfortunately and age gets the best of all us. Both my last 2 dogs we had to put down due to cancer and when it’s terminal or give your pet a bad quality of life the most loving thing you can do is let them pass peacefully by the vet.
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Just so know they are never gone unless we forget them. We always have dreams as well and depending on your beliefs the after life.
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