Horrible descision

[ThomasClan]

I am having to make the horrible descision about having my nearly 17 year old Jack russel PTS. She has had a great life, but she is getting so blind, we have the problem our garden is higher than the house so she has to navigate a set of steps to get to the garden. She is also getting not so house trained, we have to let her out every 40 mins or so or she leaves us a messages. Do you think I am being unkind if I have her PTS? I love her dearly but to be honest this is not proper living, all she does is eat and sleep and need the toilet. She has gone down hill so quickly. I spent out nearly £1000.00 for vets fees about 8 months ago as I shut her foot in the door accidently and she broke all her toes. I did not begrudge the cost as I am fortunate at that time I could afford it, and I felt so awfull.The vet said as she was so active and healthy he would do the op to pin all her toes. It is amazing how just 8 months later she has aged so much.

Am I right in considering her to be PTSed? (put to sleep in other words)

Anna xx

[Zen]

Hi Anna, i'm, sorry you are thinking you may have to do this, it is a decison that only you can make.
You have to ask what quality of life she has, and if you dont think she has that quality then PTS could be the right thing to do.
Have you discussed this with your vet? with regards to letting her out every 40 mins, there are drugs available that can help with urinary incontinance, maybe there is a medical condition causing this? e.g diabetes, urine infection. Maybe worth having a chat with the vet and see if they can offer any advise.
Thinking of you.

[Mrs Frog]

I think you already know the answer. Only you can make that decision,and it is very sad.I know it is not the same but I took my 11 year old rabbit to the vet because she was so so thin and was nearly blind her behaviour had changed and she sat in her hutch and looked at the wall and not out the door.3 times I made the appointment then cancelled it.In the end I gave her some lovely food and cuddles and took her at 5.30 that day to the vets wrapped up in a soft cuddly blanket.The vet gave her an injection and i held her until she fell asleep.I felt that was the best thing for her at that time.

I have a friend who has a 19 year old dog that wears nappies as he is the same as your dog.I dont think it is very happy

I am sure you will make the best decision for your dog

hi anna, zen has given you some very good advice about having a chat with the vets about her lack of bladder control,

i lost my dog last year, he had been having accidents for a while, but i didnt find it a problem, we learnt to cope with his problems, plus i have always had pet insurance which helps you to explore all avenues
but we are all different, i dont think anyone can give you any advice or make that decsion for you, it must be yours, as you are the one who has to live with it, which ever way you decide
no one will judge you

[sky]

Anna, not a nice decision to make, you will know when the time is right, I had to not so long ago. Thinking of you at the very hard time. Big Hugs

[wilsonathome]

that's a horrible decision for you to make and i don't envy you one little bit i'm so sorry for you but ultimately it's up to you, a client of mine had a 15 yr old dog called ricky and it suffered badly for the last 6-8 months with blindness, he would bump into things, fall asleep anywhere, incontinent, couldn't even walk towards the end but the old lady couldn't find it in her heart to let him go to sleep, try not to let your heart rule your head and know that whatever you decide you'll have her best interest at heart, thinking of you

[Sylvia1]

Hi Anna

I can only echo what everyone else has said. I have been through this more times than I care to remember so I know how you feel. I'm sure you already know this but there is no-one who knows your dog like you do - her quality of life now compared to when she was well. 17 is an amazing age and this decision is one final thing you have to do for her. I'm sure you will make the right decision - hugs xxx

[kimmerz]

that is such a shame, as said before chat to your vet and discuss her quality of life, is she happy? a couple of years ago my ferret went blind and we spoke to the vet and because fuzz was such a happy little guy he agreed that the quality was still good because he was still happy, and we finally had him PTS when he started showing signs of discomfort and pain. everyones opinion differs i have seen blind dogs running around with a very waggy tail playing with there toys and bumping into things a couple of times but they looked so happy, so if shes happy i personally would hold off for a bit, the accidents wouldn't bother me too much, I'd be ok to clean up after rex if he had that problem. like said you and the vet need to talk about the quality of life to see if shes happy or misrable and how you personally feel about the situation.

[welshlass22]

Awww such a horrible decision to make.........
I wil be thinking of you what ever you decide........
Sorry don't know what else to say...*hugs*

[ThomasClan]

Thank you everyone, you have all echoed how I feel. I will be making an appointment next week to have a chat with my vet, he is a lovely guy and I respect everything he says, he has been my vet for nearly 20 years now. It is all down to quality of life, as much as I love her to bits, there is no way I will drag out her life if it is not happy, just because I do not want to have to make the descision. Jackie I have a 10 year old rabbit he has had his ups and downs, I can just see me having to make that awfull call this year also. Why do our pets get old

I did not have Jay the JRT insured as to be honest over the last 16 nearly 17 years all she had cost me was her anual jabs so when she needed her foot done I just looked at the fact she had cost me basically nothing every year. This is why it is so hard as she has gone from a dog which had no problems to one which is having more and more. It is not urinary mistakes it is the no 2's.

Thank you all for your kind words and support.

Anna xx