When you are losing an animal...

Roz

Roz

Well-Known Member
Many people have had animals in their lives, dogs, cats, fish, ferrets and so on, and they mean a lot. They are family and what happens in their lives affect everything. So what have you done when you feel it's getting time to let them go on, because their life in this world is coming to a close and it may be the best thing for them? I'm speaking on an emotional level, of those with aged or sick animals.

Any thoughts?
 
We had to have our 12 year old Springer,Snowball,put down in December 2011 because of her health and we still miss her.It's a horrible thing to have to face
 
It is something you do not want to think about. Sometimes a pet can be more loyal to you than a close relative. When My pet Poodle died 37 years ago I took it very badly. I was about to get married and wanted to cancel it all. I am not blaming my wife for his death but he got to jealous of her when she was around me. He couldn't stand her. It got to the point she would wait for me outside the house when we were going out. He started not to eat and eventually started to dislike me also. He died in my arms although he was mad. But just before he died he looked up at me and wagged his tail. It is something I can never forget. Now for the past 7 years we have a Cockatail. Same thing at being close to us. I can't even enjoy a cup of tea without her sticking her beak in my mug or biting my biscuits. When her time comes I swear she is the last pet I ever had.
 
Compo, We too had a Poodle, Snowflake, she was a mix between a teacup and a toy. The breeder called her a tiny toy??? 7 pounds, Anyway, she had intestinal cancer with no hope of recovery. She was 14.5 years old. We put her down in August 2012. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. She was my companion in my workshop, didn't mind the noise,sparks,etc.
The days before I took her into the vet, she was terrible, not even getting up out of bed. We had to keep checking to she if she was breathing.
The day I took her she looked up at me and seemed to say it was time. I did it while the wifey was at work and the kids at school, I drove around for hours after crying.
We now have a Christmas puppy, Golden Retriever, and she seems to have taken over where Snowflake left off. However, she keep stealing stuff out of the shop and takes off running with it, Grrrr :)
Its hard owning a pet when that time comes, but I think the joy they bring through the years is worth it.
 
Yep, have to agree with all the above, it can be like losing a close family member, which of course is what they become if they have been with you for many years.
Mine was a ten year old Staffordshire Bull terrier called Jackson.
He was born in March 2001 and like you do, i picked the one out of the litter that came to me.
We had many adventures together over the next ten years and i like to think he enjoyed his time with me as much as i did with him.
He could be a right twit sometimes (although i suspect he probably thought the same about me!), he wasn't too keen on other dogs but he loved children (i used to feed him one every day... boom, boom..tishh).
During 2011, he started to have fits and over time, they became more frequent, plus he had started to get a bit more aggressive, so rather than come down stairs one morning and find him dead, i decided that maybe the time had come to say goodbye.
So on the 3rd December, 2011 i took him to the vets and held him as he slipped away into his final sleep.
I sat in the car in the vets carpark and cried like a baby, i knew it was the best thing really but i couldn't help feeling that maybe i had acted too quickly in having him put to sleep, although the vet had mentioned that the problem with the fits could have been a brain tumor, which would account for his aggression, who knows?
He was a good mate and i still miss him terribly but i look back on the times we had together and i'm convinced that he had a decent life.
RIP little man. x

G ; )
 
I usually avoid any thoughts in this direction. The worst was when my first cat died, she was about 15 or 16 years and never ill, but got diabetes and died in less than a year. She was very bad towards the end and we were desperate to find another vet who knew more about such things and we found one who only treats cats and is excellent, we took her to him and he said there is a tumour in her pancreas right when he saw her and felt her belly, he said he would perform surgery the next day on her and if it´s too bad, he would put her to sleep while she is still anaesthetised. It didn´t even come to that, she died that night in his practice. I was relieved she didn´t have to be put to sleep, but managed on her own. Perhaps being somewhere else helped her. I was shocked the next day, my father and I picked up my dear cat and buried her at home. I was too shocked to cry, instead I got creepy nightmares if her accusing me of letting her down and such things.
Now I´ve got my second cat, she is nearly 12, so I´m hoping for a few more nice years, especially as I only got her about 4 years ago.
It is always a very tough decision to put a beloved pet to sleep, I´m glad I never had to do it yet. I remember when I was a child I had a guinea pig that had to be put to sleep, I can´t even remember it properly, but I didn´t have such a close relationship to it as I did to my cat. The same about a hamster I once had. My cats have been my closest mates.
 
My cat, Moley (from Wind in the Willows), was my constant companion. I knew
he was bad off and had decided to take him to a vet the next day. When I
went out to get him the next day I found him already gone. I cried for a long time
and determined I'd not ever have another pet. That was not to be. A year
and a half later our son found a cat hanging around the house. It was obvious
she had belonged to someone as she'd been spayed and de-clawed. She'd
been in a fight and had a pretty bad cut on her side so we took her in to clean
her up and have had her ever since. Last October our son found a tiny kitten
out in a wood pile...no sign of mama. He's been in the house ever since. So we
went from no animals to 2 animals. I wonder if I'll live long enough to see these
through. We really love them.....funny.......
 
My beautiful little cat cobweb was very ill it was during a long hot summer, I used to take her out on a pillow so she could have a bit of fresh air, and a stray cat kept coming and just sitting quite close watching her, Cobweb didn't seem at all afraid, It wasn't in any way aggressive, in fact it had a sort of gentle sad look, then little Cobweb died and the stray became Maximus and had three kittens, Querky, Grumpy, and Treacle-Pud. Now many years later they have gone too and I have a an ex rescue cat called Minka, but I do wonder about that long hot summer and little Cobweb.
 
Norm said:
My beautiful little cat cobweb was very ill it was during a long hot summer, I used to take her out on a pillow so she could have a bit of fresh air, and a stray cat kept coming and just sitting quite close watching her, Cobweb didn't seem at all afraid, It wasn't in any way aggressive, in fact it had a sort of gentle sad look, then little Cobweb died and the stray became Maximus and had three kittens, Querky, Grumpy, and Treacle-Pud. Now many years later they have gone too and I have a an ex rescue cat called Minka, but I do wonder about that long hot summer and little Cobweb.
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What a lovely story! :) thank you for sharing.


Thank you everyone, too. i know i don't come here as often as many do, but i felt i'd get some heart felt feelings and thoughts on a very uneasy subject. very uneasy for me, as we are saying goodbye to our only cat. today she is very physically weak, even so she has a spark, but she will be going to the vet early tomorrow and that will hopefully be the way she goes. i say "hopefully" because she could go before then. I just wish for the most gentle way for her.


again, thank you.
 
A year ago now I lost my cat, Parker. He'd been a good old pal. We'd had him for about 14 years and he'd been a great companion for my Dad when Ma died. It was a truly sad time, but he was great fun and I wouldn't have missed a moment of his lovely little life with us.
 
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