Is it Time to Put My Dog to Sleep? Phoenix
How do you know if putting your pet down is the right thing to do? Typically when owners begin to ask this question they have already started to make that decision. We all tend to get a gut feeling and know in our heart that our pet is unlikely to improve and they are in constant pain. This is when a family discussion should be held to discuss feelings and the effect that the family pets deteriorating health is having on everyone, including the pet. Everyone will have valid points to make that will sway the decision. If your children are of age and maturity to face the reality, include them as well.
Have a discussion with your veterinarian, and get a second opinion if you feel it is necessary. Veterinarians have seen many pets and many cases in their careers and can give valuable guidance. They are informed and objective and can advise on the degree of pain or suffering that the pet is experiencing or is expected to experience in the future. This is useful advice for decision making because your veterinarian is informed, experienced and a professional source that is not clouded with the same degree of grief or emotion that you are experiencing. He or She can also provide pain medications and advice on how to make your pet comfortable should you require a day or so at home to say goodbye. They can also walk you through the process and explain the step by step of the procedure.
A tricky term is the "quality of life" which is always subjective and can apply to many facets of a pet’s life, and not always just physical health, but can also refer to mental health as well. If your pet is sick all the time, eats rarely and is severely losing weight or is constantly in pain, can’t stand and so on it is easy to say that the quality of life is poor. We must also consider the pet that is in constant mental anguish such as separation anxiety or is coping with blindness may also be considered a poor quality of life. You shouldn’t feel ashamed or guilty if you find yourself in this position. Feeling guilty is most likely why pets that should be euthanized are not. Pets are very important members of our families and in many ways can take up a large portion of our own lives, a cat that is with us for 25 years makes up a third of the average person’s life. Often we come to rely on their presence like other humans in our lives, we need them and it is hard to say goodbye. However this should not be a reason we keep a suffering pet alive. When we realize that we are causing them to suffer then we can agree to the act of extreme self-sacrifice and mercy and allow them to pass peacefully.
A common question is asked if it is okay to just allow my pet to pass at home? Usually it is asked by owners that are struggling with the decision to euthanize, holding out for the chance that the pet will die in its sleep and relieve the owner of the burden of making the decision. Sadly many of these left-to-die pets do die while the owner is sleeping, but that doesn’t mean that they died in their sleep and there was no pain. Death is not always swift, and surely not always painless. Some forms of death can actually be very painful and even distressing, such as heart failure or respiratory failure. These forms of death may take hours, much longer than a loving owner would want to see them suffer. Assisted euthanasia is a humane way to avoid this suffering.
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