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Can anyone out there help me with why I may have heard the whining from my pet the night I had to put him down? It awakened me out of my sleep, just like I heard him when he use to do it sometimes, It was kind of concerning because it made me feel like he was wondering where I was at, like he was looking for me somewhere, thanks!
After my sweet Gizmo (cat) died, I kept hearing a familiar thunk at the front hallway cabinet... when she was alive, she'd always open & thunk that cabinet to tell me she wanted to go outside. I continued hearing it almost nightly, until a few months later when I moved into a new place. I'm not really a believer in the after-life, but that was a little creepy - so you never know.
My heart goes out to everyone here who's lost a pet... I feel the pain so strongly, I could only read one page of this thread.
Our dog, Heidi, died 15 minutes after having what we think might have been a heart attack. She died 15 days before turning 14 yrs. old. That was a hard time in our lives. We missed her terribly. We waited nearly two years until we got another dog, a bichon, Charmin.
Last Saturday, May 19th, Charmin (10 1/2 yrs. old) had to be euthanized due to end stage renal failure. It was the hardest decision I have ever made and hope I never have to do it again. We knew she wasn't going to get any better, so we tried to make her life as easy as possible. She had good days and bad days, and the last 4 days prior to her death, she was playing with her toys, running, no vomiting, but still not eating or drinking much. I guess that was the calm before the storm and maybe that was her way of helping us remember how much fun she was before she got sick.
I held her close as the vet gave her the injection, she went very peacefully. I have never cried so hard, my eyes were sore from crying so much. My husband was out of town so he couldn't be there with her to see her take her final breath. Charmin is no longer suffering and probably playing with her other 4 legged cousins in heaven, maybe even playing with our family members who have gone on before us. We miss her so much. We love you Charmin, you will always have a special place in our hearts.
I feel very sorry for your loss. I've had 18 dogs in my life, most of them rescues. I had to 'kill' my dog, Baby, a week ago because of advanced renal failure. Same thing; I held her as she died and had the vet come to my home as it is less traumatic for the creature. It is dreadful and you spend your life second guessing yourself: did I do this too soon, not soon enough, and on and on. The extreme sadness and guilt comes from not only that event but it comes from every other bad feeling that is conjured up from this trauma. It will pass and be better in time but every time you have to put a pet 'down', a part of your heart goes with them. They are indeed fortunate pets to have had someone like you, to love them so very much in their lifetime. Most people don't even have that. You can bet, in whatever spirit world they are now, they love you for that and always will.
Advanced renal failure is hard to deal with. Charmin got to the point that she didn't like the same food 2 days in a row, maybe eat one thing, not the other. I tried to feed her protein with either rice, pasta, or veggies and adding her medicines in with them. Sometimes she got her meds, sometimes not depending on what food it got mixed in with. She would drink a lot of water, then it would come back up. The last couple of days of her life she would only eat vanilla wafers and cornflakes and very little water. She loved Lucky Charms cereal so that was her treat. It got to the place that I would feed her just about anything just to get her to eat something. She liked pumpkin and sweet potatoes along with protein but not during her last week. She wouldn't drink low sodium chicken broth either.
I would do it all over again just to have her back.
Advanced renal failure is hard to deal with. Charmin got to the point that she didn't like the same food 2 days in a row, maybe eat one thing, not the other. I tried to feed her protein with either rice, pasta, or veggies and adding her medicines in with them. Sometimes she got her meds, sometimes not depending on what food it got mixed in with. She would drink a lot of water, then it would come back up. The last couple of days of her life she would only eat vanilla wafers and cornflakes and very little water. She loved Lucky Charms cereal so that was her treat. It got to the place that I would feed her just about anything just to get her to eat something. She liked pumpkin and sweet potatoes along with protein but not during her last week. She wouldn't drink low sodium chicken broth either.
I would do it all over again just to have her back.
I completely understand. My 3 that died from that stopped ALL food and then ALL water for days, into weeks. Almost could not have one put down because she was so dehydrated, the vet barely found a vein. He described what has to be done when they can't find a vein - I learned my lesson from that. It is very difficult for us and I am sure much worse for them. You realize there is special dog food from the vet for renal failure and lots of new meds. So you can keep them around longer now, than in years past. It is all so very very sad.
We tried feeding Charmin the special dog food for renal failure recommended by the vet, but she wouldn't eat it, she wanted her Mommy to cook people food for her and I gladly did it. When we went on vacation, she was in the kennel at the vet's office and I spent one evening cooking special foods for her to eat twice a day for over a week. I package each food individually and labled them with feeding instructions. I wanted to be sure she was feed properly. Even when Charmin was a healthy dog, she wouldn't eat much anywhere unless she was with us.
Tomorrow will be one week since her passing and I know at 1:12 p.m. I will shed lots of tears.
Your post reminds me of the last days of the two dogs I had to put down, two weeks apart in 2009. One had cancer, and one kidney failure. I had given up trying to get her to eat the k/d food much earlier. I'd spend a good half hour in the kitchen in the morning, and again in the evening, trying different foods to get them to eat. It was a privilege to do it. My boy with cancer was still able to go for short walks, and he loved them. None of the neighbors who saw him could believe he was so sick. When I'd tell them we'd have to let him go soon, they'd say, "Are you sure?" but when the walk was over he'd lie on the couch for the whole day unless I made him get up to try and eat. I did feel guilty, that maybe I could have prevented this by finding signs earlier, or that there might have been things I should have done differently. But I know my husband and I did care for them well, and did all we knew to do for them.
I saw Joe Biden speaking to military families about lost loved ones today, and I liked what he said, that he promised them one day they'd think of the departed and it would bring a smile to their lips before it brought a tear to their eye. That's true when I think of my dogs today, and it will be true of you thinking of Charmin too.
As I knew I would, at 1:12 p.m. Saturday, May 26th, I shed many tears for the one week anniversary of my dog's death. I went to the bathroom, locked the door and cried long and hard. My husband was napping so he didn't even know what was going on, probably wouldn't have understood anyway. At a family outing on Memorial Day, my cousin was talking about her cat that had to be euthanized and how much she missed him. She apologized to me later for talking about that in front of me. She had forgotten that we experienced the same thing just a week ago with our dog. This week, we should be getting a call from the vet's office saying Charmin's urn is ready to be picked up. I'm sure the tears will start all over again. At least, she'll be back with me, only in a different form.
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I continued hearing it almost nightly, until a few months later when I moved into a new place. I'm not really a believer in the after-life, but that was a little creepy - so you never know.
