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So my 8 year old Chihuahua started coughing about a year ago. I thought it was either something in his throat, or maybe I hurt him with his collar and leash. I took him to the vet soon after that. That's when I got the worst news ever. It was congestive heart failure and a bad mitral valve. Ouch. This little puppy has been my bestie since he was born. He was put on lasix and enalapril. They never really seemed to work like I was told they would... And now I'm afraid that the end is here. His belly size has increased a lot in the last 3 days. And a fever to accompany it. I'm at that point where I don't know what to do, maybe because I don't want to lose my best friend... I'm not sure. And I feel like euthanization is like killing him, and I never want to hurt my baby. But I don't want him to suffer either. I'm looking at him right now, with tears in my eyes. I know what I have to do. It's time. I'm so depressed. All I can think about is how am I going to feel when he is gone? How will I deal with it? Who is going to be there like he was? But what I really should be concerned with, is him. Is he in pain? Can he breathe? Do I want him to have a horrible death? Or be comfortable? He looks at me with such trust and love. I'm so very sad. How do you deal with it? He is like a child to me. He has always been treated as if he were. Help!! Help me make the right decision. Please and thank you for reading
I'm so sorry to hear this. It's hard when they're not doing well.
Take him to the vet and see if they can help him. If he's regaining fluid and has a fever, he can't be comfortable. If he's suffering it's time to let him go. IMO it's much better to stop their pain if they aren't going to get well. I've had to put my dogs down when it became clear they were not having a good quality of life because I didn't want them to suffer. My experience has been it's a very peaceful process and not at all painful for the dog.
Euthanasia in this case would not be 'killing him'. It would be Letting Him Go, so he would not suffer the confusion, discomfort, and perhaps pain of dying from his medical problems. You will one day give him the gift of eternal peace. That day may still be off in the distance though. When you take him to the vet, they might drain the fluid with a syringe. For some dogs this helps, and he will feel better.
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