has anybody had their dog(s) die naturally?

JEKKI

JEKKI

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yo yo, my dog is old.

like... she's OLD! gray hairs, gray face,... she's been with my family for the last 16 years I think

she's hella weak now, and has significantly grown weaker this past month. I went out and she couldnt even get up, I had to bring food to her mouth. Likewise, she isnt eating much which I believe is definitely contributing to her health.

So of course I'm thinking of putting her to sleep but I asked a doctor friend about it today (human doctor, not pet one) and he said the best thing to do is to let nature take its course... btw he was also morally against euthanization hence his response.

anybody have any similar experiences? It is sad but I guess these things do have to happen, I jus wonder how I should deal with it.
 
My dad had a dog exactly like that. Towards the end she just wouldn't eat at all. It was really pretty sad, we decided just to let life take it's course and not have her put down. I don't know if that was the right thing or not, but it my dad happy to still see her for maybe those last 2 weeks or so.

So, I guess you just gotta ask yourself what you think best.

Sorry to hear this is happening man, losing a pet isn't easy.
 
No.

I had a old dog who couldn't stand up, couldn't eat/drink and was vomiting uncontrollably when it did try to eat/drink.
I had a very old cat who was basically skin/bone, couldn't eat/drink and I found him in a puddle of his own urine unable to get out, meowing his head off for help when I got back home from work.

Both were put down.

There comes a time when you have to cut your losses and end your pet's suffering. If I would have let nature take it's course, my cat/dog would have starved to death and gone through days of meaningless suffering.

While your dog doesn't seem to be at the point mine were (basically completely incapacitated/gone), I really hope you do make that decision when the time comes.
 
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thanks but yah that's another thing, I dont know how to balance an adequate way of taking care of my dog versus feeding her to keep her alive.

at the same time I dont wanna starve her.

My mother doesnt wanna get an injection coz it costs like $100 or something... nay eff that, if that's the best course then I'll gladly pay.

again thanks, in just like 5 posts you've all definitely had a lot of good input.

I'll definitely talk these points over with my family, hopefully they can understand too
 
[quote name='JEKKI']thanks but yah that's another thing, I dont know how to balance an adequate way of taking care of my dog versus feeding her to keep her alive.

at the same time I dont wanna starve her.

My mother doesnt wanna get an injection coz it costs like $100 or something... nay eff that, if that's the best course then I'll gladly pay.

again thanks, in just like 5 posts you've all definitely had a lot of good input.

I'll definitely talk these points over with my family, hopefully they can understand too[/QUOTE]

For me, it was when they couldn't get up long enough to go bathroom, couldn't keep water down and when their eyes were almost consumed with hurt. Sounds gay but you'll be able to tell when it's time to put your dog down by looking in its eyes.

I'm not exactly sure how much it was to have them put down (I couldn't handle that) but I'm pretty sure mine were taken to the Humane Society, who will do it for a small fee (way under $100 unless you want the ashes back). Try giving them a call.

- edit Here's what my local Humane Society's fees are.

Euthanasia
It is hard to say good-bye, but we offer compassionate care to support you through this difficult process and provide your pet humane euthanasia through a painless injection. This procedure can be done for you at your request. You may bring your pet to us during business hours, but there may be a wait without an appointment. Fees vary from $10.00 to $45.00 depending on the animal’s size and type.

Cremation
We offer individual and communal cremations.

Individual means your pet is cremated by themselves. The fee for this service for cats and other small animals is $50.00, and ranges from $90.00 to $125.00 for dogs (depending on weight).
* These fees include an attractive wooden box or simple ceramic urn. Other fees may be added for customized urns or memorials, express service or other services.

You may choose a communal cremation to have your pet cremated with others. The price for this service begans at $30.00.

Larger animals may be cremated and are priced dependent on weight.
Click to expand...

http://www.crittersavers.com/programservices/cremation.htm
 
My german sheppard was over 13 when she started having the symptoms that you described. We decided to have surgery done on her whe found out that her whole belly was cancer ridden. Decided not to let her wake up and put her down. We had a private cremation and it costed $100. We got the ashes of our dog only. I know this doesnt help but i'm pulling for your dog.
 
I'm sorry to hear about your doing, i would recommend for you to put it to sleep.

I had a dog who was literally my best friend when I was younger but my mom gave it away because of my allergies.

My allergies are not that bad anymore so me and my fiance talk about potentially buying a dog in the future because we love them so much but the fact that you see it from when its a puppy to when it grows old and passes away all within 20 years is something neither of us cannot handle.

We would really enjoy the love and compassion that a dog provides for however long it lives but knowing that more than likely we will see it grow and die in front of us is something neither of us can go. The way you get attached to a dog rivals the attachment one gets with humans, and simply adding something to get attached to knowing that it will pass away in your lifetime just sucks!

I see it kind of like a son, a son should bury his father not the other way around. Well it's kind of the same with a dog, it's kind of like your baby, you take care of it, so it should really be the owner that passes away before the dog. But at the same time the dog is left with the burden of living without the owner.

Good luck with your decision, and just remember that your dog will not be in pain anymore once he is euthanized. It's been more than 10 years since I've been separated from my dog and the day we were split up is still without a doubt one of the saddest and worst days of my life. That's probably why I don't want another dog, just because it has been really difficult for me to get over the pain of the only one I had.
 
[quote name='Sporadic']Sounds gay[/QUOTE]

:roll: Classy.

OP, naturally involves greater difficulty in terms of caring for your pet, watching them live and assuming they're exceptionally unhappy, etc.

Putting a pet to sleep is a hard decision, but you're simply allowing them to go without the embarrassing, difficult, frustrating, and very depressing final days. Personally, I believe in end-of-life rights for anyone who clearly isn't going to get better, so I'm on the opposite end of the ethics scale as your doctor friend.

Depending on how bad your dog is, you may want to put him to sleep. It's important, I feel, to get a vet's opinion on whether they run a chance of improving before making that call, of course.
 
My cousins dog did this. She ended up dying in my aunt's arms. Let me tell, it's one of the most sad and painful things ever. Please, just do the dog a favor and put it down. I know it hurts more than anything, but it's better for the dog.

(I'm tearing up thinking of my aunt's dog.)
 
My dog was about 22 years when it died just a few months ago, we let nature take its course.


I wouldn't do it again though, she suffered too much.
 
another thing, if you do not get your dog cremated following the injection, what do they do with the body??

The thing is, my mother actually want to bury her in the yard. To be honest, cremation never crossed my mind but if my parents are down for burying or even saving ashes then that would make things a lot easier.

Coz like I said, dog is 16 years, but we've had our house for like 20 years so it's like our dog should always be a part of that.
 
[quote name='JEKKI']another thing, if you do not get your dog cremated following the injection, what do they do with the body??

The thing is, my mother actually want to bury her in the yard. To be honest, cremation never crossed my mind but if my parents are down for burying or even saving ashes then that would make things a lot easier.

Coz like I said, dog is 16 years, but we've had our house for like 20 years so it's like our dog should always be a part of that.[/QUOTE]

I would think the vet would let you take the body away to bury if that's what you wanted to do. That's probably pretty common.
 
The phrase "letting nature take its course" is so frigtarded. If you REALLY let nature take its course, a dog does not live past 10 years out in the wild. There NOTHING "natural" about domesticated dogs, and their lives and happiness are our responsibility. When we decide to take a dog into our lives, just like you would not let someone beat it regularly every day until it died, why would you let it suffer for a month or more before it succumbed to "natural causes?" Put the poor t hing out of its suffering.
 
Unfortunately, none of my dogs died in their sleep. Both suffered crippling strokes, and the most recent instance happened while I was in high school and my family was on vacation in the U.S. It was a rather trying time, at the time. She was large, and I had to call over a cousin to help me lift her and guide me to the nearest pet emergency center. It was a sad time, and I couldn't bring myself to look her at her as they shot her up with barbiturates to kill her and end her suffering.
 
Check the laws where you live. When my dog died we were not allowed to bury her in the back yard. Not that we were going to, and I guess it really comes down to who would ever find out? At least around here it's either pet cemeteries or cremation. I had a chihuahua since I was about 5 until I was 22. She was old and slow moving, but she did not have any major health problems, and died very peacefully in her sleep.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']:roll: Classy.[/QUOTE]

I'm glad that you ignored my entire post to only comment on me using a slightly un-PC expression.

fuck off

[quote name='JEKKI']another thing, if you do not get your dog cremated following the injection, what do they do with the body??

The thing is, my mother actually want to bury her in the yard. To be honest, cremation never crossed my mind but if my parents are down for burying or even saving ashes then that would make things a lot easier.

Coz like I said, dog is 16 years, but we've had our house for like 20 years so it's like our dog should always be a part of that.[/QUOTE]

I think you can can get the body back if you wanted to bury it but if you don't mind spending the extra money, cremation is a pretty hassle free solution. If you don't want the ashes back, they can do a communal cremation for really cheap and dispose of the ashes. If you do want the ashes back, the ceramic urn they include with an individual cremation is actually fairly nice for a freebie.
 
My parents finally had to put our old dog to sleep when she lost the ability to move and stopped eating. It was either that or carry her around and watch her starve to death.
 
I tried to have mine die of natural causes (age) but my parents realized she was in pain due to a bad leg and put her down a day before we moved to a new house. 15 years old. It was a tough time for me without that dog around, even nowadays I miss a dog.
 
its happened twice. first time was with a dog we had since i was about 2. died when i was 18.i used to ride on his back like a horse. great dog. second time was earlier in the year, we bought him the last year of our first dogs life. fucking sucks, im actually getting upset just typing this.

anyway, both died at home. my family ultimately decided to let them pass in their house with the family.

edit -
im away a LOT with work and i live 2 hours from my family home anyway. i havent been there in atleast 6 months, not since our last dog died.
when i started reading this thread i had thought about our first dog dying and i didnt realize our last dog was dead. i remember now my mom emailed me while i was gone saying he died but since i havent been there it just faded and my memory let it go.
upsetting its like learning he died all over again. he was a great dog. my son was a toddler and used to pull his hair and poke him but the dog adored him. followed him aroudn the house because he loved his attention, even if it meant a poke in the eye. =) i hope were all blessed with an animal as great as he was.

sorry for the long post.
thanks for jogging my memory jekki
 
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