Thursday, February 5, 2009

Euthanzing Pets-When is It Time



In the previous post I made note at the end about a dog named Katie, and it opened up a whole can of worms for me. Especially, after reading all the comments on the original story at the Naples News.

Katie was a 13 year old dog with numerous health problems. She got away from her owners after a bath so no tag, but she was microchipped. She was eventually picked up by a neighbor. Someone in the neighborhood says Katie's owner didn't take care of Katie. Well, that's kind of a matter of perspective or in the eye of the beholder; if you ask me since I've been in Katie's owner's shoes.

The neighbor who found Katie took her to their vet and their vet advised euthanizing Katie because of her health problems. The neighbors had Katie euthanized in very short order. It almost seems to me that the whole neighborhood conspired to interfere with Katie's owners and vet's judgment. I had a 17 and 1/2 year old toy poodle euthanized not long after Katie was, and I suspect if my neighbor had gotten a good look at Misti, they might have thought she needed euthanizing long before she was--but it wouldn't have been any of their business.

Misti had health problems. She had cataracts like Katie, but it didn't seem to both her much. She had problems with her teeth and needed clipping (the vet decided it was best if we didn't try to get Misti clipped as it upset her too much). The reason we finally had Misti put to sleep was that she had gotten dementia so bad she was afraid all the time--and the last few months the condition was worsening by the minute. No drug the vet gave us worked for more than a day or two. It's really sad that there aren't really good anti-anxiety pills for dogs. It got to the point that I was up half the night with her, so the rest of the household could sleep. She would eventually wear herself out and go to sleep; consequently, we all tiptoed around the house when she was asleep--afraid that we might wake her and the pacing and whining would start again.

Of course I probably would had had Misti euthanized months before she was because she wasn't there anymore--at least not most of the time. But she was my husband's dog before she was mine, and I left the decision to him. It's been almost two months, and I don't feel guilty all the time. Now, I feel guilty when I forget to think about her.

May Misti and Katie find their way to the Rainbow Bridge or back to someone who loves them.

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