How do I know if my dog is ready to die?
ByI have a beautiful yellow lab that has been apart of our family for almost 9 years now. This dog is so special, he was a Christmas gift to my daughter since she was an only child and he always kept her company. Well for the past three weeks or so, he just hasn’t been the same dog. After 3 trips to the vet, including several days of hospitalization, they think he has lymphoma. I am waiting for blood work and the biopsy results, but they seemed pretty sure about it, even wrote a comment in the chart (I read it) that “the owner is not wanting to believe” blah blah blah. Well, my dog is refusing all food, even human food. In the last two weeks he has only eaten a few bites of food total. Now, his front leg is really swollen and he cannot wals on it. He is laying at the foot of my bed and I keep going inthere to kiss him and he makes eye contact with me. I can’t stop crying. I just love this dog so much but it’s not my place to take his life from him. How do I know if he’s ready to go? This came as such a shock to us considering he’s only 8 1/2 years old, we never expected him to get so sick so fast.
@Missy867: You said your dog’s leg swelled up too? How big is it? How is this related to the lymphoma? Remember, I am still waiting for test results to confirm it, although that is what the vet strongly suspects. This s**ks!
Hey everyone, thank you so much to EVERYONE for the quick and thoughtful responses. You have all helped me with this very difficult decision. John, the link on lymphynemia helped alot, I just finished reading it. I am waiting for my daughter to come home from work. It’s so hard to say goodbye to such a lovely animal. What makes it 12 times worse is when you think about how cool the pet has been to you over the years. I could have had the worst day, and my dog always without fail came to my side to comfort me. I pray that God’s will be done with my dear dog. Thanks everyone. 
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12 Comments
March 12th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
You have two options. Let him continue on the road he is now – SUFFERING. Or do the humane thing and take him to be euthanized. It is a hard decision to make, but letting him suffer would be much harder for me.
Sorry to hear that bad news about your fur baby. I do feel your pain.
March 12th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Its time to do the best thing for him. He has no quality of life and is suffering. The cancer is probably in his kidneys since he is swelling.
It’s a hard thing to face for all of us, but its your responsibility to give him a peaceful death
March 12th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
First of all I want to say I’m sorry for what your going through, I just lost one of my dogs after about 10 years, but, with that said don’t keep the dog alive to suffer it would be more humain to have him put to sleep.
March 12th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
i agree with Susan B…2 days ago my puppy died because of lymphoma and he only lasted about 1 week in a half with that disease and now he’s dead…before dying though he stopped eating and died so i do strongly agree with Susan B
March 12th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
i am in the exact situation, my dog is 13 and yesterday the vet said he has lymphoma, he stopped eating a week ago and wont eat anything (he used to be a piggy
) and they think he may have an ulcer for why he is not eating, it is his back legs that are swollen and his liver is overworked (still waiting on some blood work) and i cried so hard the first time he could not jump on the bed with me
we are going to do the pretozone (i know probably spelled wrong) and they said it would get him a couple months. it is the hardest thing i have ever delt with. i think he is ready to go and feel selfish cuz i’m not ready to let him go. i chose not to do the kemo cuz he would still be sick and i dont want him to suffer. just buying a little time to say good bye to my best friend
i asked for some pain killers for his leg and will keep him as long as he is not in pain and hopefully the ulcer meds will make him start eating again. i am so sorry and wish you the best of luck, words cannot describe how much it hurts. i knew this would happen, i got him at 5 and severly abused but there is never enough time.
i just have to think about how much happier he will be chasing the squirrels in the sky
March 12th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
I am so sorry to hear you have to go though this. You will know by the way he acts if he is giving up. Sorry to say, but it does Sound like he is. If he is still like this in the next few days, i would put him down. Sorry to give you bad news. I know exactly how you feel! It is so hard to decide. If you do put him down, make sure to say your good byes at home b/f you leave to the vet. They go soooo fast.
March 12th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
If you love this dog, and I mean really love this dog..let him go…If he is suffering the way you say , it is inhumane to let him keep going….It will be very hard to say goodbye, but you will feel you did him a service by letting him go.. It is very hard for me to say this because I have had to do just that….but it IS for the best….believe me!!!!
March 12th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Sorry to hear about your dog. He is young, but cancer has no age requirement.
If the dog is not eating much and is in pain and there is no real cure for his condition, or you do not have the funds to treat his condition, than the kind thing to do would be to take him to the vet for euthanasia.
Stay with your pet until the end, so it is not fearful at the vets office.
Euthanasia is a peacful death. The word actually translates to mean “good death”
Not eating can lead to electrolyte imbalances and dehydration.
Starving to death is a very painful way to go.
Edited to address the additional details:
The swollen leg can be lypmphedema caused by blockages in the lymph glands. This can be painful.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphedema
The leg swelling may also be an indication that one kidney is failing. This can be confirmed by the vet, if it is the cause.
March 12th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
This EXACT same thing happened to my black lab a few months ago. We had found lumps under the skin on her chest, but we didn’t take her to the vet, because she was happy and we didn’t wanna make her go through all the testing and what not. So she eventually ended up this same way, she got awful sick while I was at college and my parents took her to the vet and they said there was nothing they could do for her and we had racked up over 400 dollars in bills in one day, so my parents chose to put her to sleep. She was vomiting and her front leg was really swollen also. I didn’t get to see her before they put her down, but when I was on the phone with my parents I could hear her crying in the background and I just wanted her to be out of pain. It’s gonna be hard, I know this, but you have to do what you would think your dog would choose to do if he had the choice.
March 12th, 2010 at 5:27 pm
here let me tell you a story
weekend before last on a Saturday,my friends dog passed out going up the stair,her husband did not tell her,on Sunday she noticed he wasn’t himself,she felt around now this was a dog always feeling great,
and she felt tumors,Monday they went to the Vet,the vet said he wasn’t in pain,but when he passed out,he hurt his leg,Vet gave him a shot for the pain but did say he was full of tumors ,and no use doing any blood work,she said take him home,feed him wet food for some strength,and he may last 2 days,2 weeks or a month
when he got home he felt better,his leg felt great,and he was himself again,he ate his wet food and got a bit of strength,my friend wanted him to die at home,but he sopped eating wednesday morning,he got a bad case of runs,and was just laying there,by thurday,she didn’t want him to die of starvation,her husband had hoped he would pass away wednesday night at home,well Thursday he was taken back to Vet to be put to sleep,they just hated doing that,they wanted him to die on his own,but the starvation part too was killing him,he was 12.5 years old
If you are holding on because you cannot let go,its not right,you are going to be heart broked,but you have 2 choices,watch him die a slow death may be starvation,or have him put down,either way,he is not going to make it
So now you will have to make the hardest decision,Think with your head not your heart,it may make it easier to decide
Sorry you have to go through this
God Bless
The rainbow ridge is waiting
March 12th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
They THINK he has lymphoma?? I would think that 3 trips to the vet should have included testing to give you an answer. If the poor creature is in pain and you love him it is your place to end his suffering. It is a very hard thing to lose a wonderful pet…they Truly become a member of your family.
Last May we had to put our 10 yr old Rottie to sleep after she was diagnosed with osteocarcinoma in February. We medicated her to keep her comfortable and when we saw that she couldn’t fight any longer, our wonderful vet came to our home and she passed away peacefully in her yard on her blanket with her family with her. There were tears all around (she was a favorite at the clinic) and she is buried under a dogwood tree in my yard. We bought a small granite marker for her. We were comforted knowing that her pain was over.
My sincere sympathy goes out to you.
March 12th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
I would take him to another vet for a second opinion if you are not sure about the first vet, but I would do this as soon as possible. It does sound as though your dog does have a serious illness, but you need to get this confirmed before you make a decision about whether to put him to sleep.
Dogs can get serious illnesses at any age, just like people, unfortunately. I had a dog who lived a great life and at the age of 9 was diagnosed with liver disease. When you make the decision to put your dog to sleep, make sure it’s what is in the best interest of the dog. If your dog stops eating or drinking water, and is in a lot of pain, those are signs that your dog is not doing well. Dogs are smart. It’s like they know when it is time to die and will let their owner know by not eating and such.
If your dog does have lymphoma, and there is nothing to do, then you need to make a difficult decision as to when is the right time to put her to sleep. Just know that you will always have her memories in your heart. Best of luck. Hope I helped.