Our dog is dying

[jacduggar]

Today, we will have to put our precious black lab down. He is 6 years old. 

 

This is past April he fell very sick very fast. We rushed him to the vet, and have been limping along ever since. He never fully recovered, only got more comfortable. He's lost a ton of weight. As of 3 weeks ago we went back to the vet (our third vet, actually. Third opinion.) and they decided to just treat him for everything it could possibly be, to no avail. Over the weekend he got very ill, as of yesterday I had to feed him by hand. Today he won't accept any food (not even his favorites - peanut butter or French fries). He's still able to get around on his own but he's very weak and lethargic. The vet said that he can't go for a biopsy (that is the only test we haven't done) because he is too weak and is at very high risk of dying from sedation, but she suspects it is lymphoma in his GI tract. We wanted to wait until today so everyone had time to say goodbye. 

 

I have never ever lost a pet before as an adult, and I am grieving so much. It just really hurts. A lot of my "real life" support network doesn't seem to understand that I feel as though I'm losing a loved one. The grief is overwhelming and I don't know what to do with it. 

 

Edited to to correct typos. 

[samurai_sarah]

You are in my heart and in my thoughts!

[TeaGrannie]

It's so very difficult to lose a pet, they are family.  My sympathies for your loss.

[Palimpsest]

I am so very sorry.  My thoughts are with you and your family as you say goodbye.  The pain is real.  Feeling grief and mourning a pet is natural and understandable.

Cancer can move so fast.  Please know that you are doing the kindest thing by helping your beloved dog run free from pain today.  

Feel free to share your grief with us.  A lot of us here have also lost pets and do understand.  

[Snarkangel Gabriel]

My thoughts are with you.  Losing a beloved pet is so hard.  They are always there for us - until they can't be.  When my dog died I remember reading Rudyard Kipling's The Power of the Dog.  Still makes me cry - it rang so very true.

Time will lessen the pain but, luckily, not the happy memories.  Thinking of you.     

[jacduggar]

Thank you all for your kind words. It's been a very tough year around here. He declined so quickly over the last few weeks, it's been scary. I've been crying for a few days now on and off. I took today off of work to be with him and made him grilled cheeses for lunch (which he ate, but had trouble getting down). 

[zygote373]

Losing a pet is really awful. I'm glad you're able to be there with him. It sounds like you are making the right decision to give him relief from his pain.

[Teaistheway]

My thoughts are also with you, it's devastating to lose a pet. I hope you can take comfort from knowing that you gave him a happy life whilst he was with you.  

[jacduggar]

Last night, my husband took him and held him the whole time. Toward the end of the day he was having trouble keeping his eyes open, but he wagged his tail until the very end. Tonight I'm going to do a small memorial for my family. I hope it will help with the mourning.

[samurai_sarah]

@jacduggar

For all it's worth, I feel for you and all of you are in my thoughts.

[Palimpsest]

I'm holding you and your family in my thoughts, @jacduggar.  I'm so sorry.

[GreyhoundFan]

@jacduggar -- I'm so very sorry. Having to let a beloved pet go is so difficult. As @Palimpsest wrote, several cancers move very quickly. My thoughts are with you and your family.

[Cartmann99]

We've had to put two of our cats down in the last nine years, and another died in her sleep a couple of years ago. Losing a pet is heartbreaking, and I'm so sorry for you and your family. 

[smittykins]

((((((((((HUGS)))))))))

I've had to put two of my cats down as well, and it's never easy, even when you know it's the best decision.  Keeping you and your family in my thoughts.

[livinginthelight]

I'm so very sorry. I've been there and know how it rips your heart out.

((((Hugs))))

[Snarkangel Gabriel]

So sorry - it is very painful I know.

[PennySycamore]

@jacduggar,  we lost our black lab almost 7 years ago.  She was 13.  She had throwing up a lot and had lost weight, over 10 pounds in a month.  The vet x-rayed Lucky's abdomen which showed a large mass.   We let her celebrate her official 13th birthday  on July 31st and the next morning my daughter and I took her in for her final visit.

It is never easy to say goodbye to a animal companion who has become a part of your family.  Helping them cross the Rainbow Bridge is something we sometimes have to do, painful as it is for us left to mourn our pets.  May you find solace in the memories of the 6 years that you shared.  

[jacduggar]

Thank you all so very much. I am grateful to you all for stories of camaraderie and your kind words. 

 

I went and bought a beautiful faux flower arrangement and candle to honor him. I can keep them as long as I feel I need to, since we chose not to keep his remains. I'm going to put a little flower hook in my garden (he LOVED my garden, he would always go steal my green beans) for a hanging plant and memorial stone as well. That way the kids have a place to go to honor him as well. My daughter is having a hard time. 

[Carm_88]

@jacduggar It is very hard to let them go and I am so sorry for your loss. You guys did the best thing for your dog. I'm sorry your daughter is struggling. I lost my dog when I was 13 and I cried for the whole weekend. 

[PsyD2013]

I'm so very sorry for the loss of your beloved pet.  My family is going through a terminal illness with our pet of 17 years.  I know that we will be making that final trip to the vet very soon and it is gut wrenching.   Hugs from Iowa.

[Maggie Mae]

I'm so sorry, losing a pet is never easy. Some people say "it's just an animal, we can get another," but you can't. It's a part of the family. I hope you find peace in this trying time. 

When my childhood cat died this summer, my mom had the vet take paw prints for me. I found it helpful since I couldn't be there. 

[CancerBomb]

@jacduggar I'm so sorry for your loss. You really are losing a loved one, you're losing a friend of six years, a friend you saw every day and took care of, loved, and cuddled with. It's a very difficult loss. I've lost two pets so far, and I cherish my pets as family members (my last dog slept in my bed every night and my bunny sleeps in his cage next to my bed) and refer to them as my precious furry babies. I'm here if you ever want to talk, and it's normal to grieve, as everyone does in their own special way. 

[Bethella]

I don't have much to add to what everyone else said but you have my condolences. 

[grammyj]

So, so sorry. Am crying for you. Until you lose a beloved pet, you can't know how sad it is.  I'very lost a few over my lifetime and I still grieve for everyone of them. Bobo, Jessie, Lupin, Loki. I will always miss them. 

Be a little comforted right now that you gave him a great life and a "good"death, as my vet had worded it.  It's awful to go through. So sorry.