My dog couldn't stand. Did I make the right choice to put him down?

It is always a tough decision to say goodbye to a beloved pet but from your description, you made the right choice for him. His quality of life was poor, and you prevented him from suffering. I hope this helps!

I am sorry to hear of your loss, it is a very difficult time to lose a pet as even as time passes, memories are brought back by many triggers. I would also have agreed that euthanasia was a valid and kindest option given the symptoms of such severe weight loss of more than a quarter of his body weight, bleeding into the bowel and likely the chest given the pink fluid and black stool and the failure to respond adequately to steroids. Please do not feel guilty for allowing him to go with some dignity, quality of life has to be much more important than quantity for our pets and often allowing them to go is the bravest and kindest treatment we can offer in debilitating conditions

Please don't beat yourself up over this! Based on what you are saying, Beaux's quality of life was poor, and you made the right choice. You put his interests ahead of yours, and that was a great gift to give him. You let him go without any further suffering, which is a very hard thing to do. Do not question your decision, it was the correct one. I'm sorry you had to make this choice, it's so hard.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Cuddles. I agree that his condition sounds very serious. Most of the time, sudden onset vestibular disease does not have an underlying cause in an older dog. There are cases that are due to an inner ear infection, thyroid disease or even cancer. If there is not an underlying cause of his vestibular disorder, most dogs will recover within 24-48 hours. Most dogs will benefit from motion sickness/anti-nausea medication to keep them comfortable until the symptoms resolve. That being said, the inability to use his rear limbs is much more concerning. A bulging or ruptured disk in the lower back can cause paralysis. Severe orthopedic disease can cause the same problem. Not being able to walk and interfere with the dog's ability to urinate and defecate. Furthermore, sores can develop on the limbs from the dog dragging itself. This is where quality of life issues present themselves. You obviously know Cuddles best, but it is worth having a more detailed conversation with his veterinarian concerning euthanasia. You can voice your concerns and gain insight into why his veterinarian made this decision. I hope this information helps.

I am so sorry you had to say goodbye to Molly yesterday! Please accept my condolences for your loss I think you did the right thing based on your description. She sounded pretty bad off, and you didn't want her to get worse. Again, I'm sorry.

I'm so incredibly sorry to hear about this. Sometimes in emergent situations when the pets are painful, the explanations get shortened- but I believe you and your vet came to the best solution for Joey. Typically, when the spinal cord compresses enough to cause paralysis, the surgery needs to be done within 24 hours to be effective, and the surgery alone generally runs 8,000-10,000 dollars, not including a lot of aftercare and physical therapy. There's also a risk of the surgery not working because the damage is too extensive already. In these situations, the pets are in an extreme amount of pain and very confused as to why they can't move. In situations where perhaps only one leg was affected or he was in back pain without being paralyzed, surgery would likely be more successful and your vet may have pushed you to pursue it more. I believe based on what you're telling me, that Joey's spinal problem had a poor outlook for surgery and your vet didn't want you to spend the money on something that wouldn't cure him or end his pain in the long run. I believe you made the most ethical and kind decision for Joey. It's heartbreaking to have to make these decisions for our pets, but you made a painful decision on your behalf to end Joey's physical pain when he had no other option. You made a beautiful sacrifice for his quality of life. Please seek counseling or grieving avenues with your loved ones during this hard time. I know unexpected loss can be so, so tragic. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts.

It is not likely. I think you made the correct decision to have him humanely euthanized. I know it was a difficult decision for you to make and I'm very sorry you had to make it. I really believe you did what was best for him.