1036AP2

so, just a brief background, my wife and i have owned a lot of dogs over the last 15 years.
6 of which we had growing up at her parents house or my parents house while we were growing up

1. my first dog: jindo breed: "bubba" lived about 11 years old. i should have had him neutered but i just couldnt do that to another male (now i know) but he lived a great life and we had to put him down when he had bleeding from his genitals. i guess if we had him neutered, it would have prevented that... all this happened 1.5 months before we got married back in 2006. yes we cried our eyes out

2. chihuahua breed: "mimi" got this one from my grandma who stated that the little girl who lived next to her loved but her dad didnt. i think their might have been abuse involved because mimi was terrified of men (except for me). this was my wife's favorite dog. one day, during the santa ana winds, a tall ladder that was left out landed on her and she died immediately. yes we cried our eyes out

3. pomeranian breed: "chewy" was a gift from my wife's aunt. this was one of my favorites. she loved men and hated girls. she was a princess, didnt like to associate with other dogs, always sat on the highest place possible, etc. we lost her one night when we got home from a party. the freaking a$$hole neighor's rottweiler got a hold of her. this was followed by weeks and weeks of drama, police, human society, etc. yes we cried our eyes out

4. terrier mix (schnauzer): butch: again, one of my faves. she is the sweetest dog to me and my wife but hates everyone else. she's butchy but we love her. shes 8 years old and going strong.

5. terrier mix (pointer, beagle): penny: again, my other fav dog, (the trinity). penny was gorgeous, everyone loved her, she loved everyone. athletic and ecstatic about life, she brought a lot of joy to us. we had her for 4.5 years before we lost her due to our other neighbors... (freaking renters). we think he was upset because he was raising farm animals and the chickens were getting eaten by our dogs when they flew over. she had trama in her neck and was not able to walk. we were never able to prove that they did anything and so nothing ever happened to them. we lost penny, we had to put her down. yes we cried our eyes out, one of the hardest nights...

which brings me to our oldest dog. she is a german shepard. "shasta" loves sleeping in the rain, eating (i really mean eating, she eats non-stop) and steals her sister's food, running and sleeping. she is currently 14 years old. she went blind in her left eye last year and i think her hearing is going as well. german shepards are notorious for having arthritis in their rear legs and she is no different. it has progressed worse and worse every year. i also noticed a lump by her front right armpit, its about the size of a golf ball.

my wife and i are expecting our first child next month. we always talked about putting shasta down when she shows us that she no longer wants to go on. i.e.: doesnt want to eat, cant move, etc... she is still ticking but we can tell she is getting tired and she is exhausted just trying to get up. since we lost most of our dogs tragically, we were never put in a spot where we would have to put down a dog in this position. 14 years for a shepard is a long time. my mother in law thinks its time especially since the baby is coming but it is hard making decisions like this.

what is the right thing to do?

what have been your experiences...?

thanks for reading this long post...

edspecR

dude, i know what you're going through. i had my dog since it was born and he stayed around for 14 years of my life too. he ended up dying last summer ( x10^infinity) from natural causes (he just got too old) and i regret not putting him to sleep (he was in pain ). he was a strong little trooper and his immune system started getting weaker, but he would always stick it out and bounce back from illnesses n such. so i thought he would be able to make it past his last one, which he unfortunately didn't. so if i were you i'd put him to sleep before he dies painfully like mine did .

shasta

i'd listen to your mother in law, i guess dogs kinda know when its time so when it loses the will to live you should save the dog from any further/potential pain... thats my $0.02 atleast. sucks being in your position huh?

1036AP2

yea, that is why we are no longer raising dogs, its just too hard losing them. we will again later down the line but this time, one at a time.

it's just tough now since we are in the position to make a choice... whereas in the past, it was made for us...

enoyskt

Seems like the right thing to do is to put him down before he suffers. On a related/nonrelated note, Do you dog owners purchase insurance for your dogs?

1036AP2

on a side note, we need a home for one of our dogs. we raised her for 4 years but we need to let this one go.

her name is dixie and she is a sweet dog. looks kind of like a lighter benji. she is very loyal and loves people.

we are only looking for people who absolutely love dogs.

let me know

dwnshft & xlr8

With out putting a long story out there.. My Dobie Rambo lasted 16 years which of course for any dog that size including yours is considered very long or unheard of.. Unfortunately the larger dogs don't have long life expectancies..

It is truly the heart of your dog that's keeping Shasta alive.. But when one night I came home to Rambo, and I saw it in his eyes he was ready to go it was time for me to let him go to Heaven.. I knew it was only right for him, although it may be the hardest thing to do in anyone's life, especially dog lovers alike.. It's important to keep the emotions aside and remember if you believe that there is another place such as heaven when we past too, and that all your loved ones including your dogs will be there again to see you like as it was yesterday than you can get through this...

good luck...

f23power

i just watch "marley and me".

the last scene where owen wilson had the vet put marley down was really sad

-a

zachismisitok

It's true man, all dogs go to heaven. Im not trying to be a smartass, but I like to think dogs are more pure than humans (they wont USUALLY stab you in the back ). I work at a shelter and euthanasia really is a tough subject. I'm also in a similar situation. The rents have my childhood dog and he's going on 15. I just like to think I will be open to the option when I think he is doing more suffering than living. I know you said you don't want to. But I would probably go adopt another dog right after it. it seems like giving life to an animal they may not have gotten it is a good way to offset the terrible feelings of putting one down, even if it is the right thing to do.

Swang

damn andrew, thats depressing. .

i would personally never have it in me to put my dog down, unless he was truly in agony.
but if he still has the will to live, i will enjoy my time with him.

even with a baby on the way soon, i think i would still keep my dog.
but the more practical thing to do would be to put shasta down.

unfortunately, you two will have a lot on your hands, and when shasta does naturally pass away it will hit you harder and you wont have time to heal with so much stress from the baby.

shasta will let you know when its time.

1036AP2

thanks for chiming in folks...

still debating...