Cymro

I just put my two childhood dogs to sleep. I haven't cried like this since I was little.

The worst thing was they went so fast they didn't even close their eyes, that's when it hit me that I'd never see them ever again. One was 16 and had lost the use of her hind legs and had a big non malignant tumor on her back, the other was 12 and had developed breast cancer which spread allover. I couldn't bare to keep them alive any longer. I loved those dogs.

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"Let me tell you something about humans, nephew: They're a wonderful, friendly people - as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working.

"But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those friendly, intelligent, wonderful people...will become as nasty and as violent as the most blood-thirsty klingon."

Deslok

You did the right thing. I had a horrible fight with my mother when I had to put my Black Lab down many years ago. She had cancer and she lost the use of her hind legs too. It caused her a lot of pain to try and get up on her feet, she wasn't eating regularly, and she was a very active dog until she got really sick. My mom wanted to let her live until she passed naturally. It tore me apart to prolong the suffering, especially when the dog became listless - I finally had to insist with a threat of some kind such as never ever speaking to my mother again if we didn't put the dog down. It was truly horrible to watch the dog suffer because if the dog were in the wild, she would have died a lot sooner. It's nature's way. since dogs live with humans in this modern world, they tend to have a longer life expectancy due to good veteranary care and formulated dog food, that's why they develop cancers and tumors, because their bodies are still adjusting to longer lifespans. In the wild, a dog wouldn't likely live to be 11 or 16. Your dogs had a good long life in your home and in your care, you can take some comfort in that I'm sure.

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Cymro

Thanks. I new I was doing the right thing, but they were still there, their bright personalities showed through right until the end, but you could tell they were silently bearing more pain than any human could tolerate quietly. It still sucks that they're gone. Those dogs were the same as any people to me, maybe even better, because they never bore any malice towards anyone or anything.

The 12 year old one had two litters of pups, she had 15 alltogether and we kept 1. I feel worse for her because she'll be lonely now, as she's never gone more than a few hours without the others. She looked after them as their health deteriorated, and she and her mother were inseperable.

Some people may find the notion of caring about a dog this much to be rediculous, but those people have either never had a dog or are mentally ill. They were part of the family.

I acctually hope that if I'm ever in such bad health that someone will do the same for me.

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"Let me tell you something about humans, nephew: They're a wonderful, friendly people - as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working.

"But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those friendly, intelligent, wonderful people...will become as nasty and as violent as the most blood-thirsty klingon."

Cujo

I know how ya feel man. We had to put down our family's cat after she was with us for 19 years. Its tough. Its like they are one of the family.

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