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Knowing When to Say Goodbye

April 18th, 2008 Justin Posted in Opinion, Pets |

Animals are irreplaceable members of most families. We often get pets and do not want to think about the day where they will pass away. Getting old is part of the life cycle for any species and unfortunately it happens a lot quicker in animals. As humans, we have to know when it is time to let our pets go, and allow them to rest peacefully. This action is very difficult; however it is something that must be done. But how do we know when to say goodbye?

As of this writing, I had to put my cat, who was 11 years old, to sleep not 7 hours ago. While it was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make in my life, I think that it was the right decision. It all started two months ago, when he had not been eating well. After losing two pounds, we took him to the vet, who gave him a vitamin B shot and a steroid. This worked, and his appetite returned. We ran some blood work to make sure that everything was ok. The results of the blood test were normal, and the vet said that his liver felt a little enlarged, but otherwise he seemed fine. His behavior improved drastically and he was getting much better. While he stopped losing weight, he did not gain any back.
Two days ago, he stopped eating: so we brought him back to the vet today. The vet was able to feel a mass in his abdomen. This was definitely not good news. She suggested that we take him to the specialty clinic in town, which could do an ultrasound to see what the mass was. She warned us that the outlook was grim - but we wanted to know before we acted. We went to the vet, and our suspicions were confirmed. The mass was invasive and inoperable. It had engulfed over 80 per cent of his liver and had spread into surrounding tissue.
The vet went over different treatment plans with us, but we knew that the only real option was to put him down. We did not want him to suffer through drug therapy which had a high probability of being ineffective. The side effects of the therapy would make his quality of life go down drastically. Keeping him around would be selfish of us.
As owners, we have to realize that once an animal’s quality of life starts to diminish, it is time to say goodbye. Once they are no longer acting as they normally do, something is wrong. It is a very hard decision to make but in most cases it is the right one. Veterinarians are usually very good at explaining the chances of survival, and they will tell you if you are acting prematurely in putting your pet to sleep. Our vet explained that he has had many owners come back to him and say that they waiting too long to end the suffering. He has never had anyone say that they acted too soon.
The vet moved us into a special room, with comfortable chairs and a view to a nice garden. This was very different from the normal exam room. They asked us if we wanted to be present when they injected our cat with the drug. I wanted to be present because I felt that he needed someone familiar near him during his final minutes. He let me hold him while he administered the drug, and the whole thing went fairly quickly. He took a few breaths and drifted off to sleep. It was a sad thing to do but it was definitely the right decision.
Rest in Peace Felix =)