Euthanasia s cruel and unnessary. Even if the poor dog was going to die you have no right deciding that he "needed" to be put down. I dont care how bad you finances were or are - if you were truly a loving owner you would have found another way that didnt involved simply killing the problem. You are sick to act like you "had" to do it. How would you feel to be a rescued pet then one day your owner decided "oh, you're too difficult to manage, huess we'll have to kill you!" what if your kid had cancer? would you just put them down? jesus, i cannot believe that kind of ignorant stupidity. I have the utmost respect for Lisa, who actually loves the poor defensless animal that depends on her.

Oh, forget what matt says! We had a yellow lab named Bella that someone beat with a baseball bat. Yes, in our yard. We had an underwire fence and took all the precautions. This person shattered her jaw and no surgery could fix it. Medical technology for animals has advanced, but your not going to get the same medical care with an animal as a child. We held on to Bella for a week after her surgeries with pain meds, but we had to let her go. It's been four years and now the proud owners of a set of standard poodles(spoiled rotten)named Louie and Lovey. We also moved from our old house and the person that beat Bella recieved 6 months probation. Annabelle, I'm sorry for your loss and the fact you have to read insensitive comments about a loved pet.

Annabelle, you did the right thing, he would have suffered even with treatment. Being a responsibsle pet owner also includes knowing when treatment will jsut prolong suffering. I've had dogs/rabbits/hamsters & gerbils all my life and that last decison is always the hardest one to make.
Don't listen to the critics, everyone ahs their opinion, it's YOUR pet, and YOUR decision. Right now we are conservatively treating our 9 Y.O. mix breed with a torn ACL and he is doing fine. Surgery is supposed to be a sure 'fix" but I would rather not risk his life. Surgery always carries a risk,a nd I would rather have him limp on cold days than not be here at all. Cost is a factor, and so is his well ebing. He trots around, he lies i the sun, he is his old self again, so I am glad we did teh conservative plan.

http://www.pet-loss.net/emotions.html

This really helps all pet owners who face pet loss. One of the difficult issues it addresses is:

Euthanasia isn't nature's way. Some pet owners reject euthanasia as "unnatural." Nature, some say, has a timetable for every life, and by artificially ending a life, we're disrupting nature's plan. While charming, this belief overlooks the fact that by providing treatment, surgery, medication, or any other form of care for a sick (or injured) pet, we are already extending that pet's life far beyond what would occur if matters were left in the not-so-tender hands of "nature." Euthanasia is often not so much a question of "artificially ending" a life, but of determining when to cease artificially extending that life.

It sounds to me that you truly love your dogs and that you made a very hard choice that most of us could understand or relate to. I am very against people who adopt pets without being prepared or responsible enough to care for the animal and then neglect the pet or return it to the shelter again but I can tell you loved that dog until it's last moments. I have two dogs that I'm not sure how old they are and I"m not sure what we'd be able to afford if one got very ill but as much as we love these dogs, I can't be sure that we'd go into great debt to merely delay their passing on. Sorry for your loss and I hope I can be as strong if I ever face that choice.

Heartbreaking to put down an amimal - they truly can be a real member of the family. we have horses and dogs - for 50 years - next time cancer is diagnosed - especially early diagnosis - ask your vet about Indian mud - it has totally removed sarcoids that had spread to the size of a fist after surgeries and lazer and is said to work internally also. contact me if your vet hasn't used any - the ones we use are the real thing...I have nasty pics to prove it.

I understand totally for I am a great animal lover, but in the long run I'm sure you did the right thing. I let my pitt bull suffer because we tried saving him but it would have been much kinder to him if we would have put him down sooner like you all did.

Don't listen to the crap coming from Matt! My family's an oddity. We had one dog for fourteen years (got while my mom was pg for me and my brother was almost two). She had tumors in her stomach and was in terrible shape. We let nature take it's course b/c the vets could do nothing to help. I'll NEVER forget seeing her lying on the bathroom floor. We got another dog three months later and she had to be put down May 2007 b/c SHE had tumors in her lungs. She was 12 at the time and my parents couldn't watch her suffer struggling to breath. They put her down. Now, last week my dad got my mom a Bischon for Christmas and if this dog lasts for fourteen years, that'll be three dogs in the span most families have six or seven. You can't say that keeping a dog going for fourteen years and KEEPING the dog is being a bad parent, can you?
You did what you needed to to keep your baby comfortable as long as you could. Letting a pet suffer b/c you can't make that choice to help them is just not fair.
And Matt, there is insurance and medicaid to help if your kid gets cancer... Unless you've had a LONG STANDING policy on your pet, you'll be lucky if they pay for a nail clipping!

to anna,
to tell the truth treating a dog or cat for cancer is fruitless~we had a beautiful boxer named duke~when he was 6 we found out he had lymphoma~so we started the 4 month treament for the cancer~3 weeks a month he got a treatment of 3 different drugs~after 2 months of the treatments duke took a turn for the worse and we had to put him down humanly~after going through this me and hubbie decided we would never put another one of our animals through that hell~it didnt prolong his life at all~it only made him suffer longer~to this day i feel guilty for making him suffer longer that he had to~I WILL NEVER HAVE ANOTHER ANIMAL I HAVE THROUGH THAT HELL~I LOVE ALL GODS CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL~HERES A GREAT PRAYER CARD FOR ANIMALS~ITS CALLED "RAINBOW BRIDGE" IT WILL MAKE YOU CRY~I JUST HAD TO PUT DOWN MY RUSSIAN BLUE HE WAS 21 1/2 YEARS OLD~MISS HIIM BAD~I WOULD NEVER GET RID OF A PET NEVER I DONT CARE WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES ARE~PETS DONT NEED MUCH BUT LOVE AND FOOD~IF YOU GOT THAT LIFE IS GRAND~I WILL NEVER PUT ANIMAL THROUGH CANCER TREATMENT IT DOESNT PROLONG THIER LIFES IT ONLY MAKES THEM SUFFER MORE~SAD BUT TRUE~GOD BLESS YOUR PET~GOD BLESS ALL PETS~GOD BLESS ALL GODS CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL~MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE~OR WHATEVER HOLIDAY YOU CELEBRATE~: )

Matt...you're a butthole! You would rather these people let their beloved pet suffer rather than do the humane thing and have their dog put to sleep. You're a real piece of work. JERK!

I have to do the same thing with my Rottie due to bone cancer. At the last minute I told the Vet to stop I use my mortgage payment to get the dog medical care. I felt nuts. But the Vet assured me that chemo is never easy on a dog and rarely does it have much sucess. He said my dog was in pain and it was the thing to do, money or no money. So "Bear" laid his big head in my lap and he crossed over the rainbow bridge right there in his own backyard. I still cry to this day and that was five years ago. You did the right thing, even if you could paid for the treatments. Its really hard on them.

You did the right thing. Call me a Liberal (I'm actually a Christian) but Science often OVER extends our lives (and the lives of our pets). If I had incurable bone cancer and I was suffering, I would hope that someone could help to end my misery if I could not. The problem is that our government makes laws to force people to live. However, the main problem I see here is that veterenarians become filthy rich off of our misery. Unlike coverage provided by human health insurance carriers, which are expected to pay a major portion of our expenses during high dollar procedures, we are forced to extend the entire payment at the door, no middleman, vastly lower expense. Essentially, with lower overhead, they're able to charge outrageous amounts of money to treat pets. A while back I took one of my pets to a vet. He checks the animal, walks out, comes back and tells me, "We can try this the cheap way, with likely limited results, or we can do things the 'more agressive' way and he'll have better chances." One way or another, the vet usually gets off easy if they screw up and the pet dies due to their negligence. These are some of the cruel realities of making health choices with respect to our pets.

Matt, it's been a long time since I've read something as idiotic as what you've written here. I especially like the part about finding 'another way' to handle the problem. Glaringly obvious to those with more than half a brain is that you didn't offer what way that was. You don't have another solution to the problem, just criticism for the pet owner. Given that money was an issue, I assume you think it would have been more humane to let the dog die a slow and painful death naturally?

To write what you've written to someone who is obviously a loving and caring pet owner is inexcusable. You clearly have no understanding of how painful a decision like that is for a pet owner. You're a piece of work.

Where do I begin? Annabelle, the decisions we make for our 4 legged family has to be in their best interest. You made the correct decision for Buster. Extending his life is not making him well. Why should he be made to suffer? You did right and don't let finances tell you toherwise. If it were as simple as a spay I would ripping you a new one.

Matt get a life! If you had a disease that was slowly, and painfully killing you and you had the option to put yourself out of your misery believe me you would, I watched as my grandfather wasted away from bone cancer and BEGGED for one of us to end it for him. So either get off the high horse or ride it off somewhere will ya?

I have 2 in the house here and both are on medication for a variety of things. Kody who is a mere 7 has blown hips. He doesn't seem to know that as of yet though as he has a morning or two where it is difficult to get up but once he does he is off and running. Kody pounces like a cat and now that *I* know what is up with him I just hold my breathe when he does. He is a Shep/Rott/Chow/Hound mix and weighs about 80# now. Petrie is an APBT and because of her babyhood abuse is nuts. I don't mean in a vicious way, just very skiddish, and super senitive to noises and movements. She is medicated too because we tried holistic first and NOTHING worked for her. When the time come I will know because they will let me know. Life is wonderful, and it should be enjoyed to the fullest. When that ceases to be the case, it will be time. I applaud you for your work, and rescue, and knowing the pup well enough to know it was time.

Now about the article what a crock!!!! There are organizations, and financing, etc...boards I frequent even take up collections to fund a pups care so there are options other than dumping your family memeber.

Yeah, Matt, you definitely won't win this argument. Your ideas are bankrupt. Annabelle, we have feral cats in our yard. We feed them, have a house for them (that they use when it's rainy or cold) ... and bury several as they die. We can't catch them all to have them spayed or neutered. We take the kittens that the mother cats abandon and raise them. We now have nine inside. We'd have had ten, but one kitten bit off a part of the nurser nipple. It caused his intestine to become inflamed before he spit it up. No amount of antibiotic or other treatment did any good and he died. The vet predicted this, and we knew it was the probable outcome. Hopefully, he wasn't too uncomfortable. We spent over $600 on him at the vet, even though we could have had him put-down for maybe $35. It is just something we had to do. If we couldn't have paid the money, I guess that would have been different.......

Matt is full of it. At LEAST we're allowed to put an end to real suffering with our animals. It's a terribly sad thing. But if it's our own family, we have to watch them suffer forever unto death. It has nothing to do with playing God. God's up there shaking his head because we're so blind and selfish we let our people suffer needlessly.

Please don't feel badly about being unable to afford radical cancer treatment for your dog, Buster. 10 years ago my 6 yr old Rottie, Rhino, was diagnosed with bone cancer. We opted for amputation of the affected leg and then proceeded with chemo every 21 days. Unfortunately the expensive treatment ($4,000) only bought us 2 months with our dear friend. While Rhino was incredibly brave, If I had it to do over again I don't think I would make the same choice. Bone cancer is one of those diseases that is next to impossible to cure.

Annabelle,
I think Matt is being a little harsh. Granted, euthanasia isn't always the best answer, however your animal had a debilitating disease and you couldn't stand to see him suffer anymore. I'm sure it was a tough time in your house, but I probably would have done the same thing. And I think it is important to remember that although pets should be treated humane, they aren't the same as humans so asking if your kid had cancer, would you put it down is a little crazy. I'm an animal lover and I believe in treating them well, but I can see where she is coming from.

You did the right thing. I tried treating my cat for oral cancer and I think it was very hard on her. We ended up having to put her down after a month. It doesn't make it easier, I know. But your dog passed over knowing that he had a whole family who loved him. They feel that love. They'll even hang for us even though they're in pain. It was a hard thing you had to do -we've all been there. I think once they get cancer you're just buying them some extra time. Buster knew how much you loved him. You gave him a life full of love with other companion animals who also brought him happiness. He had a good life. I hope you can give yourself a break on this. We pet owners go through a tremendous amount of pain, agonizing over when to let our animals go. We should let them go when they're in p ai n. You did the right thing and Buster knows it, too. Ignore the criticism of others. It takes a lot of strength to end a loved one's suffering and you had that strength. You will bring joy and a quality of life to other animals as well. I've lost two cats (and we've suffered other pet losses in the family as well). Keep giving them homes. Keep giving them love. Don't stop. Love is always the answer.