Losing Your Best Friend

A friend of mine just had to put her 12 year old Springer Spaniel, Lady, down.  I saw Lady just a few days before she died, and am convinced that Rena made the right decision at the right time.  Lady was no longer enjoying life.  She was laboring with every breath and had lots of trouble walking.  It's the hardest thing in the world, making the decision on when to euthanize a pet.  For me, it's important to distinguish between keeping a pet alive for you, or keeping him alive because life is still worth living for him.  When you're keeping an animal alive for yourself, and he has no quality of life, it's time to say good bye. Lady's death brought back memories of my last few months with Barney, whose picture still appears on my blog.

Barney lived to be 19 years of age, and had I not euthanized him, he might have lived another 6 months.  I put him down when he no longer smiled at me in the morning, when he no longer wanted to go for a walk in his little red wagon, when he no longer perked up when he heard the garage door open.  I put him down when he gave me a look that said, " I've had enough."  Everyone said Barney would tell me when it was time to go, and he did. I'm sure that Lady did the same for Rena, and as hard as it to live without a pet that's been part of your family for years, it gets better.  You give it some time, get another dog (or cat), and grow to love that new pet more than you ever thought possible.  That's what happened to me when I got Pepper 4 1/2 years ago.  Now, I can't imagine life without Pepper.

 This was written for all you animal lovers.  I know some of you that are not pet owners and lovers cannot understand how we cry and grieve over the death of a dog, but anyone of you reading this who has a pet, knows exactly what I mean.  For the rest of you, you'll probably shake your head and wonder what all the fuss is about.