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It's time for me to start prepping to send my sweet baby girl Nike to the bridge. She has cauda equina syndrome, a compression of the nerves in her lumbar region, and is slowly losing control of her back end. The prednisone to relieve inflammation is no longer working. There is a surgical option but it only has a 20% success rate. Nike's almost 9--I just don't want to put her through it. I swore when I got her that no matter how much it would kill me, I would never let her live a painful and undignified life to satisfy my own selfish needs. The vet said I'd know when it was time to say goodbye when she starts hurting herself, can no longer get up without assistance, or loses bladder control. I thought I might have her through the rest of the year, but at the rate she's deteriorating, I doubt she'll last a couple of months.
What I hate more than anything is that she's completely healthy otherwise. Her spirit is good, her mind is clear, and she's still a puppy at heart. If she was sick in a multitude of ways this might be easier, relatively speaking.
I've never been through this before--Nike is the first dog I owned--so I guess I'm just looking for input from those who've had to make the choice to say goodbye. What can I do to make her last days happy? How do I prepare myself for this?
What I hate more than anything is that she's completely healthy otherwise. Her spirit is good, her mind is clear, and she's still a puppy at heart. If she was sick in a multitude of ways this might be easier, relatively speaking.
I've never been through this before--Nike is the first dog I owned--so I guess I'm just looking for input from those who've had to make the choice to say goodbye. What can I do to make her last days happy? How do I prepare myself for this?