I have lost a dear friend and family member...

[Archer]

Our Old Girl Sheba [Family Dog] More then a family dog! A family member...has passed on...

Sheba was a class act and a member of my family, I already miss her terribly.

The old gal was just about to turn 18 this year and she has been a member of my wife's family since she was 16 teen. I personally have had the pleasure to be a part of Sheba's life for the past ten years and loved her more then words can say...

Our hearts are broken and we miss her terribly...Sheba's death weighs heavily on us.. We held her in our arms right to the end and letting go hurt like hell.

Well Sheba..

We miss you and love you Old gal and your in our thoughts...

If anyone has a special friend like we did, Cherish the moments and show your love everyday...

Sorry for the sad message.. But I miss her dearly...

I have attached a picture of my fallen angel Sheba as my avatar.

Archer out...

[Viivi]

I'm very sorry for your loss, Archer. I think I know a bit of how you feel because I lost my dear 14-year-old cat Jojo five years ago, and I still miss him a lot.

[Raven Wolf]

Archer... I'm so sorry.

As many hear know, I lost my almost 10 year old little girl, Maggie (Shetland Sheepdog) on August 31st, 2005.

I don't care what anyone says.... it isn't LIKE loosing a child. It IS loosing a child.

Open your heart to her spirit. You can feel her, if you try.

I have actually SEEN my Maggie's spirit once since her death.

Our thoughts are with you. (((hugs)))

[Guest Doll]

my condolensces. I had the same terrible time when my dog passed in Mar. Hope you have lots of pictures, videos, or memories.

[Archer]

Thanks for all the kind words and thoughts.

I'm truly having one hell of a time dealing with this loss. This is the first member of my family that I could not help or make things better some way. I tried everything from exams to blood tests, medicine.. (you know what I'm getting at)

Sheba had three masive siezures, and each time I held her in my arms and drove like a mad man with my wife to the doctors. I felt truly helpless... The doctor said he believed there was a problem in her brain and it was time to let her go... My wife was in shambles and to top it off we have just added a new addition to our family! My wife just gave birth to my beautiful daughter Katiah, and the though of my daughter never getting to know Sheba just seemed not to be an option.

I know I sound mental but, I was taken by this little dog. I wrestled with what to do for four days without a minutes rest wondering is Sheba hurting, do I have the right to do as the vet says and let her go peacefully via their method.

Sheba stopped eating and drinking over the next few days also... We tried to hand feed her but, she just seemed tired...

I'm trying to believe I made the humane decision as my wife said we should consider letting her go.

Sorry I'm having trouble saying that Fu#$@ing word Euthanization.

Three years ago I could see she was falling and we worked our asses off trying new diets, medicine, and we even adopt a little wenner dog we named Cyrus so she would not be alone when we were at work. Cyrus was an angel in disguise, they became best friends and Sheba seemed to find her self once again.

She was a little monster who always put her head out the window in the car so she could feel the wind in her face.. I know you guys know what I'm talking about.... Well see has not done that for a couple years now and when we brought her into see the doctor after the third seizure she put her head out the window on the way and it suprissed the hell out of us... Then she turned and looked at us like she knew what might be happening...

Well after she stopped eating once again we brought her in and we were told we need to let her go so she dosen't leave us in pain... At this point I consulted everyone I know and I was told she has been on borowed time being almost 18 years and all...So here I am..

I asked for the doctor to sedate her so she could rest while we wrestled with what should happen next. When they sedated her to let her rest I was holding her.. and I truly believe she left us at this point.. My wife started to cry and then they told us we should just let her go.. THEN Against every fibre of what I believe I am I agreeded and they gave her the last needle and she was gone.

I feel like s*** and it's hard to breath knowing I might have made the wrong decision. I have to tell my son in about 6 hours when he come home from camp...

I guess my question in all this is.. What gives me the right to let her go by these means? How could I be sure I did the right thing! Do we have thr right to make these decisions?

When will I stop thinking what a s*** I am... A lady was there and seen what was going on, she told me we were making the right decision and then she said "God Bless You" then smiled at us... At this point all I could think of was knocking her out as I'm going to be the one to make a decision that will ultimately leave a whole in my family...

Now I'm sitting at work questioning eveything that has happened...

Please feel free to speak your thoughts.. I need to hear something or feel something at this point..

Thank for lending me your ears....

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

Thanks for all the kind words and thoughts.

I'm truly having one hell of a time dealing with this loss. This is the first member of my family that I could not help or make things better some way. I tried everything from exams to blood tests, medicine.. (you know what I'm getting at)

Sheba had three masive siezures, and each time I held her in my arms and drove like a mad man with my wife to the doctors. I felt truly helpless... The doctor said he believed there was a problem in her brain and it was time to let her go... My wife was in shambles and to top it off we have just added a new addition to our family! My wife just gave birth to my beautiful daughter Katiah, and the though of my daughter never getting to know Sheba just seemed not to be an option.

I know I sound mental but, I was taken by this little dog. I wrestled with what to do for four days without a minutes rest wondering is Sheba hurting, do I have the right to do as the vet says and let her go peacefully via their method.

Sheba stopped eating and drinking over the next few days also... We tried to hand feed her but, she just seemed tired...

I'm trying to believe I made the humane decision as my wife said we should consider letting her go.

Sorry I'm having trouble saying that Fu#$@ing word Euthanization.

Three years ago I could see she was falling and we worked our asses off trying new diets, medicine, and we even adopt a little wenner dog we named Cyrus so she would not be alone when we were at work. Cyrus was an angel in disguise, they became best friends and Sheba seemed to find her self once again.

She was a little monster who always put her head out the window in the car so she could feel the wind in her face.. I know you guys know what I'm talking about.... Well see has not done that for a couple years now and when we brought her into see the doctor after the third seizure she put her head out the window on the way and it suprissed the hell out of us... Then she turned and looked at us like she knew what might be happening...

Well after she stopped eating once again we brought her in and we were told we need to let her go so she dosen't leave us in pain... At this point I consulted everyone I know and I was told she has been on borowed time being almost 18 years and all...So here I am..

I asked for the doctor to sedate her so she could rest while we wrestled with what should happen next. When they sedated her to let her rest I was holding her.. and I truly believe she left us at this point.. My wife started to cry and then they told us we should just let her go.. THEN Against every fibre of what I believe I am I agreeded and they gave her the last needle and she was gone.

I feel like s*** and it's hard to breath knowing I might have made the wrong decision. I have to tell my son in about 6 hours when he come home from camp...

I guess my question in all this is.. What gives me the right to let her go by these means? How could I be sure I did the right thing! Do we have thr right to make these decisions?

When will I stop thinking what a s*** I am... A lady was there and seen what was going on, she told me we were making the right decision and then she said "God Bless You" then smiled at us... At this point all I could think of was knocking her out as I'm going to be the one to make a decision that will ultimately leave a whole in my family...

Now I'm sitting at work questioning eveything that has happened...

Please feel free to speak your thoughts.. I need to hear something or feel something at this point..

Thank for lending me your ears....

This sounds a lot like what I went through with a cat that we had that was over 20 years old, and a member of the family for sure. This cat was failing in many ways, and when we finally took her in to the vet for the last time, he was surprised by her condition. We were hoping she would pass naturally and peacefully, but in hind sight, I think we probably waited too long. From what you have described, I think you made the correct decision. Unfortunately, it is a hard decision either way, and you are almost guaranteed to have regrets one way or the other. Generally speaking, from what I have seen, vets have very good judgement about these things, and will make an effort to do everything they possibly can, so I think you can rest assured that this was probably the right time. From reading your thoughts, I only wish that every pet had a family that cared as much. It sounds like Sheba had a long and happy life, but unfortunately, we are virtually guaranteed to outlive these family members, and all we can do is try our best to make these agonizing decisions in the best interests of the pet, as well as the rest of the family. I have seen nothing that would lead me to believe you didn't do just that. I have found that it gets easier with the passage of time, and eventually, you can look back on all of the memories on a much happier note.

[Guest SouthernCelt]

Very sorry to hear about your dog. I can fully appreciate your grief and doubts. We've struggled through the death of five pets that were with us for their entire lives. In three cases, they simply met their ends from sudden heart attacks or strokes so lingering illness wasn't an issue. In two cases, we had to be the ones to decide. Those pets had cancer that could not be cured so the only real treatment was painkillers. Deciding when to ease their burden of this life were the hardest things we've ever had to do but in both cases there were really no other options. I've not second guessed those decisions but I always regretted having to make them and hope such decisions can be avoided in the future.

[Guest Doll]

Thanks for all the kind words and thoughts.

Now I'm sitting at work questioning eveything that has happened...

Please feel free to speak your thoughts.. I need to hear something or feel something at this point..

Thank for lending me your ears....

It's normal to feel badly abt putting a loved one to sleep, but a body is only meant to function for a certain amount of time. Sometimes, it comes to the point that it w/dn't have mattered if you had an exorbitant amount of money to throw @ her medical bills. Her cells have run through their course of life. I think (a pastor told me once-in re: to my mom) her body sort of knew she didn't need to eat/drink anymore & just drag out the whole process. If Sheba c/d've said something to you, do you think she might've wondered why there was this pain, wondered if you could help her. You can tell when your pet feels extremely sick.

I was overwhelmingly distraught b/c I didn't get Dutch to an emergency vet in time; the closest one was harassing me, I felt, & w/dn't even consider lowering their cost just to put him down. They wasted my valuable time to spend w/him & or get him to the other vet. They also told me even though I'd had the blood test & basically knew what was happening & that he was a 63# choc doberman/choc lab @ 13yrs old they couldn't just put a dog to sleep b/c I wanted them to (my vet wasn't in their group). They were greedy & contrary. I was supposed to keep him from what he went through towards the end. Unfortunately, when I was getting the results from Dr Kahn, I forgot to ask him what symptoms would indicate that the end was coming & in what approximate time frame.

{these are my personal concepts, they're not meant to criticize any other persons concepts on these types of situations.}

You loved your pet enough to recognize that, in futility, the only reason to keep her around was for you & not for her. It wasn't going to help her & her suffering would've only progressed. Why does she have to be in terrible agony 4 days, 2 days, 12hrs, or even 3 more hrs before she passed. You fulfilled a responsibility of being her owner, her best friend, & her loving family member. Don't think that if she had the understanding of what was ultimately going to happen, that she undeniably w/d've wanted to be listlessly hanging around in progressive stages of pain feeling like she was lower than dirt (as being very sick can make us feel).

Look, I don't care what anyone thinks abt what I'm going to say next but: if anyone has any contrary comments, ugly statements, / condescending opinions with reference to your religion, beliefs, .... keep them to yourselves b/c YOU WEREN'T THERE. When you're the one dying a long, drawn out, horribly painful, & anoxic death; you do & think what the hell you want to & leave me out of it!!

My mom went through 2 1/2 yrs of extremely aggressive chemos, bone pain (is the worst pain to have), nausea, fatigue, etc. To top it off, she was allergic to 98% of pain meds as they induced more nausea & vomiting. She stayed on schedule w/the chemos despite the pain, exceptions being when her wbc's/rbc's prohibited it. Around 2 - 4 wks before she died of suffocation on the malignant fluid filling her lungs secondary to the ovarian cancer, she asked me for a gun. On a separate instance she also asked her sister-in-law for one. She asked the nurse @ Ochsner to put her to sleep.

My mom was very, very religious. She went to church even on Sundays & holy days of obligation when in extreme pain & sickness until she hospitalized/in the hospice. She was a person who prayed her whole life. She had told me that she had her 2 daughters w/o any drugs / epidurals & that childbirth was nothing compared to the bone pain & the complete hysterectomy, plus...that she had had/was going through. She didn't have that much agony in childbirth! My thing was that, I can't do anything. I wasn't rich enough to risk flying her to Britain, which I w/d've done if the finances were there-->even if it was my life savings/my college money. I c/dn't go to jail for assisting her. I can't make it go away! I guess what I'm trying to get across is that, animals don't have concepts of any religious obligations & my mom was all too aware of them. What do you have to go through to make you say, 'That's it, I can't endure this anymore!' Whether or not some people realize this: chronic pain, sickness, & stress wears ones mind down. Any one of those by itself can do that, much less all of them. It's was torture to her. I won't even get into the hallucinations around 3/4 days before.

I don't want any regrets or apologies. I didn't post this to make others feel badly. I just thought maybe this story might help you reconcile what's going on.

Best Wishes

[Raven Wolf]

Archer...

When you 1st posted this, I thought she had just passed on her own. That would have been hard enough to take, but now that I know the horrible choice you had to make, I so understand your pain and conflict.

Remember "Goodbye Charlie"? Without us getting into a debate as to whether this is right or wrong for humans, let me just say that, in MY opinion, animals are lucky in this way.... That no doctor stands in the way of helping them go when they need to.

I have had MANY..... sooooooo many animals in my life. Not all have gone gracefully. Some I've been forced to make the very choice you did. To let them go, rather than force them to stay here and suffer.

My Maggie made the decision easy on me.

She had always been strong, but one day, she threw up a few times, which was not all that unusual, but I'm always concerned when one of my children feels bad. At sunset on the last night of her life, her buddy Cody decided to go back into the house, while she and I stayed out to watch the sunset. As we stood there, a flock of geese flew over in front of the sunset. I leaned down and pointed them out to her. "Maggie, look at the birds..." she looked up at them, and then turned and met my eyes. Something in her eyes said "Thank you. It's almost time for me to go." I stayed up with her all night, while she kept throwing up. As the sun began to rise, (she had been lying on her side for an hour or 2) she suddenly let out with one of her great howls.... As we had always done to call the "pack" together. I felt her spirit left then. She was still breathing when I sent my father off with her to the vet. She never regained consciousness, and passed away from a heart attack. It seemed that some strange infection had gotten to her heart, which we never knew was weak.

The anger and doubts will be with you for a while. It's ok to feel that way. It's ok to be angry, and to cry your eyes out as many times as you need to. It takes time. The phrase "Time heals all wounds" is NOT true. They do not heal... Ever. But we learn to live with the scar. We learn to remember them when they were young and strong, and have faith that their spirit is now free of pain, and they can again be happy and play.

And they will be waiting for us when it's our time to go.

The best gift we give them when they are alive is our love.

When they go, the best gift we can give them is to love and appreciate the others in our life, as a tribute to the unconditional love they give us so freely.

Maggie died on August 31st, 2005. On February 15th, 2006 I adopted Spencer, whom I named after Maggie's father.

Life is not a line. Life is a circle that keeps going around and around.

Hug the ones you love every day.

[HighPlainsDrifter]

i am also a dog lover and a dog owner. I had to put 2 dogs asleep in the past. I was broken hearted over my dog Crissy when i had to put her down back in 96. She was very old and had bad arthristis in which made it hard for her to walk. I had to carry her outside for her to poop. Her health was failing when her vet suggested to put her down. i couldnt stay to watch. I broke down in my car driving home. For weeks i was depressed until we bought another Golden Retrevier Kacie. Nothing could replace Crissy, my sadness eventually turned to happiness when i begin to see how much Kacie was alot like her when she was a pup.

In conclusion, I know its hard. I went through the same thing. Just remember you gave your dog the best years of its life. You are where loved unconditionaly by your pet. Always think about the good times

Joe