I think my mother's dog is ready for her last trip to the vet.

[Aristus]

I'm feeding my mother's dachshund while my mom is away. Meg is 14 or 15, blind, deaf, and in what seems to be constant pain just moving around. I don't know how to tell my mother that it's time to take her to the vet. Meg is only the third dog my family has owned in a nearly 35-year period. Long time. But I think my mom is resisting the idea of putting Meg to sleep. My mother is a retiree who lives alone, and may be afraid of losing her long-time companion, so to speak.

[Silver Swan]

1. I know that can be a difficult decision

Maybe if you mention it to your mother, and volunteer to do all the arrangements, and take the dog in, she would agree it is for the best. She may feel too guilty, sad, etc., to do it herself.

[haele]

2. I'm so sorry to hear that - but there comes a time that when the dog is just miserable -

- and will not get better. It's a tough decision, but she wouldn't want the dog to keep suffering? And I doubt she'd want to wake up to find the poor dog dead or dying one day.
If nothing else, she should take the dog to the vet for a consultation on how to make life easier for Meg if there's a chance that there could be a few more months or years? The vet is used to this sort of situation, and would know how to approach it if it is Meg's time.

Haele

[bluesbassman]

3. Tough one Aristus.

It's hard to let go. My buddy got a shorthaired pointer when we were sophomores in HS. That dog lived to be 17, but the last few years were pretty sad. He just couldn't let go. I wish your mom and her beloved Meg the best.

[applegrove]

4. Tell your mom she can adopt a senior pet from the pound one day soon. Do not let that pet suffer. I

don't know how dogs are but cats will hide their pain and distress. When my cat was hiding in closet corners and under the bed all the time, loosing weight and to sore for me to touch..it was time.

[GoCubsGo]

7. Maybe it would help to get the new dog before letting the old one go.

That way, it wouldn't be thought of as a "replacement". I had to put my almost-17-year-old cat to sleep back in May. It was hard, but having my other cat here sure did help me get through it.

[begin_within]

5. It's cruel to keep Meg alive in that condition.

The dog is blind, deaf and in constant pain. To prolong that is cruelty. To release the dog from that pain and suffering is an act of love. I'm ashamed of pet owners who can't bring themselves to have the pet euthanized when the pet is clearly suffering and there is no hope of recovery. They are afraid of the loss or the pain they will go through when deciding to have the pet euthanized and after it is done. But they have to stop thinking of themselves and think of what is best for the pet. In this case, based on what you have said, it's clearly time to do it and I wouldn't wait one day longer. Every day it is postponed is another day of misery for the pet. It's cruelty toward the pet to keep putting it through each day of misery.

[RebelOne]

6. Yes, it is cruel and I realized that when I finally made the decision

to take my 13-year-old Rottweiler for her final visit to the vet last July. She had cancer in her liver and bones. I knew she was in pain and kept giving her pain pills and finally the meds were just not working any longer and I had to make that painful (for me) decision.

[livetohike]

8. I'm so sorry Aristus. It has to be your Mom's decision, but

maybe she would like to talk about it with you. :hug: Dogs adapt to being blind and deaf. Has Meg been to the vet recently? Is there something the vet can give her for the pain?

My sister's dog lived to be 19 and was blind and deaf and adapted to his situation.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. Poor Meg and poor Mom. Yes. It sounds like it is time. *hugs*

[alphafemale]

10. Some vets are willing to come to your home for something like that.

Especially for a long time client, and in cases like your Moms where the pets companion is elderly. Your Mom may be more comfortable holding her friend and cuddling her in a favorite chair.

[RebelOne]

11. Not many that I know of. n/t

[alphafemale]

12. Took me maybe two minutes to find this. Serving the OP's county.

http://www.doorstepvet.com/

And if a competitor is doing this, I'd imagine a vet that had served a pet and her family for a lifetime would.

[Major Nikon]

13. My vet did

Our dog was 17 yrs old at the time. It was a wonderful thing to do and really helped in a difficult situation. From now on I wouldn't go to a vet that didn't offer this service.

[alphafemale]

14. Most animals stress about going to the vet anyway.

There's no need for them to go through that.

[RebelOne]

15. Fortunately, my dog had been to the vet at least once a week

throughout her illness that everyone knew her and loved her, so she was not stressed out when we made the final visit.