TW - explicit talk of dog death
In my experience with my dear Chucho, he definitely was holding on but deteriorating quickly. The day we made the decision to say goodbye to him due to his condition he passed away that very evening at home with us all beside him.
Chucho had congestive heart failure which we discovered after a few fainting spells and a visit to the vet for imaging showed his enlarged heart and leaky valves. He was 9 years old and a shepherd pit bull mix and we had hoped for many more years with him. We had no way of knowing how long he had left and started him on some maintenance and palliative types of medications. This was September 2020. Amazingly he bounced back and was his old self for another couple of months until some of the symptoms began to return, dry cough, passing out or having to lay down quickly if he got too excited, etc. By December he was slowing down significantly but like you described he had life in him and still enjoyed treats and cuddles and playtime with his sister pup. We just had to make some adjustments to meet him where he was, including walking the dogs separately. He still longed to go for walks and we would leash him up and just walk up and down the street for a while so he could sniff. We lowered the bed and assisted him so he could still sleep with us. Things like that.
By the holidays he was really declining, eating less and less, his medication made him very thirsty and he was constantly drinking water and thus having to go out to urinate and he would lay in the snow and not want to move - we think the cold was a relief on his chest/heart. He had an episode where he collapsed and seized and we thought he was dying and it scared the crap out of me. I just held him and he came around after a few minutes. We knew it was time but it was the weekend and we decided to call first thing Monday morning, Jan 11th 2021. He didnât make it that long and it was a traumatic experience with him dying at home, I wonât go into too many details but it was awful. We were able to come to terms with his passing because our other dog was there and could see him pass away and understand, we hoped, what had happened as a result. But for Chuchoâs sake I would have wanted him to have a more peaceful passing. We really didnât have all the options available to run him to the vet because of timing and the incredibly fast decline he experienced - he was still hanging in there on Friday, even eating treats, and then Saturday it was the beginning of the end. It was a traumatic experience for me and my husband as well, but we came to terms with it and were glad to have made his last days special with a steak dinner and that he went with all his loved ones with him.
For what itâs worth, I believe you will know when it is time but I would definitely keep evaluating your pupâs quality of life and the good times versus the bad times. I think you can trust your judgment and there isnât a need to rush it. I am so grateful to our vet for being so empathetic and available to talk us through this, he was great and also didnât push us one way or another. If there is anything else I can offer to help, my inbox is open. Any questions or thoughts you have, any time. It is a very hard thing to go through alone.
I also want to say I am very sorry youâre going through this. I feel your pain. Iâm grateful for the opportunity to talk about this as itâs approaching the 2nd anniversary of his passing on Jan 10 and itâs been on my mind. I loved him like a kid. I hope I didnât overshare, either!
Lupe (top left) and Chucho (bottom right) September 2020 after his diagnosis
let made me smile. Thank you so much for sharing your story and of course I will provide for him as much as I can and Hope that he will let me know when heâs ready.
So sorry. Our situation was similar in that he said itâs not âif,ââbut âwhen.â Sending hugs.
