QUESTION

My 15 year old Toy Poodle is still eating very good, but not keeping weight on. She has kidney and heart problems. She does not have any balance left in her back legs, so has to be held up to eat, drink and go to the bathroom. She trashes around all over her padded pen we made for her in the kitchen. She seems happy enough lying in front of the fire place, but because she has no balance if she does fall over on the floor or in the corner, she cannot get up. One of us usually has to leave work every couple of hours to check on her. What I can't understand is that she is so very weak inside, yet outside on the leash she can zip around like crazy. Also, she goes into sneezing fits everytime she eats. She has no teeth so is only on foods such as rice and chicken and veggies, and some soft dog food. I think it should be time to put her down as it is not fair to any of us, but this new vet I have (just moved here) said as long as I don't mind hand feeding her she is fine. But is it fair to her? When we are not home and she struggles to have an accident in the house, she ends up rolling in it as she has no balance. I wonder if this vet is just out for the money? Mainly my question is, if she has such a good appetite, why is she losing weight? She is about 4lbs, so lost about 2lbs in the last year. Would I be selfish on my part to let her go? Thanks

Angie, Canada

ANSWER

Dear Angie,
No you would not be selfish to let her go at this time.

Weight loss to that degree is quite severe and in my experience is often associated with cancers and severe metabolic disturbances.

There gets to be a question at some point of quality of life and this applies to both the owner and the pet.

Having pets should be a pleasure that flows both ways.

If your pet is continually soiling and lying in it and not able to function properly then perhaps this is the right time.

Your vet will, as I do, always look towards what they can do to help improve the overall quality of your pet's life and every time I get a patient in the consult room like this I will go through what we can do to help them improve.

If the owner says that they are looking to have their pet euthanased then I will agree with them that it is the right time.

By this stage as a pet owner you will have gone through a lot of torment to make the decision to come in and it would be wrong of me or others unless there was something that was obviously wrong that could be corrected and give the pet a much better quality of life.

Offering help that does not work or suggesting that there may be other things that may be done at the time when an owner is wanting euthanasia is not fair when the pet is so obviously loved and has attained such an age.

So, in your situation, I would make a final decision as to when, but tell the vet that is what you have decided to do when you make the appointment and you should find them there to help you through it, not just to take the money.

Paul Wilson