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Should I Euthanize My Pet?
Hexmage-PA
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
After noticing a lump on my beagle yesterday, I took her to the vet and was informed that it was a tumor. He said that I could schedule a surgery to have the tumor removed and to have her spayed to prevent another tumor from forming.
However, my beagle is fifteen years old and will most likely die within the next couple of years anyway. The surgery is scheduled for December, and though the vet said he could try and have it sooner in an emergency, he also said that there is a chance that the tumor could have already spread.
There was a woman with a cat at the vet today, too, and it was yowling in pain. When I asked if the cat was okay, she replied that it was about to be put to sleep.
I don't see the point in prolonging her life if there's a good chance she'll die soon anyway, and I'd rather her not suffer. I don't want to tell my parents this in person, but should I tell them to have my dog euthanized?
However, my beagle is fifteen years old and will most likely die within the next couple of years anyway. The surgery is scheduled for December, and though the vet said he could try and have it sooner in an emergency, he also said that there is a chance that the tumor could have already spread.
There was a woman with a cat at the vet today, too, and it was yowling in pain. When I asked if the cat was okay, she replied that it was about to be put to sleep.
I don't see the point in prolonging her life if there's a good chance she'll die soon anyway, and I'd rather her not suffer. I don't want to tell my parents this in person, but should I tell them to have my dog euthanized?
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-how much pain is she in now?
-how much would the surgery cost?
-how likely would it be for the tumor to come back?
-how many more years could she live if you got the surgery?
The decision to euthanize is never clear-cut. There are people out there who pay thousands of dollars for chemo treatments for their pets, which is most likely putting their pet through a lot more pain than is justifiable, just for a chance at a few more years of companionship. My dad's in chemo, and I think it would be cruel to put an animal that has no way to tell you what it is feeling through what he's going though right now.
I'd euthanize.
We decided to let him live for as long as he had no pain and he could just walk around and eat. Then one day he couldn't get up any more and he was in a lot of pain. We discussed it at home and agreed that this was no fun for the dog and he was really old anyway so a surgery would just mean another month of hardship for the dog for maybe a few weeks before he'd collapse for good.
When we brought him to the vet to put him out of his misery the vet was shocked to see him like this and instantly agreed that he might as well die right now.
(He was 18, which was ancient for a dog, we had expected him to die years earlier. :oops: )
If your beagle's not in pain and can still eat, drink, pee/poop and move about okay, I wouldn't put her to sleep yet; maybe put it off till December, then see if the surgery is still worth it. Sad to say, an old dog probably wouldn't handle it well at all.
A skin tumor is easy to remove and won't cause the dog much trouble once you do.
We took 7 tumors off our 11 year old boxer a few years back. No problem.
Beagles are notoriously long lived, and if you like the dog you shouldn't have her put down now.
She probably has a lot of good years ahead of her.
So long as her heart's in good shape, there is no problem with surgery on an old dog. It takes literally a half hour to remove a skin tumor from a dog, and 20 minutes of that time is inducing anaesthesia. Spaying might be more of a problem, but would be worth it in the long run, since many many MANY dogs end up with uterine infections and cancer in old age.
At least give the old girl a chance.
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
Casual doesn’t have a clue WTF he’s talking about. Unless the dog is obese removing a tumor and spaying is a simple and safe procedure that is very unlikely to kill the dog. And for a beagle fifteen isn’t terribly old—some of the oldest dogs on record are beagles—they made it past 25!
Get the operation. Removing the tumor is no big deal, and if you were a responsible dog owner you would have had her spayed years ago. And if the vet can’t work it in sooner than December, just get the operation done by another vet!
If she's not in pain, is still eating and drinking okay, and seems to be enjoying life (coming up to you for pets, that sort of thing), get her the surgery. She may very well have several happy years left to her, and it'd be downright stupid to euthanize her now essentially for your convenience.
I've moved out but my mom just spent around a thousand dollars on the current family dog to get some skin growths/cancer removed and get some bad teeth out, and the dog is 14 years old and recovering well.
Every situation is different though. You should be able to judge if your pet is enjoying life and your enjoying its company. Normally its the parents not wanting to spend/not having the money, I'm surprised you're the one wondering if it should be put down.
Also, I've known dogs that lived for at least a couple years with skin growths/tumors that were left untreated and didn't seem to bother the dog much. I feel like your post is missing something. Why the rush to put it down?
They received many recommendations to put it down at numerous times, but, despite it's issues, it is still just as happy as ever to see me when I visit. It still loves to roll over and get scratched on the stomach, certain foods, etc.
Why kill it if you don't need to? If you can afford the surgery and still want it around, get the surgery and wait it out. It might not be as energetic as it used to be, but it'll still be your dog, and it'll still recognize you and love being around you. I say only kill it when it's quality of life is getting near the pathetic levels.
If they're otherwise healthy, you don't euthanize an animal because of age.
This is generally true except for the anesthesia. The older the dog is, the more dangerous general anesthesia is for them and the less likely that they'll wake up from it. So that should be weighed in.
If your beagle is still happy and otherwise healthy (playing, no change in demeanor), then I wouldn't jump the gun on euthanizing her just yet. When my golden retriever started developing fatty tumors, she was still happy and healthy and running around and all that. It was only later when she developed an abdominal tumor on her spleen at 12 years old that her demeanor changed from running around and happy to looking very said and pained, to the point where she wouldn't even bother to get up to greet someone coming to see her anymore. At that point, we had to make the hard decision to euthanize her. But that was essentially a point of no return. If she's still fully functional otherwise and happy, eating and playing, I don't see any reason to put her down yet.
That said, I don't know what your financial situation is, but these operations are going to cost money, and may lead to more operations that cost more money. I don't know if your willing to sink that sort of money into prolonging the life of an animal a couple years, at most. But, like the other people have said, you don't need to put her to sleep right away. You should be aware that sometimes it's difficult to tell if an animal is in pain, though. Putting a dog that old through those sorts of surgies could be traumatic in its own right.
If your dog is in pain and theres no chance of recovery you just need to bite the bullet and take him to the vet.
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Sorry but I have to echo this sentiment.
You know your dog better than anyone else. Age is irrelevant. If your dog seems healthy, happy and in no obvious pain, why would you want to put her down (assuming money is not the problem)? Everyone gets sick but it doesn't meant they can't get better.
I've got a chihuahua who has two tumors, one on the foot and one on the ear. We opted not to remove them because that'd essentially mean amputating her foot and ear.
She's had those damn things for the better part of a year now, and she's doing perfectly fine. They break open and bleed on occasion, but that's about it.
"There's a bump, put 'er down" isn't a good way to decide if something you love should die.
Unless you breed beagles for a living or have serious expertise in the field, what the fucking shit dude. Why was your dog not spayed as a pup?
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Minor correction: no halfway decent breeder does it for a living. Breeding dogs properly isn't going to make you any money; after the costs of showing to make sure you've got a dog that should be bred, health testing for both parents, vet visits, prenatal care, health testing for the puppies, and vaccination, you'll be losing money or just barely breaking even. Breeding dogs is for people who love and want to improve the breed, not for people who want to make a profit.
My parents are both vets.
My dog is also 15.
He is lumpy as hell, and he's got tumors all over. He's had them probably 3 years now, and he's doing fine. My parents aren't trying to remove them, because it's too much strain on him and he probably wouldn't survive it. They're medicating him for arthritic joints, and that's about it, as far as I know.
If your dog's quality of life is still good, there is absolutely no reason to euthanize it.
Personally I would never spend 6,000 dollars to save my dog as it is not a financial option at this time in my life. But I know people who would take out loans to do so.
Regardless, it doesn't help you now. Either get the bitch spayed and get the tumor taken off at the same time, or wait for the inevitable. Oh yeah, and save up for the inevitable, too. That German shepherd's spay (at age 12) cost her owners a fair fortune.
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.