Had to put an animal down today....

[FBPirate95]

One of our outdoor cats was severely injured yesterday. Well technically he was ours, but the whole culdesac took care of him and loved on him. It appears he was hit by a car and suffered a broken jaw, a hole in the diaphragm, and other internal injuries. He was given pain meds last night, and allowed to rest over night. This morning the vet had him xrayed and found the internal injuries. She said they could operate and there would probably be less than a 50/50 chance of survival. Also their could be more injuries than could be seen on the Xray and post op could lead to many complications.

Based on the info and his chances, I decided to have him put down. The wife and kids understood, but as always it doesn't make it easier. I hated making that decision but I am certain it was best. The sad part is, I was at work having to make this choice and got pretty choked up about it.

I hope that karma has pitty on me one day if I'm ever on the plug and needing that kind of call made about me.

Not really posting this to get any comments....just looking to vent some. I've had to play the "rock" position due to the kids and give the "its a part of owning pets" speech.

 

[nlain]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

I understand your feelings completely having had to put down one this past year, cat we adopted and found out she had cancer in the ear and throat, not anything to do but put her out of misery, she had won our hearts in the short time we had her, we loved her and she loved us.

 

[can-amsledder]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

Been there myself a couple times. Just a few weeks ago we had to put our cat down after having him for 18 years. It?s a tough thing to do.

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

A lot of people dont realize pets are family. Sometimes better then family A couple years ago I got divorced, cost me $100,000.00 Lost the wife Lost an $80,000.00 a year job and my 18 year old dog went to heaven, Out of all that.... DAMN I miss that Dog!!! Cried like a girl My condolences........

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

Thanks everyone. Means a lot to have a place to vent and people to listen.

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

Always tough.

We live in the country and people are always dumping kittens on the road.
We've adopted three. Norton and Trixie came first in '07, barely weened. One
morning in may of '09 as we headed out to work their was Norton dead in the
road, runover by a car in the middle of the night. We buried him in the yard right
where they all liked to lay. It took a long time for his sister and the other
stray (chigger, which he adopted) to get over it.
He was very unique, not your typical cat. "We" still miss him over a year later.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

Never an easy thing and tough to have to be the strong one.
They certainly are family to us.

 

[mommicked]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

putting any animal down is always better than letting them suffer because you dont want let them go.They would do it for you if they could and you needed it.decideding when its needed is sometimes hard.they cant tell you how they feel and i have seen friends who waited way too long,multiple surgeries,obvious suffering,etc.even to death.DON'T second guess yourself afterward.remember the good times, and when your ready you can get another and enjoy a new and different personality in any pet.been there more than a few times.it doesent get any easier but its the right thing to do.

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

Been there.

All the time your being the pillar of the family,on the inside your feeling great pain. Just remember you have lost one great pet but the spca has great selection of kittens just wanting a home.

Just trying to put a positive spin on your day.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

i had to put my 10 y/o cat down in June. she was amazing, i trained her as i would have a dog. she was leash trained, chased the ball and returned it. it was a really hard decision to make.

 

[roncoop75]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

Had a cat pass at 19 (cat was 19). Had her since just before I left home. Really, besides my parents, she was the only constant in my life.

Took me two years but I now have two more to replace her. I'll probably be almost 60 by the time they go and it will hurt just as bad as the first time.

You did the right thing though. With no permanent home he could have died alone in a ditch somewhere, suffering. At least you were there...

 

[Doernuth]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

As hard of a decision as it is to make remember you saved that poor cat alot of pain and suffering. You did the right thing.

As to the A** hole that hit the cat, and didn't stop. May his soul burn in a lake of fire.

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

You chose the humane thing to do, very commendable of you!
Been there 7 times{2 dogs,3 cats,2 birds} never gets easier.
For some reason I feel a little guilt each time, thinking that it was at my hands they're gone...I know I did the right thing...just saying

 

[badkins50]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

My condolences. My first pet (indoor only cat) turns 16 on monday. I've had him since he was a baby. It's weird to say but I've known him half my life. He is still playful, so we hope he still has a couple of good years in him. Looks identical to Jenks on Meet the Fockers.

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

As to the A** hole that hit the cat, and didn't stop. May his soul burn in a lake of fire.

When I got home yesterday, I laid down in the bed for a few minutes and asked my littlest (3yo) to get up there with me. I asked him if he had been good today and how was he feeling. His comments were:

"I was good today. But I cried....because I miss Asher....Because...he's...dead". This is his first real dealing with the concept of death. He's seen it before, but this is his first time to really start grasping the concept. He was doing his best to be logical, with little emotion, but he definately was chocking back his words.

Then a few moments pass and his question/angry statement "Why do people have to not watch where they are going?!"

We talked some more about it, and I'm very impressed at how well he did with it.

One really strange comment he made completely floored my wife. We have a family friend who had been pregnant with twins earlier this year. For whatever reason complications developed and she lost both twins at about 6months pregnant. He didn't ever see her pregnant, nor do my wife and I recall talking with him about her losing the babies, but his question to my wife was "Is Asher going to the same place Mrs Amanda's babies went?" My wife was shocked and asked him what he meant, and how did he know about that and he said "because I dreamed they (doctors) were working on the babies"

Very very strange.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

Condolences on your loss FB. But know you did the right thing......and realize that doesn't make it any easier at the time...... But it will in time.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

Sorry yo hear that FB.
I have been there myself with my last 2 dogs....Very hard to do while you hold them in your lap and they get the shot.

I have 2 dogs now and know the day will come for them too..
Man,It is as bad as any loss of a family member.

 

[tburda]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

Man, sorry for your loss, it's so tough.

My wife and I have no children, we have 4 dogs and a cat so they are treated like children. We lost one abruptly to seizures 2 years ago he was only 2. I found his dog tag and collar under the kitchen sink in the cabinet. I got choked up and took it and hung it over the picture frame of him, where it belonged.

We all know it's part of life, but it's hard, and if it hurts, then you did the right thing when they were here, which is love them.

Well I'm feeling emotional now just from that. Everyone give your pets a scratch behind the ears today and let them know you love them.

 

[rbh]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

Sorry to hear about the loss,

That's the worse part of having pet, putting them down, because they are a part of the family.

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: Had to put an animal down today....

Once again, thanks for the suppor everyone, it really means a lot. I don't really have a whole lot of friends for various issues. Mainly because my really good friends are friends I spent a lot of time with in HS and in college. I'm very selective about a "friend", so since I've moved around a lot I haven't picked up many. Also, being a supervisor at work it makes it hard to be good friends with my employees without the accusation of "favoritism".

Its good to have some place I can bring these types of things up. Cheers to everyone.