Hello all, I have a Shih Tzu who is between 11 and 12. He was a rescue. In the last few months he has lost a lot of his teeth, his hearing & eye sight and he constantly has a cough and I find stomach bile all over. I am so torn on paying for tests to find out he has heart disease or cancer. I know I could not put him through treatment at his age. I am having a real battle within me. Do I pay for all these test or just not be selfish and put him to sleep. I knew I will be faced with this but I didn’t know it would be so hard. Any insight on what you would do? If he was 5 or so this would not even be a topic of discussion but considering he is a senior dog I am just so torn.
I am sorry to hear that your Shih Tzu is sick - what does your vet say? You have to ask yourself what his quality of life is before making any decisions, especially as you say that you could/would not put him through treatment if tests showed really major problems.
I agree, I totally would give him treatment if he was a puppy still or even mid age. =( Just so hard. he is my lil baby and I will be so sad without him.
Brandy - if his quality of life is not good and shows signs of deteriorating, I can only say this. Sorry as I am, better a week too early than a day too late. I still ask myself whether I did the right thing at the right time for my beloved Pereg - the beautiful girl I still use as my avatar - she was only six-years-old but had had uncontrollable epilepsy for four years and in my head I know I did do the right thing - but my heart still keeps hurting.
It is so hard to make these decisions - what does your vet say? Sometimes there just isn't a right time. We have to make the best decision for that individual dog. I know that in the past I may have called it a little too early, and once or twice, I'm sorry to say that I certainly left it too late. As @Malka suggests, better the first than the latter.
The vet has basically said it's up to me. He is a senior dog so they won't push back or anything like that even without an actual diagnosis and they just tell me I know my dog's want and needs better than anyone.
My vet has never told me that it was time to put my dogs down, but has told me, after I’ve decided, that he thought I was doing the right thing. It’s a very personal, and hard decision, and the vet can’t make it for you. They have to let you make the choice. I agree, better a bit too early than too late. I think I’ve always waited too long. So sorry you are having to go through this
Thank you everyone for your kind replies. I am making the decision to take him today. I came home yesterday and he had thrown up the bile and his bowels were all over the house. It’s gonna break me emotionally but I know it’s the right thing for him. I’m learning that dogs are too loyal to let you know it’s time.
