I need help. My westie is almost 13 and she’s been suffering with recurring UTI’s for a little while now. She also has a bad ear infection. She’s tired. And i can’t stand to see her hurting anymore. I need help and advice on when euthanasia should come into the question. I’ve never done this before and i need all the help and second opinions i can get. this is my baby and i can’t watch her suffer. i also don’t want to put her down if she still has any value of life left. please help. please

Hello Dr. Krista, my 3,5 year old shiz-poo, male got paralyzed on March 29, just playing at home with another dog. Next day we went to EI and we were told that his injury is (slipped disc) at T13-L3, based on xray. Surgery would have been 10.000 $, with 50/50 chance of recovery according to doctor, no chance with steroids. We couldn’t afford the surgery. Our home doctor gave us little hope and Shadow has been on steroids since March 31. After 7 days there was no improvement,doctor recommended euthanasia but with minimum chance we asked for 7 more days of meds. He has very weak deep pain sensation. His back legs are paralyzed, he poops and pees without control, has good appetite and when let out of cage he wants to run on his front legs dragging the back. I just ran across your videos on youtube, not to give up on those dogs, but i am not sure if a miracle can really happen. Is it really possible that he would walk again? I dont want him to suffer but not sure what to do. Could you please let me know your opinion about it, thank you so much! We are desperate…Anita

Hello,

My 18 and 1/2 year old lab mix just suddenly lost about 50-70% use of his hind legs few days ago. The vet recommended MRI which was financially not feasible nor did I think giving him anesthesia given his age was a good idea. He sent us home with prednisone and to call back with updates. I took him to a vet acupuncturist but she said that probably won’t be very helpful. I’m going back tomorrow to see if I can convince her to do acupuncture. Boston has otherwise been a super happy and healthy dog (sans nerve sheath tumor surgery 7 months ago from which he has made 100% recovery).

It’s been 5 days and since I wasn’t told about crate rest, I allowed him to wonder/wobble short distances around the house to go potty and to/from bedroom and living room and he has fallen few times when his back legs gave out. Given his age, I just don’t think surgery is an option. If he doesn’t get better in a couple of weeks, is euthanasia pretty much the only option? How much time should I give him? I just hate seeing him in pain but my husband is on deployment and I really want him to hang on until he comes back as it was my husband who rescued our dog 16 years ago. He is currently on prednisone and tramadol. Please advise. I just cannot make any drastic decisions on my own right now but I also want to do the right thing by our loyal and loving baby. Thank you.

Sorry if this seems to ramble. I just have a lot on my mind.

He has already broken and melted my heart. I am a teacher and will actually be off work for the next 6 weeks to train, play, and “mother” the little guy. I think I have convinced my mother to watch him for the first couple of months when school starts to help him settle in because he is so young. Our best guess is that he is a lab mix. He will probably be medium to large in size.

I know that socialization is so important for a pup of this age. What can I do to help him?

I keep crying and my anxiety about the next 6 months is very high. My worries make it hard to sleep even when the little guy is sleeping. I’m so sad for him and I just want to make sure that he is a happy, healthy puppy. The shelters around here are overwhelmed and I refuse to leave the little guy. Euthanasia rates are pretty high.

He will eventually be an indoor/outdoor dog. I won’t be comfortable with this, though, until he is older. That is why I’m going to pay my mom to watch him. I will be gone from 7-3:30 and my man works from 7:30-5. On days with inclement weather, my fella would be able to come home and let him in or out. We have a large fenced in back yard with plenty of shady areas. I live in a rural area with very kind neighbors so I am not worried about anyone messing with him. I live in East Tennessee where there is rarely an extreme temperature; however, I’m also looking into adding a doggie door, too.

Here is what I have done so far:

(1) He has a lifestyle crate (with the partition to make it smaller for now) that is attached to a large playpen in our kitchen. He sleeps in this crate at night. I’ve been sleeping on a couch next to it at night to take him out when he wakes. This is generally every 2 hrs.

(2) I’ve taken him to the vet. They dewormed him and gave him a flea treatment that is appropriate for a little guy under 5Lbs.

(3) I take him out to potty every time he wakes up from sleeping. He has only had 3 accidents in 3.5 days. I clean up his mess well so as not to leave a smell and take him out anyway. I DO NOT scold such a young pup but rather just take him out and set him in the grass each time.

What can I do to ensure this little guy has a great adolescence? Especially considering he is off to a rough start?

our vets suggests euthanasia( we’ve been saying no to that).He is eating minimally, but at least he eats. he’s on IV fluid. He’s 1 year and 8 months old miniature pinscher.

My 10yo rat terrier (have had since 6months old) is ppl and dog aggressive. He bit my 10 month old son twice this summer, no blood but snaps every chance he’s near baby.he has bitten people in the past. He has severe anxiety & is afraid of everything. he’s always been this way. His fur is falling out, he has hard black patches all over, and soft pink skin showing I’m other places. After biting my son’s face, hubby is talking about euthanasia. Is this the right choice?

He is 8 weeks old, weighs just over 200g (his litter mates are all at least 600g) has a very soft and enlarged skull with pupils that face east west. There are no good vets here, certainly no vet specialists. Should I wait until he has gained weight before trying to medicate him (All the drugs can be purchased over the counter here and I am medically qualified) or should I start ASAP to help minimise brain damage? He is already blind. Or is the likely outcome so poor that I should be thinking about euthanasia? He seems happy enough at this point in time but cries a lot in the night and I don’t want him to be in pain.