I've been lucky. Up to now I have not had to deal with a pet getting too old to go on. My dog from high school was the family dog and when she got old my parents handled the matter. My dog Cody died from cancer in 2017, but at least it was fast.
But my Collie Bingo is 17 now, she's lost strength in her legs, she has lost interest in food and is going blind as well from cataracts in her eyes. She can only stand for a short time and when she walks she goes in circles and falls down. If she is left alone for a time she yips to get help moving her legs.
It's time, I think.
My brain tells me euthanizing her is the best way to protect her dignity and avoid needless pain, but damned if I ever wanted to kill my own dog.
For anyone who's had to go through this, how do you cope with the guilt that you should have been able to avoid it somehow? And how do you tell your kids what happened?
But my Collie Bingo is 17 now, she's lost strength in her legs, she has lost interest in food and is going blind as well from cataracts in her eyes. She can only stand for a short time and when she walks she goes in circles and falls down. If she is left alone for a time she yips to get help moving her legs.
It's time, I think.
My brain tells me euthanizing her is the best way to protect her dignity and avoid needless pain, but damned if I ever wanted to kill my own dog.
For anyone who's had to go through this, how do you cope with the guilt that you should have been able to avoid it somehow? And how do you tell your kids what happened?
That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier
It is a tough choice. I had to make the same choice for our cat just a few years ago. That cat was pretty much my support during the day after my dad passed and never left my side. When she got an awful mouth cancer, we extended her life some with chemo, but it was aggressive. 
