Please someone convince me.....

ladyt25

ladyt25

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that there's always a good reason that a seemingly healthy happy dog is being PTS?! I went to the vets today (with my guinea pigs), last appoinment of the day and a woman came in with a lovely wire-haired, mongrel type terrier. She was very quiet and sat down and the dog was very jolly and wagged happily at me. The woman though was very quiet. I heard the receptionist ask "do you want to be with him?" to which she just shook her head. She then went out of the waiting area with said dog and came back without him looking visibly upset and holding back tears and she then paid.

My heart just sank as all i could possibly think is that that was the the dog's last trip out and i am wishing i'd asked the vet when I went in. If this is indeed was the case, please can someone convince me there must have been a very good reason for a youngish, happy dog to be PTS??? I think it is going to prey on my mind all night and i am going to regret not saying something. :-(
 
He could have had an illness like cancer, and she was having him pts before he went downhill.

He could have bitten somebody, maybe even one of her children.

Could be lots of reasons:(
 
Yeah i know that, just it seemed quite odd. Think Id want to be wih my dog at the end if it was ill. It was fairly young (well certainly not old) i was puzzled. I am telling myself it could be down to numerous things.
 
Severe epilepsy, tail chasing or similar destructive/self mutilation behaviour, degenerative brain disease which will only get worse, muscular/skeletal condition like HD or ED that will only get worse, a cancer/tumour that will only get worse but had no outward signs (like my old bitch, healthy, shiny, happy and walking ten miles one day, dead two days later and yes, I would have PTS if I had known the strain the operation to remove would take on her).

You said 'seemingly', you didn't ask, you don't know. I'd put a dog to sleep tomorrow if it were happy rather than leave it until it is confused and doddery, off it's legs, chewing itself to pieces, fitting every day, soiling itself. Dogs live in the here and now, they don't understand pain and disorientation the way we do.

Maybe her circumstances had changed so rapidly and drastically, rather than him fall into the wrong hands or be lumped from pillar to post or suffer kennel stress, she decided to have him PTS.

If the vet had concerns (and the vet should ask) then they would be the ones to see that the dog got a reprieve/chance of rehoming, not you in the waiting room.
Try not to stress about it x

ETA - I also wasn't there to see my older bitch go. I gave her a biscuit and then she went into the garage with her old friend the vet and my Mum. I wanted our last encounter together to be a happy one. She evacuated after she fell to the ground and I am glad I did not see that. Selfish? Maybe.
 
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I know, I know you talk sense and that is what i am telling myself that there was a very good reason. Just find it so sad and always wonder if there's something I could do to help but then I am mindful it's not my business. I'd make a very poor vet!!!
 
My mum walked into the vets perhaps 27 or 28 years ago with a very beautiful, young, fit, happy dog (his picture is ^^^ in the tribute thread with me in a pram) but what people in the waiting room would not have known is that he had become increasingly erratic and indiscriminate in his protection of us and while he had never bitten anybody, he did send a door-to-door collector flying and was standing on top of him with teeth bared before my Mum realised what had happened and called him off.

She could have rehomed him, someone could have 'helped' him, or, he could have gone on to form another strong bond and nearly killed someone, he could have fallen into the wrong hands as a half-starved, beaten, yard/guard dog or a fighter. He died in her arms, no pain, no stress, no one could ever hurt him or harm him, and he could never hurt or harm anyone, ever again.
 
I still remember taking my second whippet to be PTS - on that day she was bright eyed, active, wagging tail, looking really happy :o She had a nose tumour which meant that she spent 85% of her time sneezing up clots of blood and gunk everywhere - it was inoperable, and when she was suffering she could hardly breathe :(

But possibly to someone in the waiting room on that day she looked like a happy, healthy dog :o
 
I see plenty of dogs pts that ou would never know there was anyhting wrong with them, we once pts an 8 month old spaniel with heart failure, she was bright as a button and waggy tailed but the day before she was having her chest drained, I, the vet and the owner where in tears, it was the saddest thing I have ever seen, on the other hand I have seen dogs pts for NO reason, one a puppy staff that was ordered to be pts after recovering from parvo, owner did not want to be present, waggly bottom bright as a button, Im not sure she ever did get pts:rolleyes:
There are so many reasons, it does make you think and plays on your mind, it's better you dont know hun, sometimes when you do know the reason it's heart breaking believe me.
 
Windsor looked the picture of health when he was PTS, but we just knew it was time for him to go. I know a lot of people would have kept him going via medication (in fact, if decision had been mine I would have had him PTS sooner than what M had decided) but we couldn't put him through it. He had a fantastic life, but let us know when it was time.
 
Just because the dog doesn't have a growth or other obvious signs of illness doesn't mean they aren't ill. My old dog had the beginnings of 'old dog syndrome' vet didn't want to PTS as she could have had another 3+ months left (still had healthy coat, bright and mostly alert) but he didn't see her covered in urine/faeces because she forgot that she needed to go or when she just stared into space, she also had bad cateracts and would walk into things (she was my first dog (parents got her when I was 4) it was kinder to let her go early than let her loose any more dignity)

Jake will be pts if I could no longer care for him and the other option was a kennel environment he doesn't eat, becomes withdrawn, will chew on himself etc if in a non 'quiet/calm/older dog type' kennel block even then he hardly eats and can become withdrawn (has at least 3 walks a day when in quite kennel) Izzy will go to a fox terrier rescue center or will be rehomed to someone I know (she has no probs with anything)
 
Yeah, I think the thing is it's human nature - you sort of want to know the story behind it just in case maybe you could help.
 
I'm very nosy and would have asked why she was there. If she had said the dog was ill I would have commiserated and if she said he was being PTS cos she couldn't afford him, landlord said she couldn't keep him etc I would have offered him a home.
 
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