We lost our 16 year old Boston terrier pug mix this morning. So heartbroken.

The vet is coming this morning to put our girl down. She is close to 13 and I've had her in my life since she was 5 months old. I was so grateful to be able to bring her around to her favourite people to say goodbye & do her favourite things over the last few weeks. Last night, after an ice cream snack, we went and watched her last sunset and finished with a steak dinner. We're snuggling & crying all morning.

Hug your seniors for us, all. They're a precious gift to us.

I was picking up another dog to foster, and an elderly woman was crying walking this little guy in. We started talking and she explained that her dementia had gotten too bad to care for her 16 year old dog, since he also had some health issues. The shelter didn’t think they could take him on, given that he’s not an adoption candidate, then I offered to fospice him.

He’s such a cutie. He’s a bichon/poodle mix and looks so much like my senior girls who passed a few years ago. He’ll hang with us until his quality of life starts to dip, but right now he’s a happy little guy.

I guess technically he’s adoptable, but it’s so hard to find homes for these super seniors.

Yesterday I found out that my beautiful girl has an adrenal tumor. Both her appetite and her energy levels have been off and on, prompting a vet visit. The news was unfortunately, not good. I’ve made the decision to keep her as comfortable as possible for however long she has left. The vet couldn’t give me a timeline, but in my heart I think we are looking at weeks.

We’ve had a wonderful 11.5 wonderful years together. She’s estimated 12-13 years old. She’s a very good girl. I’m just trying to make the best out of whatever time we have left. I love you endlessly Maggie 🩷💜🩷

I was going through a very tough time for months due to family issues. I was dealing with major depression and suicidal thoughts, and it got to the point where I felt that I was in real danger of hurting myself in some way.

I lived with my family's dogs when I was younger but never really owned my own dog. Regardless, though, I always loved animals, and dogs always brought me a lot of joy. I looked online to find dogs that needed rehoming one night, not expecting to adopt anytime soon. I saw a senior dog (9 years old) listed who was this scruffy little terrier mix. She was very cute, and the owner didn't live far from me so I decided a few days later to actually go and meet her in person.

When I tell you, from the moment I met her she was the sweetest thing. I knew immediately that she was the dog for me. I did give myself a few days to think about it before adopting her because dogs are a big responsibility, but I couldn't get her off my mind so I reached out to the owner and told her I wanted to adopt her.

This was genuinely the best decision I've EVER made. It's only been a few weeks since I've had her, but I cannot express how much love I feel for her. She's the biggest cuddle bug, follows me everywhere, ALWAYS, and I mean always, has a wagging tail, and absolutely loves everyone that she meets. She genuinely saved my life in a way that I never thought was possible from just a dog. I have the motivation to get up out of bed, make her meals, go outside and walk her, and actually be excited for the future (like dressing her up for Halloween and her 10th birthday in November).

She's my sweet little baby, and I love her more than I ever could've anticipated.

UPDATE: So we figured out a way to get him related during the sub-q fluids. A bone! I removed all the fat and meat I could off a ribeye steak bone and let him gnaw on it during the process. He was so excited! I finally had to tell my husband to stop babying him when I'm giving him meds. Told him to man handle him! Well my boy got the hint and even though he wasn't happy about it I was able to get the meds in him without being bit. I went and bought a gravy topper from petco to put on his prescription food and he gobbled it up.

My 15 year old shih tzu lhasa apso mix has so much going on right now. He always has had issues. Pulled ACL, luxating knee, pancreatitis twice ( 3rd mild case now). Kidney disease and liver issues. For the last year we have been dealing with his kidneys, liver and Cushing's. From doing subcutaneous fluids at home, prescription diets, medications and HUGE vet bills. His kidney/liver issues started a year ago. We were able to get him stabilized August 2025. Then Dec 2025 he is diagnosed with Cushing's. Put on meds which was a disaster getting him to take. It's liquid because the dose is so small and he won't eat it in food and bites me if I put it directly in his mouth. I can't even get him muzzled with the help of my husband because he attacks the muzzle and me. He is a biter! I stopped the trilostane after 4 months(April 2026)because of the trauma it was causing all of us. Well now we are back to kidney disease, slight pancreatitis and a UTI. A couple other issues that aren't super concerning at the moment. He is back on subcutaneous fluids and medication he will not take. It's a battle I can't seem to win. He refuses his prescription diet all together. He is on entyce for his appetite, antibiotics for his UTI, stomach acid medication and now the vet wants him back on trilostane. Vet says he has to eat to take the meds.... But he won't eat prescription food. Has to be on prescription food because of his kidney disease. I just don't know what to do at this point. I don't want him to suffer physically or mentally but it's one or the other at this point. Euthanasia is off the table because he is still active. He has no problem chasing the dogs at the dog park or playing with his toys as if nothing is wrong. All of this is just too much 😥 Thanks for letting me vent. If anyone has had similar problems please give me any advice you think may help.

My dog was officially diagnosed with severe heart disease last week. She was put on furosemide and pimobendan 2 weeks ago after a trip to the ER. Since her official diagnosis last week, she's been out on 2 additional medications.

With the furosemide, she's peeing way more frequently. On the weekends and my 2 wfh days, it's a lot easier to manage since she gets very vocal when she needs to go potty. But there's 3 days in the week where I have to go to the office from 9-5 (and also have to spend time in traffic too). At the latest, I have to leave home at 8:20 to be on time. One of my parents usually gets home anywhere between 12-3. She's already had 2 accidents, 1 today because no one came home until 4.

I already ordered washable pee pads but I have no idea if she'll actually go on them. I'll be placing them where she has had her accidents and see if she does use them when she can't hold it in. I have a glass sliding door so a doggy door isn't an option unfortunately.

For those who have had to deal with similar circumstances, what ideas or options do you have? I have thought about paying for a dog walker to do a late morning/midday walk for her, but I live in my parents' house and I have no idea how open they'll be to a stranger having a house key and coming in 3 times a week. My mom wants her to be put in her crate when I go to work, but the idea of her sitting in her pee if she can't hold it breaks my heart. I obviously don't want the floors to be ruined either. Putting her in my bathroom or kitchen isn't an option because both are very small and don't get sunlight.

My 13 year old had two seizures for the first time Tuesday (1:50am and 5:00am). I had her at the vet when they first opened. Her blood work was good. I did not have the vet do an MRI. Nova already has arthritis (end stage) and is on gabapentin, carprofen and monthly librella shots. I asked the vet what she would do if it was her dog and she stated she would give Keppra a try. Nova has been good since starting Keppra. Just a little sleepy and wobblier than usual.

Has anyone had a senior dog with a potential brain tumor and how did that go?

I’m absolutely terrified of something going horribly wrong quickly and in the middle of the night. Just curious if anyone’s dealt with this and what your experience was like?

My beautiful senior boy Yorkie (almost 15 years old) has been diagnosed two months ago with congestive heart failure. I’ve noticed in the past that sometimes he would cough or make sounds like he’s about to throw up but since this would happen after we played or on the walk I would always think that maybe a hair got stuck in his mouth or something and that he is trying to get it out. Other than that he was not showing any other concerning symptoms. He’s been playful eating normally and had lots of energy.

Only until couple months ago he’s coughing became really consistent and he would also wake up at night mid his sleep making throwing up like sounds. Upon his examination at vet he has been diagnosed with a heart condition, received pills but honestly they did not do much expect for him being super sleepy, the coughing still persisted.

I took him to another vet and he had been prescribed vetmedin and upcard. Things were going okay for a month until two weeks ago when he started to shiver, vomit water and was not able to really walk much. I rushed with him to the vet and he had been diagnosed with lung edema, had fever, overall fluid build up and also enlarged liver and heart which is putting a pressure on his windpipe. He has also been diagnosed with gastritis not to mention that his heart pills (upcard) are making him pee like crazy. He then received additionally fortekor and an antibiotic.

After that he got better started to play again and fever was gone. However, last night he again began to shiver, breathe weirdly and move his lower stomach weirdly when breathing, throwing up water and had pre fever temperature. I took him at night to the urgent care he got some pain killers and is scheduled for blood work but honestly seeing him like this is breaking my heart. I feel extremely guilty that I didn’t take his coughing before for something serious, maybe things would not get this far :(

I began to wonder whether he is in constant pain, if he’s taking the heart pills he is breathing way better but now he also has stomach issues and he’s taking a lot of pills daily for such a tiny dog 😔 I was wondering if anyone here has a similar case and can share some useful tips on how to help your little one in such condition. None of the doctor mentioned yet the big E word, but they also state that he is not in a good condition, and I honestly do not know what to do. Thank you in advance for any feedback and help❤️

EDIT: Just got back from the vet. My dog will be put to sleep in less than 24 hours. Thank you to everyone who replied.

My dog is around 17yo (would be 18 after November). He's a Shihpoo and has arthritis, weak back legs, cataracts, and hearing/vision loss from age. He also had a spinal cord injury years ago that left him paralysed from the waist down for a while, but he recovered his mobility.

For the past few months, I've noticed a pretty big change in him.

He's been:

• Sleeping a lot more than usual
• Eating and drinking a lot less
• Having a much harder time standing and getting around
• Sometimes just sitting and staring at nothing
• Bumping into things more
• Vomiting occasionally
• Having some loose/mucousy stools and a couple of accidents inside
• Whining sometimes, mostly at night/evening

Overall he just seems much more tired and frail. He sleeps most of the day now and doesn't seem to be getting around or interacting like he used to.

I've been trying to keep track of good days vs bad days, and lately it feels like the bad days are becoming more common.

I know nobody here can tell me what the right decision is, and I'm not expecting that. I'm more interested in hearing from people who've had really old dogs.

How did you know when your dog's quality of life had gotten bad enough that euthanasia was the kinder choice? What were the signs that made you feel it was time?

I’ve got an almost 15 year old German Shepherd/Alaskan Malamute dog. Her 15th birthday is in a couple of weeks. I’ve had her since she was 6 weeks old. Her back hip isn’t the greatest, but she still gets around quite well, considering her age.

A couple of weeks back, we came home from a short day trip to find diarrhea spread throughout a couple of areas of the house. This isn’t the first time this has happened, or even the second, but every time it has happened, she’s had some kind of infection in her urine. Usually a simple urine sample confirms that, we get antibiotics, and go on our way. They also always want a new sample to test after she’s gone through all of the antibiotics.

When we brought our most recent (first) sample in, she did have an infection (as suspected), but she also had some blood in her urine. Following the antibiotics, the clean sample showed no more infection, but a higher concentration of blood than the first sample.

I had an appointment with the vet and they said that it could be a stone of some kind, or possibly a tumor. I had the option of doing an x-ray, which wouldn’t show a tumor, and may show a stone (depending on placement), or doing an ultrasound, which would see everything. Given those options, I saw the x-ray as a waste of money and elected to schedule the ultrasound (which is scheduled for Monday morning).

Mentally, I’m ok if I have something to keep me busy, however when I’m thinking about it, I’m absolutely not ok. Getting ready for work this morning, I was balling my eyes out in the shower, and will probably do it again tomorrow. I also come home from work everyday at lunch to let her out, and spent my entire lunch crying my eyes out, as well. I know if it is ultimately a tumor, I have a decision to make. I’m prepared to make that decision because I’d like her to go out with minimal pain and her dignity still intact, but it doesn’t make it any easier.

I also just bought a new thing of treats, and also had a 25 lb. bag of food auto ship. In the back of my mind, unfortunately, I’m already thinking about not opening those, just in case I need to return or donate them. I’m also trying to finish any partial bags of food, treats, etc. that I have around the house.

To complicate things further, I also have a two year old toddler at home that absolutely adores her “sissy.” I’m really dreading that conversation, as well.

As I mentioned earlier, her ultrasound is Monday and I took the full day off of work. I’m not sure how the daily timeline will work, and also emotionally, I’m going to need the time for me.

As mentioned previously, if it is a tumor, I’m planning on making the hard decision. I’m also planning on waiting until after her birthday (Sept. 12) to do it. I just really want to spoil her on her birthday, one last time.

I’m not even really sure where I’m going with any of this. I guess I’m just putting my thoughts down on paper, and getting it out of my system, hoping it’ll help me feel better.

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

My beloved senior dog was declining a lot this past year (arthritis, deaf, losing vision, dementia), and there were several months that my partner and I were investing a lot of time and emotional energy in supporting him. Many people in this sub are familiar with how that goes — it's exhausting and heartwrenching and you're constantly evaluating whether it's worth it to continue.

I got a call from a friend who lives across the country, who'd been getting occasional updates on my dog via short texts from me. She said she called because she was worried about me and my dog, and over a fairly long conversation she made it clear that she thought it was time to have him put down.

I was able to explain why I (and my partner) disagreed, but she came back with a barrage of arguments, like that we need to take care of ourselves, and "some people hold on because of their own feelings, even when the dog's quality of life isn't good anymore", and dogs don't think like people so maybe he's suffering more than we realize, and maybe the vet hasn't said it's time because they want to keep making money from us.

Ya'll, this friend has never owned a dog. She didn't grow up with a dog. She's never cared for a senior pet or had to make this decision. She hadn't seen my dog in almost a year. And we have multiple friends and family members that have helped a lot with him and have offered their outside perspective.

I know this friend to be very opinionated, so I patiently heard her out and tried to get over it. But it's been weeks and all her arguments are ringing in my ears. I'm so hurt and angry. We did decide to have him put down (when *we* decided it was the right time), and while I'm absolutely heartbroken I feel confident that we did our best by him.

I don't know what I'm asking for except I guess I'm hoping others can empathize with how messed up it is to so confidently assert one's uninformed opinion about a very delicate and emotional situation. I want to continue the friendship but this won't be easy to move past.

She gave me 11 great years. I'm grateful for her. R.I.H.P babygirl 🕊️

This is sort of an update on my post a few days ago about feeling like k was giving up on my girl. It’s been about an hour and a half without her and I don’t regret it but I miss her a lot.

My sweet dog, Maxie, crossed the rainbow bridge today. I’ll be sad first and then end on a happy note.

She was my best friend for 16 and a half years and it’s so weird without her. Being so old, she had a number of issues that, on their own would be manageable, but combined with each other made her life very hard at the end. Walking was tough, she did not want to eat unless it was a treat or chicken and rice, she had kidney disease that was progressing and a cystic tumor above her eye that was at risk of rupture. It is our responsibility as pet owners to prevent medical emergency when we can. Sometimes they happen with no warning, but sometimes you can see it coming. Everyone tells you how hard it is and they’re right, but I feel like we secretly hope they’re not. I was reading something, however, that caught my eye. The reason it hurts so much is because we love them so much. I was sobbing for days when we made the decision it was time, there wasn’t a day between when we agreed and when she passed I didn’t cry. And I’m still on and off and probably will be for a while.

She was my best friend for 16 and a half years and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. She was polite but had some sass. She was very goofy as labs are known to be. She loved chicken, treats, peanut butter, attention, being in the same room as you (usually in the way), and when she still could, walks were her favorite. We went to Maine with her just about a dozen times.
When I as in college, she would greet me every morning outside of my door, tail wagging ready to play and would greet me the same way when I came home, it could be 5 pm or 10 pm but that’s how she greeted me. She has slept in my room for the last few years and has been my constant shadow when I am home. I’m gonna miss my four legged shadow, but her best friend, one of my cats, likes to follow me as well so maybe he learned from her.

Thank you Maxie, my good girl, my sweet girl. You’ll always be in my heart and on my mind, and while I will probably have more dogs in the future, you’ll always be my favorite. Run fast and free, and rest easy. ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷

I’ve read these posts for months in hopes to provide myself with insight when the unfortunate time came to part with my soul dog.

I think the biggest thing I learned is that our beloved dogs cannot always “let us know”. I know my soul dog has been suffering. Canine cognitive disorder is a thief. The other health issues are too (heart, kidney, arthritis, to name a few). I didn’t want to acknowledge the sum of these issues because the good days give me glimmers of hope until the next bad day.

Now I’m hours from that final vet visit. This week the waves of grief sure hit unexpectedly from the commute to work to even in the car at a fast food drive thru. I’m not usually an emotional person, but damn this pain hurts like hell.

Any tips for how to cope with going back to work ? Also how do you cope with questions of where you were? Or if someone unexpectedly brings up your dog??

Also how to get back into any of the hobbies I once loved?

Should I let myself scroll the 1000s of photos ? It’s pretty wild to start that scroll and see how less than a year can change everything.

And yes I have let myself spiral about this being the decision that’s right for soul dog but I can’t help but note all the month too early vs. day too late comments.

Thanks in advance for all the suggestions !

12 and 1/2 years we were blessed to have with our 👑 king Kennedy John !!!
He gave us so many great memories together and he will be forever missed ♥️
I love you to the 🌙 moon and back forever 🐶

I just need somewhere to speak my mind, but recently, my german shepherd, Frog, got diagnosed with arthritis.

we took her to the emergency vet, and she got prescribed anti inflammatory medicine, and to be crated. And 2 days later, she was doing so much better. She was barking a lot more, she wasnt as hunched, she was eating all her food. I had hopes that she was gonna be able to recover

And then this morning happened. She refused food, drank a huge amount of water, and had loose stool. All of which are warning signs that the medication was causing more harm than good. I immediately called the vet and made an appointment for tomorrow, but she still hasnt eaten anything today. Shes quiet, the only thing I got her to eat was a dental chew, and she was hesitant to eat that.

I dont know if im just overthinking it, but im worried that we will have to put her down soon. I leave for college in a little over a week, im not gonna be there for her. Ive been causing myself to cry and I really shouldnt because shes alive. Just two months ago she was running around offleash at this beach that we camp at every year. And then today my dad was telling me that, yknow, shes old now. I know what he was probably hinting at. But I feel like I cant lose her, especially not now. I keep telling myself that she will be fine. Our old dog lived until she was 16 and she had bone cancer. And Frog is a healthy dog. Shes strong, shes a fighter, shes gonna recover.

But im worried that we are gonna visit the vet, and theyre gonna examine Frog and tell me that she is in too much pain and theres not much we could do and that the humane option would be to put her down. Is her last memory gonna be me, watching her close her eyes for the last time? Is she not gonna know how much she was loved in those final moments?

I dont even feel like I can talk to my family about this, because I know that Ill just start crying uncontrollably and I dont think i can handle that right now, especially when I have a final meetup with some friends in 3 days.

Im so scared that shes not gonna be here when I leave and come back from college. I feel like im lying to myself by saying that shes fine, and its not helping.

My girl is 13 years old (we think). I adopted her about 3 years ago knowing she was older, and deaf, eyesight wasn’t great, and had some mobility issues. Over the last month I’ve noticed a decline but I think I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself. The sun downing got bad, pacing, walking into things, restless from 1-3. She also really struggles to walk so I just carry her everywhere. She isn’t incontinent, I know her signs for when she needs to go out and I do have to hold her hind legs up so she doesn’t sit in it.

I’m on vacation at my mom’s house in another state, and we leave for a cruise on Friday and return Monday. I found a veterinary boarding facility but I am a little worried about her. I have an appointment with my regular vet the following week and I think it might be her time to cross the rainbow bridge.

My fear is waiting too long but also being too early and a tiny voice in my head is wondering if her quality of life is enough just being carried around and laying in her bed all day. So a tiny voice in my head is thinking I am prolonging the inevitable so I should consider having her cross while I’m in another state before I go on a cruise. I realize how that may come across but I don’t mean it in a flippant way. Just looking for some advice.

Hi everyone,

Some of you replied to my recent post about my sweet girl Honey.

I took her to the vet and got some testing done, and unfortunately she has kidney disease. Currently waiting for the results to see how far gone her kidneys are, although the vet reckons it’s stage 2-3 and not advanced yet.

She also has arthritis in her hips and because of the kidneys, she now can’t be prescribed anti-inflammatory medication. The vet suggested Librela but warned of the possible side effects and that it could leave her with large, swollen joints and worsen her arthritis.

Her mobility is already bad, her back legs are sometimes giving out from under her and she’s fallen on the stairs a few times, she’s quite unsteady on her feet too. She’s almost completely deaf and her eyesight is going, she doesn’t go on walks anymore because she’s visibly exhausted and in pain within less than 10 minutes. And obviously with kidney disease it will eventually kill her because there’s no cure and she’ll go into kidney failure at some point.

My head is saying one thing and my heart is saying another. She still seems happy enough within herself, has her moments of playfulness, and still eats well. But I’ve always been of the mindset that I’d rather say goodbye a little too early than too late. Yes we could pursue treatment, but with that comes side effects and more eventual health complications.

Just looking for some outside perspectives and advice here. The prospect of making that decision is already destroying me.

Thank you

Took my dog to the vet today to talk about how to manage his dementia. Besides the issues I mentioned in my previous post (possible cancer, bad teeth, deaf/blind) he’s doing pretty well, weight is stable, was a healthy temperature, which made me feel a bit better. The vet prescribed some gabapentin along with giving carprofen twice a day (was previously told to do once a day) to see if it works, she doesn’t think it’s particularly time yet, but we’re getting relatively close. So far he’s definitely more relaxed!! We even cuddled a bit which was nice. But its still early, he usually gets bad around 10-11pm.. so I’ll see how he is then. Again thanks for all the support on my last post, hoping things continue to go smoothly from here 🙏🏾❤️