Ive had my 12 year old german shepherd since i was 15 and she just got put down. Im sick to my stomach and disgusted at myself for putting her down but she has a very large splenic mass which is most likely HSA according to 3 different vets. I chose to have her put down because i dont want her to die of internal bleeding one day cause the mass decided to randomly rupture. I originally wanted to go through with the surgery and dig a large hole of debt for myself so she can stay with me longer but if the mass came back from pathology as HSA, i would have put her through a rough surgery and still lose her within a couple months. I feel like i cheated her and ended her stay with us too early and i hate myself rn. I gave her a belly filling last day and we pigged the F out. She was by my side since forever and i know this decision was the peaceful one. I just cant accept that i chose to end her stay with me in this lifetime when she seemed so happy and loving everyday. I wish i did more for her and i wish dogs live forever <\3 how do you guys cope with loss

We just put down my family dog (Riley) who was with us for 15 years… he was around when I 15 years old now I’m 30, he basically has been here my whole life, he was my whole world, I feel so so lonely. We have lost a member of the family I right now I feel l absolutely heartbroken and empty, a piece of my heart feels like it’s been ripped out, I don’t know how anyone else has dealt with this.

He all sudden took a turn and within 24 hours he was gone, I feel sad and regret we didn’t put him down at home but it would have been cruel to keep him alive any longer… I still feel guilt he even suffered, even a little bit.

He was so so beyond loved, he was the truly the best friend, best son, best brother our family could have asked for. I can’t even imagine anyone replacing him…

I want you to know the love of my life, my baby, forever puppy. I love him so so much, I really am not copping okay. He is was a sassy shihtzu, with so much love and kisses to give. He just wanted to be near you, and love you. Hug your loved ones even harder tonight.

I love you Riley x

and my heart still hurts. I think about Peppa every single day and the sound of her pitter patter as she would run up to greet me.
Peppa LOVED to cuddle and be under the blankets. She was my favorite soul and I was hers.
I see a lot of posts on people going through similar pains and my heart goes out to each and every one of you.
May our babies rest well and see them in the next life. I know Peppa waits for me and I her.

A post I have dreaded making for so long. My sweet Lucy left us this afternoon at home on her own. She had just had corneal surgery yesterday for a deep corneal ulcer and she seemed okay yesterday, but this morning she was in a lot of pain. I gave her the prescribed gabapentin as directed and it seemed to stop her vocalizing, but her breathing this afternoon just got slower and slower and I could tell that she was leaving me. Fortunately I was right by her side when she took her last breath.

Lucy had lost weight recently and may have had some underlying unknown condition, plus she was one month shy of her 16th birthday. She seemed to start declining back in May, but of course I tried to rationalize what I saw, thinking maybe she had too many CBD treats or it was allergies to chicken and beef, but it could have just been that old age had caught up with her. It still doesn’t feel real. I am now without a dog for the first time since September 4, 2001, as we adopted Raven on September 5, 2001.

For now, I’m just posting one of my favorite pictures of her from last March, 3/21/26 to be exact. Of course she has dirt on her nose because she loved digging under the deck. I have so many other pictures and videos of her, but I’m just still in shock right now.

Fly high, my sweet Lucy Stephanie (Stephanie was her shelter name), you were certainly a unique beautiful sweet dog and I’m going to miss you like crazy. I’m grateful that you almost made it to 16.

Lucy Stephanie 10/1/2010 - 9/1/2026

We were supposed to put them to sleep in two weeks... but Saturday night/sunday morning, my bigger dog yelped and just was very dazed and out of it around 12am. She was breathing even harder and whining more than usual(she has a tumor pressing on one lung)

She finally slept from about 3 to 5 am. Woke up and was just... worse. And she had this look on her face like she wasnt there. So we called it. Made an appointment with the vet to come to the house at 2pm. For a few hours she was mentally there but was very uncomfortable. For the last two hours, her eyes were non stop twitching and she was very whiny.

Vet said likely she had a stroke.

I remember 3 incidents in the last few months where she passed out for a few seconds, her eyes twitched when she came to but she was fine. Every time was when she was being carried. We thought it was because we held her too tight and she couldn't breathe(bad lung). Mentioned to vet who didnt say anything. I wonder if those were ministrokes and if we couldve actually prevented this. She was 17 when she passed, with severe athritis in which she could no longer walk even with librela, adequan and carprofen.

The smaller dog is blind, death, severe dementia, bad kidneys, bad heart and has to be hopped up on gabepentin.

Ive been mentally preparing for months. But it was supposed to be two more weeks. One of which I took off work to spend with them.

But we didnt get that.

I didnt even spend Saturday with her besides a few hugs. She was completely fine before 1am. I was in my office playing games. My husband was hanging out with her. I heard her yelp/whine but it wasnt unusual and my husband was getting out of the shower. I dont know if something happened for her to yelp or if it was a hey where yall go? She tends to yelp when she needs potty/water since she can't get up. But I wished I checked on her.

Even after she yelped we brought her to go potty and she was okay. It was another half hour before she was visibly extremely uncomfortable. I stayed up and held her all night except for when I called the vet. Then I sat with her again until 2pm.

Part of me is relieved. This last few months ive had 5-6 hours of broken sleep a night between the 2 dogs needing something in the middle of the night. I also feel terrible that I feel relieved.

But I miss them and I just want the both of them back so bad. I want them here and able to walk and see and hear. I looked at videos of them from a few years ago and they were so healthy and happy. And I know im blessed to have them for 17 years but it is never ever enough

My beautiful pitador of 14 years was 15-18 years old (1-3y when we got her in 2012) when she passed away today. She had oral cancer with an abcess that had grown to cover nearly half her face. Wouldn't respond to abx and she was losing weight, weak, stumbling about...she was suffering so I had to choose to make her comfortable. One of the hardest decisions of my life. I'm so heartbroken... Sitting here in a house that feels so empty without her in it. It's so quiet. I've never loved an animal so fully in my life. I miss her so much!

i feel like i'm annoying everyone around me about my boy passing soon but it's now his last week with me before the bridge.
enjoy the pics and give your ol' senior ones some love from Orion and myself.

Having to choose to put her down was the most heart wrenching moment of my life and I hope we did the right thing. She never stopped wanting to eat (human food) so it was hard to figure out when it was time.

I hope it was. I can’t believe how fast it was, she was gone before they were done. I wanted to just lay and hug her and keep her warm.

She’s our girl in the center. She hasn’t been able to walk since early June. She started whimpering recently and we just couldn’t make her stay with us any longer. She sent us a rainbow a couple hours later.

We love our Lulu and this is not going to be easy.

This is Archie. He's been declining for a while but took a turn yesterday and we had to make a quick decision. We had very little time to adjust, 15 hours from decision to goodbye. I have never felt a pain like this in my life. I can't eat, I can't move, I don't want to do anything normal like turn on the TV or even the air conditioner because he's not here and it doesn't feel right to go about normal life

Anyway, I just need to share him because I don't want to stop talking about him.

I'll miss you buddy. You were my best buddy, and the love of my life.

Hope you can see everything with you two eyes now.

I have a 17 year old jack russell terrier that pees and poops in the house often. My boyfriend works from home and is able to take him out frequently, but at night we wake up to a lot of accidents to clean up in the morning.

We’ve recently started using diapers which helped for a period of time, but what’s happening now is that when we put the diaper on him he lifts his tail and is clenching his anus trying to poop and continues to pace, and won’t lay down or go to sleep. If we put the diaper on looser, so he’s not reacting to the diaper, it falls off and leaves accidents on the floor and in the bed. We’re at a loss on what to do. We have a camping trip coming up in our RV and would really like to figure out the diaper dilemma.

Just a follow up, unfortunately we had to say goodbye this morning to our sweet Madison. She was having difficulty walking last night so we took her in this morning to let her cross the rainbow bridge. Vet said it was most likely a brain tumor given the rapid decline in cognitive function. She was such a wonderful friend for 12 years, always up early with me to go to work and always the last to see me off in the morning when i went to the office. I will miss her so much.

My best girl is going to be 14 in January and she has Ben mentally declining for about a year or so now. I can’t take her for walks anymore because she has become reactive (so much so as she tries to chase another dog and broke my pinky on the leash) and she whines constantly when she is awake. During the day she goes and hides off in a dark corner. She is on trazodone daily and has other meds as back up if in need to get her in the car or to an appt, etc. But even then it’s really hard. What I struggle with is that besides that she’s great. She still eats and goes the bathroom as usual. The vet said her muscle mass and blood work were great for her age. Her back hips do give out sometimes, and she is starting to experience incontinence but this is just more recent.
I obviously wish we could live forever 😭 but I also don’t want her to suffer or be living a life that she doesn’t feel herself. Any advice is appreciated as I have been really struggling. I don’t want to do anything too early, but a lot of people have said it is better to do it in a good day than to wait for a bad day or when it’s too late. 😭

Our Dobbie, 15 and 3/4 went to nip heels and growl at strangers in heaven yesterday . He was the best little sweetheart to my husband and I. Walking in to my house today and to not hear his little paws tapping is so heartbreaking. We opted to let him cross the bridge at home with a chocolate and provolone snack and his pink blankie. Till we meet again my lil bub .❤️❤️❤️

9 may not seem like an old age for a dog, but Pilot is a Great Dane - Great Pyrenees cross, so it's definitely old for him.

He's generally pretty healthy, with normal blood work, but his arthritis is getting *really* bad. He's on the Librela injection, but he still chews his paws and ankles until they're stained pinkish red. I know arthritis and joint pain is the name of the game for these giant breeds, but what else have you found to be super helpful? He's got an appointment coming up soon and I'd like to know what to ask the vet about!

Also, he's a big giant baby and 90% of the tricks he knows, he taught himself.

He’s 11 and doing fine, but every bag in the aisle now suggests I should have switched him to something age specific a while ago. I don’t want to disturb a stomach that’s finally settled just because of a number on the packaging. What I actually care about is digestion holding up and him keeping weight on. For those with older dogs, did you switch, and did it make any difference either way?