How do you say goodbye to an old friend?
By cassidy22
@cassidy22 (2974)
United States
December 22, 2007 2:38pm CST
Please, only sincere answers here, as this is difficult for me.
I have a lot of pets, but none more precious than my 15 year old beagle mix who has been through everything with me: I've graduated college twice with him, bought 2 houses, gotten married, changed jobs, you name it. The little guy has always been at my side.
He's sick - that's for sure. But how do you know when to say goodbye? I hate that I have to decide this for him, but if I wait for nature to take its course, he could very well be in for a long struggle with a lot of pain. He's got tumors in 2 very key organs, and one of his kidneys is almost disintegrated. There really isn't anything to be done.
But the deal is, he doens't seem to be in pain to me. I know I am partly being selfish, but aside from having to pee every 20 minutes... how do I know that I need to say goodbye? When can you tell it's time to pull that trigger? Does anyone have advice on how you know it's the right time?
2 people like this
6 responses
@4000pm (25)
• Morocco
22 Dec 07
of course it isn't that easy , but you have to accept it and deal with it, and saying goodbye to him is a matter of you and no one else , you know saying goodbye is an absolute fact in the life , and for me i think that you have to think in how to say it , and not when .
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
22 Dec 07
It is never easy. In fact when I had to face the same thing my son came and took him to put him out of misery. But as you stated....he's your old friend! This is for both of you!
Old Friend
You stole our hearts, and gave us love,
From the moment we first met.
You filled a place, within our home,
And we never will forget.
The endless love, and memories
That will live through all of time,
For friends like you are far apart
And often hard to find.
Your steadfast love, you proved to us.
By protecting us each day.
And the lonely times you filled with warmth
For you were never far away.
So when time came, to say goodbye
You were true until the end
For there never was a more faithful one.
Then you, my dear Old Friend!
Jill Holmes
1 person likes this
@asgtswife04 (2475)
• United States
23 Dec 07
Cassidy22, I'm so sorry to hear about your beagle. It's a very tough call to decide on something like this when you are so close to the animal. However, if you think he's in a lot of pain...you might want to consider putting him down so that he doesn't have to suffer anymore. That to being difficult, but do you really want to see him go through this and suffer. Although he may not look like he's in pain to you, you may not see it because you are so close to him. If he gets any worse, I would seriously consider, even though it would break your heart, to let him go and not be in pain anymore. Keep us posted and again i'm so sorry to hear of this. I had a similar situation and after much thinking and crying I knew it was time to let him go. He was in so much pain though. God bless you and definitely keep us posted here on mylot. we are here for you!
@CandleDiva (66)
• United States
23 Dec 07
I totally feel your pain, we have an Aust. Shepherd who is 13 yrs old and we ask ourselves this question alot. I also used to work for a vet and I saw many people who have keep animals alive who needed to be put out of their pain. There are days our dog,Harley,acts like he is 2 yrs old not 13. But he has days when he is very confused and doesnt know where he is. I have also said I wont let him suffer and be in pain and he isnt' to that point. And believe me, I know from being a vet tech, dogs can hide pain and try to be "strong" for their owner cause they feel it's their job to be here. I have actually given Harley permission to "go" whenever he is ready,telling him he has done a great job taking care of us and whenever he is ready, we can let him go.
I will keep you and your furbaby in our prayers. **hugs**
@MarkGlenn (1)
• Philippines
23 Dec 07
well,,. It's on the words.. old friend... meaning you just said bye to your friend, by adding adj. "old", you just pertain that you can't say goodbye but you already did..,
