How do you get past the guilt of putting your beloved dog down?
He wagged his tail as the vet was injecting him and I was holding him, singing and crying telling him he’s my good boy. I feel like a traitor and murderer.
I don't know if this will help you, but I believe when an animal passes, its spirit immediately rejoins God's (or Creator, or Higher Power), as I believe animals come straight from the spirit of God. 🙂🤗
If you put your dog down due to suffering, there will still be some guilt, but maybe by realizing that by keeping your beloved dog around, while it was suffering, you would have been thinking more about yourself than your pet. That could help.🙂🤗
The loss, no matter how it happens, is going to take time to heal. I have a sweet ole dog, and she limps so bad. One leg has arthritis, but she still wants to live. She still greets each day with happiness and doesn't let her leg get her down, but if she were barely making it through each day, I would have to face what you are facing now. I don't want to think about that.😔
Please don't be so hard on yourself. You loved, with all your heart, your beloved dog. The trust he placed in you was earned from years of good treatment, and what you had to do in the end, you did out of love. Your beloved dog would want you to know this. 🤗
Very rough. My late husband had three Corgis when we met. A couple of years later, we lost both of the parents (I suspect because we didn’t learn in time that grapes are dangerous for dogs.)
He was career military, master sergeant, pilot, sailor. He was tough. He made it through the first but the second time he called me crying and said, “You have to come. I can’t do this. Not alone.”
I think dogs understand death far better than we do. They know life is limited while we are always surprised.
Of course we grieve, as we do for human companions, but guilt should not be part of it. They knew long before we did that they’d die soon and in distress.
Ending their distress and pain is the only loving thing there is left to do.
@Mamapolo2016 I lost a sister and both parents in the last couple of years., during that time I lost some pets but I was kinda numb. This guy however and perhaps because I’ve had time, hit me harder …so so hard. It was all part of an end of an era, sounds silly but it was the last dog I had that they all knew. So I get you. Thank you for this response.
I had to do that with my cat. She had cancer; there was nothing that could be done and she was in terrible pain. I held her and spoke to her gently after the injection. I told her I loved her and she had been such a wonderful friend. She snuggled and purred before slipping away. I had tried to give her the best possible life I could for 14 years, now all I could do was see that she had as pain free and peaceful an exit as possible.
I've had to do it several times, and the experience was much like yours. I know it was really the loving thing to do, and I think the dog knows it, too. Maybe the tail wag was "I forgive you" or "thank you."
I know that feeling well. I catch myself daily telling no one in particular that "I miss you Sally" (my four-legged overlord that passed away 3 yrs ago), that helps a little. I know Ill see her again, that also helps.
Hugs and cheers for our furr babies no longer with us physically.
Its my belief that we are honoring our beloved animals by letting them go in the most loving, humane way possible. It is the flip side and our responsibility, as their steward, to always do right by them, for their loyalty. To never allow them to suffer on our watch is a tenant of animal ownership. It is a promise I make and thus I uphold every time I bring home another one. Does my heart break every time? Yes. Is it about me? No. I give them the best life, that includes letting them go when its time, pain free, and with as much dignity as possible. It is the right thing to do.
In the past 20 years I had to put 2 of my dogs down. I still have a bit of guilt about the first one but only because I kept thinking he was going to miraculous get better - so he was in pain for a few days longer then he had to be before I faced the fact that it was his time to pass on and called the vet.
One of the ways I got over the loss of both my dogs was by listening to the song Old King. It is about a guy that was torn up about the lose of his old hound dog – until he starting thinking about the grand life that dog had lived. Cheers!
Please don’t feel like that. Our pets are/were so precious and they do not ever want you to suffer, because they are beautiful like that.
My little fellow stopped peeing and when his X-ray came back he had 25 kidney stones. I had to let him go. We had been through so much together and 16 good years.
It hurts, it just takes time. I had to put my buddy of 17 years down at the beginning of last year. He was so gravely ill, that made it a little easier but it still hurt. For months I randomly would break out in tears sometimes. It has gotten better, but it does help to have other pets to focus on.
I had to put the bigger dog down about 6 months ago she was full of cancer and suffering hit me so hard but even worse is how the little guy still searchs the house looking for her. Thing is we did give them love and care every day ,so many so called pets end up spending their whole life either in a cage or chained up ,she gave me unconditional love and i gave it back she died knowing she was loved
My family was sitting at the Thanksgiving table 5 years after our dog died and my mom starts bawling . We ask her what’s wrong and she says she has this confession and feels guilty . She told us at the time she saw the needle go into the dog , but admitted she didn’t and always wondered if they kept him alive for experiments . I know this is morbid . Sorry
I'm so sorry for your loss . I think most living beings want to feel safe and loved in their final moments and it sounds like you gave him that. I hope you find some comfort knowing so
It's a hard thing to overcome. When a dog is put down they are in a better pain free place. I've heard of people giving their dog some chocolate on their last day on Earth. I have 4 Frenchies. I am not looking forward to their final day at all.
There's an old saying, "don't feel bad about getting old, it's a privilege most people don't experience."
It's kinda like that with animals too. Most animals don't get to have a good life as a pet, or get to die peacefully. Your dog experienced a privilege that most animals won't.
It's a difficult thing to do. I've had to put down a few. It hurt then, and it hurts now as I remember them. But in fairness to them, they were in pain. They were still loving pets but, it would be selfish for me to make them live in agony.
I had to do that this past May with my last beloved dog. It was terrible like you said, and I am only just now getting into the phase of wanting to get another dog.
