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Knowing when the time has come to choose euthanasia
for your pet is sometimes difficult. In cases
of age related problems, or chronic diseases, or cancer,
these pets all may have one or more conditions which
may or may not be responding to treatment, or have no
treatment options in which to choose.
Leaving the decision up to someone else, is usually
not the best decision. Only you as the pet's owner(s)
know your pet and what quality of life they are leading.
As a pet ages, activity levels decrease, and most tend
to sleep the better part of the day. Vision and
hearing loss are common in the aged pet, and compensation
for these senses can vary between individuals.
Some pets compensate well to their surroundings, if
no changes are made (such as in furniture placement
etc. if their sight is going). Others do not make
this transition well.
Other pets may have their senses intact, but be suffering
from a chronic disease process, such as kidney failure,
heart disease, cancer, etc. Quality of life then,
has to be taken into consideration for each one of these
pets.
This certainly will vary dependent upon the condition
of the pet, but you as a pet owner and friend will know
and feel deep down, the quality of your pet's life.
How many days of a week are spent in a struggle, or
state of depression or stupor? Is the pet able
to eat, drink, and eliminate properly on their own?
Can the pet move around on their own without too much
discomfort or trouble?
If not, can alternate means of mobility such as fitting
the pet with a walking cart, or can the pet owners otherwise
assist the pet's mobility without too much difficulty?
Quality of life can then be a measurement of the good
days verses the bad. If the answers to the above
questions tend to rank the "bad days" over
the "good days", and the situation holds no
promise for improvement, then the pet's quality of life
is considered not so good.
Sometimes keeping a daily or weekly log of what your
pet is doing, can do, can't seem to accomplish anymore,
or has no desire to do, can help put into perspective
how much time is considered quality time.
I find most pet owners agree that the quality of
life for their pet is much more important than the quantity
of lifetime their pet spends here on this earth.
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