 Barked: Mon Feb 18, '13 9:55am PST |
 | |  | | The bf and I had "the talk" about Hobbes, the cat, last week. So far he is only deaf, but our last cat developed cat 'dementia.' It was pretty severe before she died. I don't think she was ever happy but was frightened, anxious, and confused. She didn't want to be petted any more, and stayed away from us. I wouldn't want Hobbes to go through unhappiness. He still enjoys petting, playing, harassing the dogs, etc. He's content. He's not as inquisitive now, but he seems happy enough. I know I have no guarantee he will leave the world this way, but I don't want him to spend years confused and anxious, as the last cat did.
As far as all the animals go, they're pretty docile, and I think we could handle multiple meds, sub-q fluids, injections, etc. At least 2 of the dogs would handle wheel chairs/carts very poorly, if not 3 of them. I have actually spend a couple of months giving subQ fluids to a lamb, believe it or not (crazy me!) so that's no big deal, they aren't horrible painful if broken down all over the body.
With a human aggressive or very fearful dog who can't be behaviorally conditioned to the treatment, now that's not something I would put them through.
As far as something such as cancer it would be a hard decision. I don't have a problem with amputation, as I think the dog gets a long fine with 3 limbs generally. But most chemo and radiation are only palliative and gain a few years at what cost to the dog. If their aim is curative, as it is most often in people, that's a different ball of wax. |  |  | |  |
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It did , however, make me think about something I had never considered. I have pretty much made my decisions regarding terminal illnesses in my dogs. I had never thought about what I would do about a chronic condition. As he seemed to be drinking a lot of water , diabetes was my first thought, so I brought him for tests. He is amazingly healthy according to his test results, which I attribute mainly to lucky genetics and perhaps a bit of my good care
Anyway, when the vet called with the results, I told her I was very thankful he was not diabetic because I didn't know how he would handle twice daily insulin injections and frequent blood tests. Her response to that was that he would not be a good candidate for treatment due to his behavior issues. I had been thinking along those same lines. I just wondered if anyone else would take behavior under consideration when it came to a chronic illness and treatment.
She dislikes being fussed with. She may tolerate it for my sake but she would be embarassed and irritated.
