A 'tough' decision: When it's time to say good-bye to a family pet

Lola loved chasing bubbles in the backyard. But in the end, the Valley bulldog would only sit and watch them float by before bursting on their own.

Put a hard-boiled egg in her dish and she'd just sniff it and hobble away, showing no interest in eating even her favourite treat. 

She was lethargic, losing a lot of weight.

Eleven months after she had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, her owner knew he was facing the heartbreaking but inevitable decision to put his dog down.

"It was the right decision," said Charlottetown resident John Dow. "She could hardly walk, but even though she was not sharp, you know, she looked at you with her big brown eyes… and then again, you just look at her walking and she could barely put one paw in front of the other. So it was tough."

It's never easy to say goodbye to a cherished family pet, said Dr. Stewart Higginbotham, a vet at the Charlottetown Veterinary Clinic. 

The decision is more clear-cut if the animal has suffered a serious sudden illness such as a twisted stomach or a bleed in the abdomen, and emergency care is not possible to stop the immediate suffering.

Higginbotham said the decision becomes more nuanced when the pet has a slower, chronic disease such as progressive organ failure or age-related mobility and cognitive issues. That's when vets have the discussion about the pet's quality of life. 

Has it stopped eating on its own, even with medication? Is it constantly nauseated, throwing up or having diarrhea? Is it in pain that can't be managed effectively?

"We also want owners to focus on more subtle changes of, say, how their pet's acting at home," Higginbotham said.

"They're becoming more reclusive. If they're not wanting to play, if they're not finding joy in any of the things that they used to enjoy, it can be time to start thinking about a peaceful end for them."

According to P.E.I.'s Animal Welfare Act, it is not illegal for pet owners to perform euthanasia on their animals themselves — providing they have training, experience or knowledge of the correct procedures and perform them in accordance with the humane standards outlined in the act.

However, Higginbotham said euthanasia should be left to a veterinarian if possible, to make sure nothing goes wrong.

"The way that we perform euthanasia is using anesthetic medications, which relax the animals and then stop their heart and brain function in a non-painful, peaceful way compared to any procedures at home [that] would not be pleasant or good for the animal," he said.