Hardest moment of my life. Last year I had to put down my beloved White German Shepard named Princess after 11 years of being by my side. I laid on the cold floor with her spooning as we always did, and was there till her last breathe. Just writing that sentence made me choke up and cry. I owed it to her, she needed me and I had to be there for her, no matter how hard it was.

R.I.P. Princess.
Here is where she lays now.

Aww, you can tell this was a nice doggy. The picture to the far right made me smile.

Sorry for your loss.

Thank you, she really was. She loved everyone.

Its really hard to read these stories..I lost my beautiful siamese cat Cocoa to cancer back in July..We didnt know he had cancer because he kept showing different symptoms and the tests were so expensive and we could only afford to do much. The biopsy was around $1,000 and we had already spent around $2,000 altogether. So for 8 months he would be really sick for a period of time then be like his old self for awhile. It was SO hard to see him like that but since it was so up and down we didint know what was truely wrong so we just kept making sure we did everything we could and give him the best quality of life we could. He got to the point we had to give him IV fluid and he wouldnt eat on his own and barely eat when we would have to feed him by hand. The worst part of the whole expierence besides seeing something you love so much get sick, is the fact that he was so up and down. It gave us false hope that he would recover since we had yet to find out what was going on. The Drs said cancer was a possibility but we didint know for sure until he passed away and they did the biopsy for free. The day he died, I felt it in my heart it was time, he was in horrible shape, He could barely move. I was hoping we could get him to his appt and get him on a new medication but deep down I knew the truth. I tucked him in with a blanket on his pillow and gave him his toy mouse to sleep with. Later on I went in to check on him and he was gone. I dont think I will ever get that image out of my head, but at least I said my goodbye to him. I wouldnt have wanted to put him down, I'm grateful he died in his sleep in his home instead of in a vets office. I miss him everyday but I hope I get to see him again one day when I pass away. We had him cremated with his favorite toy and put in a beautiful urn with hearts and a lotus blossom on it. They also put his paw print in clay so we could always have it. R.I.P Cocoa we love and miss you. I hope this story makes everyone see your not alone, we've all lost a precious animal family member and its very hard but in time your heart starts to heal some and you have people in your life there for you.

only read the first post: but let me say this...

you should always be there in their last moments, be it natural or humane euthanasia.

think of it in spiritual terms, would you (in their place) rather be surrounded by strangers or have by your side your most familiar companion?

when I was a vet tech, I found it disgusting when owners fled the room allowing only my (and the vet's) presence during their last moments.

just imagine the torture I went through every time an animal got put down and I gave my utmost respect during their last moments... while afterward I had to (and I do mean HAD TO, by my own personal beliefs) give my utmost respect to their souls as I bagged them up and put them in the freezer to await their cremation.

it is up to YOU to be strong, for their sake.

e/ I should say: I shed a tear or two after reading some of the responses to this post.

This post was edited by oBlUWUlFo on Feb 1 2013 06:37am

i had a cat that got bit by a tick and apparently got some disease from it that only cats can get (what the vet said). let it inside and it was trying to meow but it could barley come out and it started walking like it was dizzy and fell in my lap with its head moving around trying to meow and breathing heavy then my dad took it to the vet and had to have it put down

I once had an 'epagneul breton' (http://duchemindusel.free.fr/wp-content/uploads/gipsy21.jpg) whose went out of my garden without me noticing and a car got him, he died in my arms after my neightbours came to me saying they found my dog bleeding on the street.

its good to be there with them in the end but if the animal is suffering are u going to be able to justify keeping him/her around in extreme pain longer just so you dont have to miss him 1 day sooner.... its hard but ive had to do it with animals b4 because i couldnt stand to see them suffer any longer and the vet said they were only gonna b in worse pain than they already were

this thread makes me a sadpanda :cry: