jdo1217
Forums Regular
My sincerest condolences to you both.
Have to decide how to handle serious illness!
- Thread starter Fasb's Owner
- Start date
Cleo2014
Forums Enthusiast
I have been following this thread for a while. I am sad that Fasb has left you and really feel for you and your wife. Sending prayers for you and your family. Fasb will be greatly missed. 
Really struggling this morning. Our pre-work routines usually revolved around him. I'm torn between just missing him and second-guessing the decisions we made. Did we do enough for his arthritis? Would he have gotten better care from a different vet? Did we miss signs of problems in October? That sort of thing.
I don't really think we made crucial blunders or missed signs, but I can't help but worry that we let him down.
I don't really think we made crucial blunders or missed signs, but I can't help but worry that we let him down.
ghggp
Moderator
Susan, PLEASE do not beat yourself up. You gave him the best life and he is now at the Bridge safe happy and whole again and in NO PAIN.
Please focus on your good times. Although I know it is hard to do now.
I grieved for my Billy for months. I could hardly say his name without bursting into tears. I understand your pain. You are shattered now and will need time to heal.
HUGS
Please focus on your good times. Although I know it is hard to do now.
I grieved for my Billy for months. I could hardly say his name without bursting into tears. I understand your pain. You are shattered now and will need time to heal.
HUGS
trini
Forums Sage
You did NOT let your Fasb down. You and Mark did everything possible to give him as much time and quality of life as you could...no one could have done more. Sadly these wonderful souls have much shorter lives than we humans do and so when we give them our hearts we also sign up to pay the price of intense heartbreak when their time with us is over.
Don't second guess...you made the most loving decision you could make when Fasb's kidneys could no longer sustain quality of life for him...he is now at peace. Deciding to let a loved companion go is a horrible decision to have to make...but they depend on us to do what is right for them...and that is what you did for Fasb.
Trini
Don't second guess...you made the most loving decision you could make when Fasb's kidneys could no longer sustain quality of life for him...he is now at peace. Deciding to let a loved companion go is a horrible decision to have to make...but they depend on us to do what is right for them...and that is what you did for Fasb.
Trini
SheepOfBlue
Premium Member
Understandable as he was special. I knew for a year that Dow the Heinz2 days were numbered and it still tore me up. He was my buddy for 14 years and as mom said "LOTS of company" I found squeek balls for a year after he passed as they were all over (he loved them). Focus on his memory not the loss as much as possible. You did not let him down as your years of great memories show.
RIP Mr Fasb
PS you should have seen me after Spitfire escaped at a flyball tournament and went into the woods/swamp. We caught him and I was still a wreck for 2 days. So it is normal what you are going through.
Lanie
Forums Enthusiast
Susan and Mark:
You guys did everything you could possibly could. I've been reading your posts for over a year and you've always, always put Fasb first. Any dog would be so, so lucky to have a family like yours to love and care for them.
My heart just breaks for you. And I, unfortunately, know exactly how this feels. Please accept my condolences. Fasb will be missed by all of us too.
Until you meet again.
Love and hugs
You guys did everything you could possibly could. I've been reading your posts for over a year and you've always, always put Fasb first. Any dog would be so, so lucky to have a family like yours to love and care for them.
My heart just breaks for you. And I, unfortunately, know exactly how this feels. Please accept my condolences. Fasb will be missed by all of us too.
Until you meet again.
Love and hugs
Fasb's Owner
Forums Enthusiast
I'm struggling today too. And, like my wife, I'm over-analyzing the decisions we made over the past year or two. I think we did ok by him. We did the little things well. He was always loved and got plenty of attention. We re-arranged schedules when we could so he wasn't home alone all day. We always made sure he got plenty of food and walks. Pretty much every day, someone in our family told him how much we loved him and how special he was to us.
As for the medical stuff, I wouldn't do much different. Most of his medical probs got dealt with quickly. His arthritis always seemed to be fairly under control. Even at the beginning of November, we were going for good walks and he was still charging up steps. People have complimented me on how well he seemed to do for his age, compared to their dogs. We did our own research before putting him on meds or whatever, and it almost always paid off.
I feel like the few things we could have done differently wouldn't have paid off any better in the end. When the vet tried to take him to the back for blood work yesterday, he recoiled and tried to dig his paws in. I assume he was remembering the two sub-q fluids treatments and one blood work up he'd gotten the previous week. I'm glad we didn't get farther with the fluid injections. It was worth investigating but I had misgivings from the start about using him as a pin cushion if we had to do it frequently.
I feel guilty I couldn't find a way to give him more quality time, but I think he had a good life. He was loved every day and spoiled rotten. I think he even had a really good summer, and that was after the vet told us in June he might live as little as a month. We usually had some reason for the stuff we didn't do for him. He hated the kidney-healthy kibble, for example. We tried a couple different formulas and he hated the both and ate them poorly. Maybe we should have been more strict but we didn't want his last months to be a battle over food he clearly didn't want.
Rest in peace, Fasb. You were the best dog I could have asked for.
As for the medical stuff, I wouldn't do much different. Most of his medical probs got dealt with quickly. His arthritis always seemed to be fairly under control. Even at the beginning of November, we were going for good walks and he was still charging up steps. People have complimented me on how well he seemed to do for his age, compared to their dogs. We did our own research before putting him on meds or whatever, and it almost always paid off.
I feel like the few things we could have done differently wouldn't have paid off any better in the end. When the vet tried to take him to the back for blood work yesterday, he recoiled and tried to dig his paws in. I assume he was remembering the two sub-q fluids treatments and one blood work up he'd gotten the previous week. I'm glad we didn't get farther with the fluid injections. It was worth investigating but I had misgivings from the start about using him as a pin cushion if we had to do it frequently.
I feel guilty I couldn't find a way to give him more quality time, but I think he had a good life. He was loved every day and spoiled rotten. I think he even had a really good summer, and that was after the vet told us in June he might live as little as a month. We usually had some reason for the stuff we didn't do for him. He hated the kidney-healthy kibble, for example. We tried a couple different formulas and he hated the both and ate them poorly. Maybe we should have been more strict but we didn't want his last months to be a battle over food he clearly didn't want.
Rest in peace, Fasb. You were the best dog I could have asked for.
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Silaria
Forums Sage
Mark,
You and Susan did what you could for Fasb and did make his final months full of love. You picked and chose your battles with him which, at his age, was probably the best choice you could have made. You ALWAYS kept his quality of life in the forefront of your decisions. No one can do more than that for the animals we share our lives with.
What you are feeling is perfectly normal. It does get better with time.
You and Susan did what you could for Fasb and did make his final months full of love. You picked and chose your battles with him which, at his age, was probably the best choice you could have made. You ALWAYS kept his quality of life in the forefront of your decisions. No one can do more than that for the animals we share our lives with.
What you are feeling is perfectly normal. It does get better with time.
You did a wonderful job with Fasb -- and in the end, being able to give them the gift of no more broken-down body to deal with is the best gift we can give our pets. May you be blessed with the peace that comes from knowing that you did what you could to make his last times with you as good as possible.
RIP Fasb.
RIP Fasb.