tofu pup
Moderator
I can't say enough how much I appreciate all of your replies and support to this thread.
Sadly, we didn't have as much time left with our girl as we'd hoped. On 7/17, she was lethargic, her breathing rate was elevated, and (for the first time in her entire life) she refused a meal; on 7/18 we tried some anti-nausea meds and got her to eat a bit; by the morning of 7/19 we knew it was time to let her go.
Betty wasn't in any pain or distress; she was just very, very tired. She was still able to rise, walk around, have a drink of water from her bowl, relieve herself outside, and enjoy being with us - but she had very little energy and her breathing was deteriorating.
Interestingly, this was spot-on to what the head oncologist had told us when we asked (months ago) what "the end" looks like for a dog with lung mets. She told us that unlike primary lung tumors (which tend to be large and in the bronchial tubes), secondary lung tumors (metastases) tend to be small, diffuse, and in the fine structures of the lungs. This means that they generally don't make the dog cough. Instead, she said, there would come a day when our dog would stop wanting to eat, and be lethargic, and that would be the end. And so it was.
Betty's death was extremely peaceful. Because she was always very anxious about riding in the car and about going to the vet, we had been clear from the start that we didn't want a trip to the hospital to be a part of her last day. I had a home-visit vet on the phone at 7:45 in the morning, and she came to us at 12:40. We spent the morning hanging out with her and reminiscing. When the vet arrived, everything went very smoothly. We were with Betty - touching her, speaking to her - right to the end.
We wrapped her body in a blanket and kept her in our refrigerator overnight, before driving out to New Jersey to a pet crematory that would allow us to bring her body there and take her ashes home the same day.
The past week has been surreal. The apartment is so quiet. More than that, we had organized our thoughts and activities so much around her care in the last few months that without her here to care for, we are rather unmoored. But I do feel that, throughout all of this and right to the end, we did right by Betty and consistently made good decisions for her. I don't feel any guilt or regret about the treatment choices or the decision of when to euthanize. I just miss her so much.
I'm attaching a photo that was taken on 7/14, less than a week before her death. The three of us went upstate and had a picnic by the Walkill River. We had our lunch and just relaxed by the water. Betty helped herself to the watermelon we'd brought (!). At that time, we thought we'd have her with us for a few more months - which goes to show that she was doing really well, almost to the end.
Sadly, we didn't have as much time left with our girl as we'd hoped. On 7/17, she was lethargic, her breathing rate was elevated, and (for the first time in her entire life) she refused a meal; on 7/18 we tried some anti-nausea meds and got her to eat a bit; by the morning of 7/19 we knew it was time to let her go.
Betty wasn't in any pain or distress; she was just very, very tired. She was still able to rise, walk around, have a drink of water from her bowl, relieve herself outside, and enjoy being with us - but she had very little energy and her breathing was deteriorating.
Interestingly, this was spot-on to what the head oncologist had told us when we asked (months ago) what "the end" looks like for a dog with lung mets. She told us that unlike primary lung tumors (which tend to be large and in the bronchial tubes), secondary lung tumors (metastases) tend to be small, diffuse, and in the fine structures of the lungs. This means that they generally don't make the dog cough. Instead, she said, there would come a day when our dog would stop wanting to eat, and be lethargic, and that would be the end. And so it was.
Betty's death was extremely peaceful. Because she was always very anxious about riding in the car and about going to the vet, we had been clear from the start that we didn't want a trip to the hospital to be a part of her last day. I had a home-visit vet on the phone at 7:45 in the morning, and she came to us at 12:40. We spent the morning hanging out with her and reminiscing. When the vet arrived, everything went very smoothly. We were with Betty - touching her, speaking to her - right to the end.
We wrapped her body in a blanket and kept her in our refrigerator overnight, before driving out to New Jersey to a pet crematory that would allow us to bring her body there and take her ashes home the same day.
The past week has been surreal. The apartment is so quiet. More than that, we had organized our thoughts and activities so much around her care in the last few months that without her here to care for, we are rather unmoored. But I do feel that, throughout all of this and right to the end, we did right by Betty and consistently made good decisions for her. I don't feel any guilt or regret about the treatment choices or the decision of when to euthanize. I just miss her so much.
I'm attaching a photo that was taken on 7/14, less than a week before her death. The three of us went upstate and had a picnic by the Walkill River. We had our lunch and just relaxed by the water. Betty helped herself to the watermelon we'd brought (!). At that time, we thought we'd have her with us for a few more months - which goes to show that she was doing really well, almost to the end.
