Euthanasia is such a scary word and something that many pet owners dread. Impending death is one of the hardest parts of pet ownership is dealing with death. The last few months have been both full of positive and negative experiences. The death of Trina was hard enough but I’m grateful she went in her sleep peacefully. Yesterday our family had to make the tough decision to euthanize our dog Loki.
Loki was 7 and a half years old but over the last few months, his health had started to decline greatly. He was diagnosed in April with Lyme but otherwise physically appeared healthy and his bloodwork didn’t point to any other serious issues. However over the last month or so Loki started to decline VERY quickly. This included major weight and muscle loss, lameness, and refusing to eat. We first chalked it up to his Lyme disease and the birth of our son and we waited for his follow-up appointment.
Over the last week, Loki started to decline, even more, he completely stopped eating, wouldn’t get up, would whine in his sleep, and started to bloat….We scheduled a vet appointment and that’s when we received the news….
Loki had abdominal cancer…..treatment wasn’t really an option as Loki went downhill very quickly and the vet explained in situations like Loki’s the prognosis is not good. Treatment really just involved trying to keep him comfortable for the next 1-3 months that he had before the cancer completely took over his body…I couldn’t do that to Loki.
The reason we opted for euthanasia was that we knew his quality of life was poor and it was unfair to Loki to try and keep him comfortable until the cancer finally took its hold. I didn’t want to regret waiting too long and wanted the experience to be as peaceful as possible…and it was.
The HHHHHMM Scale
Dr. Alice Villalobos is a vet who created something called The HHHHHMM Scale. The Letters stand for Hurt, Hunger,
Hydration, Hygiene, Happiness, Mobility, and More Good Days than Bad. This scale is a great way to weigh the options of is it time.
We want to thank Dr. Desmond and Dr. Reza and the entire staff at Charlestown Animal Hospital for their compassionate care.