Hi, I had to put my 11 year old whippet named Monty to sleep earlier this week. Im 19 now so he was my dog whilst I grew up and he meant so much to me. He had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure over year ago and it was getting progressively worse.
He was on 6 tablets a day at the time of death and all he would do is lie down all day and start panting if he got slightly warm. He had gone off his food and was urinating in the house because of the diuretics he was on.

I came home on Monday to find him breathing heavily, he couldn't lie down because he seemed so distressed like he couldnt get enough oxygen. I rang my sister and we took him to the vets and we were told that he was in the final stages of heart failure; my heart sank, I knew that he would be leaving us soon but It still hurt so much.
We put him into an oxygen tent and he had a couple of injections to try and steady him but it didn't make any diference. We rang my mum aand she came out of work to get to the vets and we had a talk with the vet who said euthanasia would be the most humane choice as his quality of life was next to nothing.

We brought him out of the oxygen tent and he was wagging his tail when he saw us but he started panting and then coughing and up came blood.
We held him while the vet administered the injection and he looked right into our eyes as he drifted away.

We buried him in the garden next to our last whippet

It hurts so much, I cant eat and I cry myself to sleep at night. I hate coming home with none to greet me or look after, its horrible.

In the midst of this I have been contacted by a garage as somebody is making an insurance claim against me after a tiny scrape over a month ago, Ive just renewed my car insurance aswell and everything is all mixed up im just lost.

Work don't seem to understand how attached you get to family pets, iwas asked "why don't you get anther one" when I was in work the other day. My mum and Dad have been looking at two rescue whippets, a 9 month pup and a 3 yr old dog but they will never replace Monty.

richard90 I am so sorry for your loss. the trauma of helping ease our fur companions suffering is just too painful for words isn't it.
I'm glad your mum was able to be with you & your sister when he was put to sleep.
This is a major shock to you & I can so relate to how everything seems to happen @ once. The week I had to put my beloved 14yr old Buddy to sleep, I was suffering a mild concussion from hitting my head on my car, my mother was in hospital, one of my kids had ortodontic appointments to be taken to, another child had a very sore & swollen knee & needed physio, my sister was being very awful due to her marriage breakdown & her son needed some emotional support to get thru, my brother in law told us he was moving to the USA to work for 2yrs so my 3 kids were distraught as they are very close to him & of course I needed to some how comfort them about the impending loss of their Buddy, they hve lived their whole lives with him....and on it goes.......life is so much harder when we lose our beloved companions, cry all you need & come here often, we are all here to help each other thru our losses.... it is right to be so confused this is a HUGE lot of stuff for us to process & try & make sense of. I know that sense of "out of controlness" it's awful......take life an hour @ a time if u hve to....or even by minutes @ a time....do what ever u need (with in reason of course) to do to get thru this confusing time....come back here often it will help you as it has helped me......
elaine

Thanks for the help. Its such a shock. Im going to work soon doing a late shift and I'm really not feeling upto it, we're short staffed aswell and they would probably fire me if i rung in sick.
I visited my sister yesterday who has a young whippet, he was running about, diving everywhere just like my monty used to do, It helped me to remember the young monty rather than his last days which im trying to forget as he was so sick and it was so painful seeing my 'brother'(as my mum used to call him) like that.

it's tuff going in to work, but it's got to be done hasn't it, I'm sure your "brother" wouldn't want to get you in to trouble.
i'm glad you were able to think of monty in his younger days, even though I know the happy thoughts didn't last long, be thankful that you were reminded, you will make it thru work, I know it doesn't seem like it but you will, remember take it a bit @ a time & you will be ok for a while.
thinking of you
elaine

dear richard. how sorry i am that you are having to go thru this. i m a lot older than you and have just recently lost my cat of 14 years fred and i can tell you that everytime i lose one (since about the age of 10)...well it doesnt get any easier. im so so sorry. i echo elaines sentiments. she is so right. even now at my age it is so difficult and even more so to comprehend why they leave. but if you can try (and it is hard!) to look at it from the point of view of what wonderful years you had with monty. and when you are feeling like the world is going to collapse, think of one of your greatest moments with him. and cry all you need to. he was a very lucky one to have you in his life but you must know that he is looking out for you now. NO ONE can ever replace monty. and as the years go by you will realize this: that your heart is big enough to embrace much more than you think. monty has a piece of your heart already claimed and as hard as you try, you will never ever forget him.
keep going to work. this will help distract you a bit. be strong richard and then when you get off of work, let go and cry all you want, scream, everything. something that has helped me was to build a little memorial for each of my pets that have crossed. it was hard to do but somehow it warmed my heart to know that the photos were there, their bowls, their collars and that i could reach out and touch them whenever i wanted.
please keep us posted and let us know how you are doing ok? we are thinking of you.
patricia

im so very sorry richard,when our pets pass they leave such a hole in our hearts and its so very hard , i know what you mean about comming home and all the empty spots and the crying ,its very hard ,people here do understand how this feels ,please give your self time over it ,i do hope as time passes you start to feel a bit better take care and be well

Hi Richard,
I'm so sorry about Monty. The 2 of you grew up together, and that counts for so much. If it's any consolation you did everything humanly possible to help him. You couldn't have done any more than you did. And you loved him enough to put an end to his suffering. And that's a horrible situation for everyone involved.
If it's any consolation, you and your family gave him the very best home and life possible. He wouldn't have had a better life anywhere else. And he knows that. I believe in an afterlife, and I know Monty is looking down on you with love and gratitude for all the good years you had together. And you're right about 1 thing-no-one can ever replace Monty! I recently lost not 1 but 2 cats in the space of a few days, and I'm going through hell! My oldest was 18 and I had him since he was a kitten. Replacing him, or rather both of them would be impossible. They own a part of my soul, and I like to believe they're with me now, even if I can't see them physically. And Monty will always be a part of you.
As for getting another dog all I can say is follow your heart. Do it when and if you're ready. You're obviously a very kind and loving person, and you have a lot to offer any lucky dog that you bring into your home.
And I do understand about the outside world not being sympathetic. When 1 of my cats passed an ignorant relative said "Well, it's just a cat". There's no such thing as just an animal. You've just lost a family member. In your case you lost your "brother". And, unfortunately most people just don't get it. You're going to get through this, even though you might not believe it at the moment. Just remember the old saying "this too shall pass". It will, believe me. You did the right thing coming to this site. There are a lot of good people, as well as a lot of support. We're here for you, so lean on us if you feel the need to.
You and Monty will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Hello Richard,

I am so glad that you gave Monty a good life and home there. It sounds like he was well loved. I certainly do understand how you are feeling at this time trying to function normally when you feel so disconnected. I remember being in a mental fog for the first couple of weeks after losing one of our furkids. It will get better and the depression will lessen in time. Don't expect too many others around you to understand. Many people look at pets as objects to be possessed rather than creatures to be loved. Sometimes you just have to ignore them. Getting another pet might not be a bad thing but your heart will tell you if/when you are ready for that. No other animal will ever replace your Monty but they each have their own individual charms and can become very close to you. I would suggest not rushing into anything until it feels right for you.

Take care,
Ken Albin

Richard, I can understand how hard it was to have Monty put to sleep, as I just had to do with my Bitsy Bug. I will not try to say "I know how you feel", as I DON'T know, anymore than you can know how I feel about Bitsy. All I can do is commiserate with you on just how hard of a decision it is to make.
Our little friends trust us to make the decisions to care for them, and sometimes those decisions are the tough ones.
Quality of Life is something that every pet owner needs to think about. What would have been more cruel to Monty...Letting him go by a painless procedure, or continuing to allow him to degrade further. You made the only merciful choice that you could, and, as I am sure that my Bitsy is somewhere looking down on me, Monty is somewhere looking down on you, and if they could speak to us, they would both express gratitude to us that they don't have to live in pain and suffering anymore!

Andy