Comment on Life after euthanasia for bereaved pet carers by Karen.

Thank you for this. I am struggling so hard right now. My puppy (he was 2.5 yrs old) struggled since birth with metabolic issues that resulted in many different physical problems-but he had the biggest happiest personality. Tuesday night this week, he jerked awake screaming-and I thought he had hurt his back again. I gave him meds prescribed to him from a previous slipped disc. Took him to his vet the next day-cause pain wasn’t relenting. Four hours later, when he should have been making improvement, he started having difficulty walking. Turns out he either ruptured the disc or had a spinal stroke. Surgery was an option…but he was high risk. I couldn’t stand the thought of him never being able to walk again, or not coming out of surgery. I couldn’t imagine his quality of life being locked up most of the day in order to recover following surgery-and having to physically restrict him the rest of his life to prevent future injuries. I made the decision to free him from his failing body. It’s killing me. He’s been gone for 1 day, and I feel like this pain will never end-and i feel guilty. You’re comments are reassuring-because I feel terrible and keep wondering if I made the right decision. I just couldn’t imagine the struggles he’d continue to face. And it was likely he could continue to have these because of metabolic disease. The house is just so empty now. His big brother (10 yrs old) and I just keep waiting for him to come running into the room, lighting it up. We loved him so much.