Poor old Rex. Yeah, you know the one, 11 years old GSD.

Last Sunday he just wasn’t his normal self. He struggled to get up, couldn’t settle, panting….. It got so bad that we called the vet. The vet said that his heart didn’t sound good, and gave him a shot of Prednisolone. We took him back for a blood test on Monday. The blood test showed nothing exceptional although the vet said that there were signs of inflammation.

Vet gave us Prednisolone tablets. One a day for ten days and told us to come back the following week if Rex didn’t improve. The next couple of days followed a similar pattern. Rex would really struggle in the morning, then as the day went on he’d get better. We even got a glimpse of the old Rex. But, mostly he wasn’t good.

I sat with him all day with yesterday, and by the middle of the afternoon I couldn’t watch him suffer any more. Very carefully, I took him back to the vet in the hope that he would be able to give Rex some relief……(and as I’m typing this I know the answer – thanks STW – silent agony aunt)….

So now we have some Benzapril for him. The plan is that the Benzapril will help his heart. We should see some improvement in 3 to 4 days. We have two-weeks worth of drugs, and at the end of that time the vet/we will make a descision.

But I can’t bear to see him suffering like he is. He’s completely exhausted yet he cannot sleep. He struggles to get up, then just stands there not knowing what to do.

The vet reckons there’s no chance of him ever being back to normal. Having spent the last two days reading up on dog heart problems all the classic signs are there – shortness of breath, coughing, getting up suddenly for no reason….and his appetite is gone. He used to feed like he’d never been fed in his life. Now he struggles to take toast with honey on – his favourite.

I can do it. I just want to do it right for Rex.

SB

It’s awful when I pet becomes ill and worse if you know it could be the end. Dogs especially they are so loyal and are part of the family. Get well soon Rex.

Properly gutted for you mate. Just do whats right for Rex.
If you have to make that decision, pay extra and have the vet do it at home in his bed (Rex’s not the vets!).

🙁

poor Rex. I reckon you’ll get it right SB

(had to laugh at wrecker though)

Good luck Rex and SB, horrible situation you are in,I had to do it at the start of the year.

Gutted, I’m sure you’ll do what’s best for him.
Be strong.

Dogs are ace.

Horrible mate. There’s only a coupla down sides to dog ownership and this kinda things one of them.
Positive vibes to you and Rex mate.

Wrecker’s is a good suggestion. We had the vet come out to Ali, who was terrified by his visits to the surgery. He died stress free in his bed, and I walked out in to the garden before the vet took him away. It didn’t feel like we were abandoning him or leaving him behind. It made a terrible time slightly more endurable.

Sorry to hear that. It is gutting when it comes to his point.

It sounds like you know what you need to do. Do what’s right for him & not for you.

Best wishes….

🙁

we had to take the decision to lose our dog a few christmas’s back.. downhill badly after seizures right through christmas eve, christmas day and boxing day.. the vet was ace

I’m still heartbroken at losing him and I don’t mind admitting it

Healing vibes and thoughts to you mate.. like stumpy says, sometimes you have to do the hard thing for you to do the right thing for him

SB – seen some of your photos of Rex and he looks like a fantastic dog.

If there is no hope of him improving, and he is suffering, then desperately hard though it is, you need to make that decision. Use the medication to buy a little time for all to have together, and then let him go as peacefully as possible. It is the final act of love that you will give to him, even though it is uttterly heartbreaking.

I still miss my wonderful old dog (like Rex a rescued German Shepherd), they really are the best friends we have.

Take care, and give Rex all the cuddles and love that he needs.

😥

god, i welled up a bit. my nans got a GSD, fantastic dogs.

my dad’s just been through a very similar situation with his dog who was 14.

Best advice he was given was “he’s been faithful to you, now it’s time for you to be faithful to him”.

Sounds like your better prepared than my dad was and wreckers advice is spot on

Feel for you.

See how things go over the weekend, and make a decision on Monday. If the Benzaoril is going to make a difference, it would have done so by then. Be guided by the vet – they see this every day, and know the possibilities and probabilities.

The end is coming; it’s a case of how much you prolong it. Do the right thing, and let the old fella have some peace. Only you will know when the right time is.

Tears in my eyes as I’m typing, so to cheer the mood a little, here’s a picture of my useless hounds with my son, last weekend. I’ll leave you to guess which is which.

Im so sorry for you mate. I have a dog who is getting on in life and I’m dreading the time you are going through now. All the best and I hope the drugs help him over this wkd.

*crying.

Feel for you. I am dreading the day it comes to this with my springer.

First off, I’m sorry to hear your news, it’s such a horrible time when a faithful friend is in this situation.

But, I’m a bit of a cynic when it comes to vets and this stage with pets. Prolonging the suffering is doing nothing for you or Rex, but it is lining the vets pockets – they are no longer (IMHO) a caring profession, but are corporate business’ out to make money (I know this is a huge generalisation and I know not all vets are like this) – which is fine when there are still ethics to guide them.

I hope that you have one of the good vets that will tell you when it’s the time and not encourage you to prolong things needlessly.

Feel for you…

I will be absolutely crushed when my best friend goes. I’ll always consider myself a lucky bastard for having known him though.

This is shit. My heart goes out to you.

Had to take our 13 year old collie/rott for her final drive a few months back. Hardest thing ever. PDSA were brilliant. Came out to do it in the back of the land rover. Would have hated to make her struggle through the building, panicking.

You’ll know when the time is right. Hope there’s some improvement and it’s not now.

I lost my 8 1/2 yr old Black Lab “Arto” to Necrotising Pancreatitis on the 23rd Dec last year 🙁 out for a walk in the AM, fine and dandy, 8pm that night I hear retching from downstairs, he’s puking up white foam and obviously in some considerable discomfort. Called the vet and by 10.30pm we are in the Surgery, temperature is below normal wtf! Filled him with drugs and left him there overnight. They operated the follwing morning to see if they could find out what was up – huge pancreas, widespread infection. Unfortunately he died the following morning before we could go and see him. The overnight vet was in tears when he called to tell us and all the staff were fabulous. We’ve now got this monkey….

https://picasaweb.google.com/chazknight/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCIm7iczY6sj9pAE&pli=1&gsessionid=v3v2dqcEcjcUlQfcIr3hkA#5681498063771691234

He’s 8 months old and while you can never replace your best friend he’s a bloody good substitute. We’ll shed a tear for Arto on the 23rd. I’m just very glad I didn’t have to make that decision and that he didn’t suffer for very long. Good luck it’s a toughie!

so sorry to hear, im glad he found you and your family when you were needed. The older ones aren’t always so lucky.

I know how you feel. My friends dog who I have known since a puppy started struggling in a similar manner and in the end the hardest decision was made. Really feel for you and Rex.

We set Rex free this afternoon.

Run free forever Rex.

A picture from happy days….

🙁

I am sorry, but it was for the best. Remember the good times and what you did for him.
Be strong.

I am sorry. Looks a lovely dog. Happy memories, you did the right things.

RIP Rex – mans best friend….

So sorry to read this but you did the right thing. Dreading it when I have to do the same.

So sorry, I’ve got a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye and I’m normally a hard bas*ard

I really feel for you SB, I’ve been in the same situation twice in the last 12 months and it doesn’t get any easier.
……..
Crap…. I started writing this before lunch and I see things have changed. So sorry for you SB but you’ve done the right thing for Rex. Remember he’ll be waiting for you.

RIP Rex

At work welling up like a big girls blouse here, sorry for your loss dude, RIP Rex.

RIP Rex . You did the right thing though It must be hard as hell.

Aww crap, just read this. Sorry for your loss SB. Although our boy is only 2 1/2 I’m dreading when the time comes 😥
RIP Rex

Sounds so like our Star. She was 11, dark coat long haired Shepherd. Heart problem (probably a tumour), basically same symptoms you describe. We let her go the day before Bonfire Night a 4 years ago. She hated fireworks.

If you’re anything like us you’ll miss her desperately, but make sure you remember you’ve obviously done your best for her all her life, and kept with that to the end. RIP Rex.

🙁

🙁
Actually brought tears to my eyes reading this.
Glad he lived a long life and you guys had lots of fun together though!

Sorry to hear this. Caused a lump in my throat just as a bit of dust blew into my eye as well.

Jut remember how Rex landed on his feet ending up with you. Don’t worry, you’ll never forget him. Get plenty of pictures up on here and remember the good times with him.