Saying Goodbye: Euthanizing a Dog With Degenerative Myelopathy
Saying goodbye is never easy. The decision of when to euthanize a dog with degenerative myelopathy is another difficult part of this difficult disease. Dogs with DM typically handle the disease well, often times handling it better than their owners who struggle with watching their dogs slowly deteriorate. Deciding when to euthanize is a very individualized process that's based on a lot of factors. Here are a few things to consider.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not a vet and I have no veterinary or medical background whatsoever. This information on degenerative myelopathy in dogs is not meant as a substitute or replacement for veterinary advice. It's meant for educational and informational purposes only, as a starting point for discussing the diagnosis and treatment of degenerative myelopathy with a qualified vet.
Assessing Quality of Life
Mobility
Mobility is clearly one of those things that vastly contribute to quality of life. It's not as simple as being able to go for a walk; there are dogs that are content sniffing around the yard, or laying out in the sun, or playing games instead of going for a walk.
Mobility goes beyond just the ability to walk or play, though; during the later stages of degenerative myelopathy, dogs have a much harder time doing previously easy tasks. For example, he may want to go to the door to indicate he has to take a potty-break; but unable to get up, or get there in time, he might have an accident. This can be very distressing for some dogs. Other previously easy tasks that will become difficult include things like getting up from their beds ... changing positions when lying down... even getting a drink of water whenever they want one.
Pain
The disease of degenerative myelopathy in itself is painless. But pain can result from the dog taking compensatory actions to make up for his mobility challenges. For instance:
- The progressing hind-end weakness and the dragging of the legs make the dog work that much harder in his front end and his shoulders, in order to keep walking.
- The wobbly and uncoordinated gait can cause the dog to sprain a muscle or fall and injure himself.
- Pressure sores can develop if he lies in one position for too long.
- Other conditions like arthritis can be aggravated by his mobility issues; a dog with arthritis already has more difficulty getting up from his bed ... but combine that with the weakness caused by degenerative myelopathy, that difficulty and pain can be magnified.
Eating and Drinking
Dogs with DM typically still have good appetites. Is your dog still eating and drinking well? Is he maintaining a good body weight? Is he interested in food and enjoys eating? Is he staying adequately hydrated?
Other issues, such as pain (see above) or unrelated medical conditions may cause a dog to lose his appetite.
Comfort and Sleep
Is your dog still sleeping comfortably and well? It can be hard for dogs with degenerative myelopathy to change positions in order to get comfortable. They do need to change positions regularly in order to avoid pressure sores.
Interest In Life
Does your dog still show interest in his favourite activites, and is he capable of doing them? He doesn't necessarily have to be capable of doing them the same way he previously did, in order to be happy. For example, dogs who used to love to take long, meandering walks may still be content to go on shorter walks, provided there are interesting things for him to sniff or friends to socialize with.
When Is It Time?
It's one thing to make the decision to euthanize when your pet seems tired or feels sick. Then, you know that the time is close and the decision is clearer. With degenerative myelopathy, dogs are usually mentally engaged with their families and with life; this can make it feel that much harder to make the decision to let him go.
You know your dog best. During highly-emotional times, it may be helpful to ask for an opinion from a third-party such as a trusted veterinarian who knows your dog.
- If your dog is experiencing pain that cannot be relieved or managed, it may be time.
- If your dog is frequently getting hurt or injured despite everyone's best efforts, it may be time.
- If you feel that a major injury is only a matter of time (due to your dog's weakness and lack of coordination), it may be time.
- If your dog is frustrated or depressed because his mobility is preventing him from doing what he wants, it may be time.
- If your dog isn't enjoying life any more and is merely existing, it may be time.
- Finally, if you (or your dog's caregivers) are exhausted, whether physically or emotionally, it may be time. This is a hard thing to accept. In a perfect world, we would have unlimited physical and emotional reserves to care for our loved ones. That's just not the reality.
The decision of when to euthanize is a highly personal and individual choice. I know that it's often helped me to hear other people's perspectives, so I hope that reading mine may be helpful in some way. I have always felt it best to let my pets go a little early, rather than even a day too late. I don't want to have to say goodbye during a crisis when they're feeling pain or fear or confusion. I don't want them to end their lives struggling with an injury or trying to recover from one. I want my pets to go feeling loved, safe, and happy.
My opinion is that you need to feel physically, mentally, and emotionally well to be able to best care for your dog. Being overwhelmed doesn't help anyone. Your dog doesn't want to feel like he is a burden. Love him well, give him an awesome last day, last week, or last month... and then let him go peacefully, with dignity.
Final Thought
Degenerative myelopathy is a difficult disease. It's hard on the dog, and hard on the people who love him so much. And yet, even had I known back then everything that I now know about the disease ... even had I known back then that my dog already had the disease ... I would have still adopted him. His amazing attitude, cheerfulness, acceptance, and grace of spirit was a bright light for me, even during the most difficult of times. It still is.
(A.A. Milne)
More information on degenerative myelopathy in dogs:
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Comments (88)
This was the most difficult event in my life with my pet, deciding what was best for him more than for me. He started this disease about 15 months ago when I noticed his foot slightly dragging on the concrete when we went for our walks, . I questioned my decision in letting him go over and over in my mind wanting to keep him as long as I could possibly have him. I realized that was a selfish motive, He didn't seem in pain and was mentally upbeat but his body was wearing out and by evening he was exhausted. Sometimes his mental state seemed far away and then upon my getting his attention he could focus again. He was going to be 14 years old in 2 months which was quite an accomplishment for a boxer. We were just trying to make through the day. I was afraid to leave him for fear of an accident. It was a beautiful sunny day and I arranged it with my vet as to how I wanted it done followed by the cremation person to pick him up soon after. He went with dignity and I was by his side
Our 12 year old German Shepherd has been showing signs of DM for awhile. We tried to convince ourselves that it was arthritis, but she is now losing bladder control and dragging her paws at times, in addition to being wobbly on her back legs and having some difficulty getting up. She is the leader of our group of two German Shepherds and two small dogs. We adore her. She has watched over us all with great care and love for all these years. We are taking her to our Vet this week to see what she thinks, but I would be surprised if she sees anything different than we are seeing. Thank you for this very kind and helpful article. Many tears were shed by both my husband and myself , especially when reading the last section. My heart goes out to all of you.
My 10 years old Pug, has DM, and first thought it was IVDD. He no longer walks on his back legs, but he does walk on his front legs. He happy and plays with his toys. He limited to one area of the house (carpet) he has traction there. He also has cushings and epilepsy ( controlled by meds) he is also incontinent - he will not wear a doggie diaper and will not allow us to put him in one of those carts. We tried. His area is covered with towels and pee pads. He does not appear to be in any pain, but there is no way I can put him down. Hes just a love. Since he's little and only weighs 20lbs he easy to carry about. We all chip in to help with the cleaning and making him happy (which he is)
I found this information comforting! My nine-year-old GSD was officially diagnosed with DM in Jan 2019 after taking him in for a vaccination. I had noticed some incoordination after moving into a new house with hardwood floors and dismissed it as he was just not used to walking on the floors yet. Clearly not the case! Once he was diagnosed I immediately was searching for the cure which anyone that has a DM dog knows there is no absolution. However, I have put him on NAC and Aminocaproic Acid and varies other supplements in an effort to slow the progression of the disorder. He also receives lots of exercises to include hydrotherapy. With all that said the disease is still progressing and I fear I will have to say goodbye to me boy way sooner than I ever expected! My goal is to keep him mobile as long as possible and monitor him to ensure his quality of life. Although I have had to alter my life I know he would do it for me. I would give him a kidney if he needed it.!
My Corgi was showing signs similar to DM, he was diagnosed with ivdd and had the surgery back in September. After a month or so recovery he was walking a little better for the past 5 months. He completely doesn't have use of his hind legs anymore. We took him to the same surgeon and they wanted to operate again or put him down after a 10 min evaluation. I don't want to lose him, and have been debating on putting him in a cart. I just wish I knew of a specialist that handles DM cases, since ivdd and DM can be confused. I would hate to put him in a cart with ivdd and it be painful for him. Either way it doesn't seem like a good quality of life for my buddy. I just feel like I'm betraying him.
Thank you for these informative and honest pages. Our Rhodesian Ridgeback (12 yo) has had signs of DM for several months now, and our family is struggling with what is best to do. Our vet had some good advice re: his quality of life: think of his five favourite things, and how many of them can he still do? And also to take a day at a time, but make a note whether it was a good or bad day (there seem to be a lot of 'ok' days which is my euphemism for 'bad' as it's too sad to write that down). He still has use of back legs, but is falling when he poops more often than not, and can not control when he goes. He has gone from a dog that ran more than 10km a day, to one that, on a good day, can walk about 300m. My daughter made the excellent point that there is no perfect time to euthanize - it will either feel too early, or too late! We want his last weeks - whenever those weeks are - to be happy ones, without a loss of dignity, or losing his essence.
Thank you for this information...you've covered so many of the questions I had. My beautiful 10 year-old border collie, Grace, has just been diagnosed with DM and the most painful part is watching her lose her ability to run like the wind to watch over her sheep. She maintains her sweet and courageous attitude and still attempts to do all that she did before this terrible disease began to show itself. My vet said he is 95% certain she has DM, but that he could refer me to a vet specializing in neurological problems in animals. I would like your opinion - please. Again, many thanks for all this information.
Hi Sandra. My dog is 11 and began to show leg deterioration problems a year and a half ago. In September we saw a big change in him. Just getting up to stumble outside to go to the bathroom was exhausting and he became very depressed. Also, he was going to the bathroom only once a day. A new vet encouraged us to take him to a vet school for evaluation to see if surgery was an option. Due to his age and the expense that was a tough decision. We did proceed with an MRI and surgery would have followed but there was nothing to fix, making the DM diagnosis an almost certainty. What they did do was some PT and strongly encouraged me to get him out of his stroller and into a wheelchair. Today he travels out into the yard (a distance since we live in a condo), and once a day he has an outing in his wheelchair. He plays with other dogs, runs on the beach--even into the water--and gets daily exercise. He is happy and healthy and we treasure every day those tools have given us.
I'm so sorry that Grace is dealing with DM. There are things that we can do to help our dogs with DM - some of them can be found in the "How to Help a Dog With Degenerative Myelopathy" link above. I agree with Margo that physiotherapy was a big help. It helped my dog stay as strong as possible for as long as possible. If the costs of seeing a veterinary neurologist are within reach, then it may be worthwhile if it will help to ease your mind that you have the right diagnosis. If not, that is okay too. You could also consider a second opinion from another vet which is less costly than seeing a specialist. I personally got a couple of opinions ... and knowing that there was nothing to be done, other than physio, I had to accept that my goal was to keep my dog happy and safe, for however long I had with him.
Our 11 year 8 month old pug Spencer is coming to the end of Pug Myelopathy. We noticed the first symptoms in July of 2017, when he could not longer jump up to join us on the couch. From there, the knuckling of his feet became apparent, inability to stand for more than a few seconds followed some months later, fecal incontinence in the last few weeks, and now urine incontinence in the last few days. While this is all terrible and the progression sounds rough, we were able to keep him happy and enjoying life by getting him on nutritional support, a wheelchair and making some changes around the house. I am pleased with our efforts, though my young family's heart is crushed as we reach the end of his life. I have never owned a dog before Spencer. Wow! They are amazing creatures, teaching everything from patience, responsibility, and most of all - unconditional love! I am a better man, and now father, for having him join me in this life.
Very helpful article, thank you.
Yesterday we said goodbye to Kayla our super German Shepherd and, at just 8years 1 month old ,FAR TOO YOUNG for this horrible disease. Only diagnosed in June and
took just 4 months to get to the no quality of life stage.
I noticed my 11 year old boxer having symptoms around June as well, it's getting so hard to watch him every day and I am going crazy just searching for answers on how you when it's time to let go? If you wouldn't mind sharing how you knew, I would be so grateful? I know its very recent, I am so sorry for your loss. Its going to be the hardest thing I have ever done. Thank u.
We just made the difficult decision to say goodbye to our wonderful pug Winslow. The past 2 years we've watched the DM progress and have done all we can to make him as comfortable as possible, but now it's time. Thankful I found this post and all the comments of others going through this. It gives me comfort. I know saying goodbye will be a great release for him and for us. We love him so and like many of you, we would take care of him forever, but we know it's about quality of life. Just like the author of this post, I would never take back what all he has given our family even if I knew about DM before adopting him. I would do it all over again! Thank you all for sharing your stories. All of you should be proud for giving so much love and care to your furbabies during these difficult situations.
Joy, my 13 yr old corgi, got her k9 cart in Jan. Sept and she can't move forward in cart so I help keep her moving with a leash attached to k9 cart to assist. Her front legs are getting weak. I think it's time. She still eats, drinks, and interested in what's going on. My 11 yr old corgi Katie, got her cart in july. She progressed quickly and weakness in front legs late sept. She still ate, drank, let us know when she had to go but was depressed more than interested in life. We euthanized her late Sept. It was very hard but I think, the right thing to do. I miss her dearly and watching Joy getting close is hard to watch and hard to decide because of her interest in life. I think I'll know like I did with Katie. Such a tough disease.
My 11 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi Jasper was diagnosed recently with this DM. His sister Princess from the same breeder and same bloodline passed away last November 13, 2017 from the same disease. I spent her last days doing what I am having to do with Jasper now- picking her up to go lie in the garage while the rest of the dogs went for our walk every day. She was able to crawl like Jasper did up until last week when he stopped being able to crawl even. Like almost everybody else has written all we can do is help them however in their declining days until. So frustrating to be able to afford almost any kind of medical cures that the doctors can cook up but when they say no cure is possible it breaks your heart. Picking up his incontinence pee and poops, spilled water bowls and wet towels from his accidents at least keeps you interactive with him as he knows you are there for him. Also had seizures which at least the meds have taken care of. Thanks to all for their shares.
Nice article
Our white German shepherd has had DM for 15 months now. I have watched her deteriorate to the point of needing complete help to go to the bathroom. I have now noticed whining and maybe depression and not quite as comfortable and content. I have waited on her hand and foot. I have carried her, played on the floor with her, and cried way more than I thought I could. She has been a trooper and gave it a good fight in a battle she would never win.
It has been a privilege to take care of her and I never regretted any minute of it. In 7 days we will say good bye, the DM will be gone but the experience has touched me emotionally. It is truly heartbreaking and I can relate to everyone's comments.
God bless and comfort to you all.
All these stories remind me that I am not alone. My almost 9 year old Saint Bernard was diagnosed with DM a little over a year ago after he slipped and tore his ACL. (Probably from the DM) We have been adding Sanus Biotex to his dinner for about the past 7 months. Not sure if it is actually helping but I feel like I have to try everything. He is complete immobile on his hind legs. We use a hip harness to move him around. Not easy with a 160 pound dog. He also wears a male diaper wrap with a child's diaper inside it. Bathing him has been difficult and has become a thing of the past. He is always in good spirits and eats well. It is so hard to know when the right time is to throw in the towel. Like all of you, he is an important part of our family.
Well Merlin has been suffering for 3 1/2 years now and it gets harder by the day. He has lost the use of his back legs and 50% of his front left leg.., shoots out bits of you know what when he barks... but he is as bright as a star and no matter how hard it gets until his bright star like smile fades I will put the work in...
This is really hard. My 14 1/2 year old dog has good spirits, loves his food and treats, is still affectionate. But all the fun things are gone, and the ordinary things have become hard. Hard to stand, hard to walk, hard to go up or down stairs. I don't think I can get him in and out of the car safely, so no more visits to the park. He falls a lot. His legs splay out in the back like a gymnast doing the splits. He has lost control of his bowels. I never get a full night's sleep anymore; was up cleaning poop at 3 am. I could do this for him forever, but the knowledge that it will only get worse for him means that it is time.
We are at the point of making the decision too. I was up at midnight reading this article after cleaning up our boxers mess. He was trying to get up and urinated on the floor. This morning I saw all of these recent posts and it saddens me but also makes me realize we are not alone. I personally diagnosed our boxer about 4 months ago. We originally were told he had hip displacia but as time has went on I found videos on DM and saw my boxer in those videos. I was stunned to see what we were to expect in our days ahead. Sure enough we have seen all the symptoms. He is now at the point that he can't walk on his own, we wrap a towel under him and walk him. This week I started feeding him while he is laying down since you have to stand up and hold him up while he is eating and drinking. He is now loosing his ability to control bowel movements and urinating. It is time. We will miss him so!
We recently put our best friend and protector to sleep. We made the difficult decision when she began losing control of her bowels. We wanted her to pass with dignity.
Absolutely the most difficult decision we have ever made in our lives.
I pray every day that we made the right choice for our girl.
My thoughts are with your family.
Thank you for a great article. Our dog, Lucky, is 13 and has had DM for a little over a year. We're struggling with the hardest decision we've ever had to make. We love this dog, he's part of our family and it's so painful to imagine life without him. We want him to be with us as long as possible, but don't want to be selfish and keep him when he's tired and ready to go. We'll just continue to take it day by day and spoil him rotten every chance we get. My heart goes out to anyone else dealing with this.
I understand how painful the pet euthanasia to our pets, I experienced this twice to my 2 dogs and the pain is still the same. We love our pets that's why we gave them a peaceful sleep and they don't need to suffer anymore in pain.
I appreciate these thoughts at a grave time. My 11 yr corgi Yogi has lost first the left then right rear leg use. I had a previous corgi with the same disease so when I saw the foot drop and knuckling, I knew. He was so active, hiking, kayaking and paddle boarding with me and loves to swim for therapy, but during the days I work he can’t run around the yard chasing lizards or even hold himself up to urinate. He’s still happy, hungry, loving but this doesn’t seem right- what quality of life is this for him? I’ve had him since I got divorced 10 yrs. but have to let him go. It is so hard. Thank you all for listening- there is so much guilt .
I am struggling with the decision now. My 12 and half year old Belgium shepherd is suffering from this disease. He is a dog that loved walking so much. Now we can only do very short walks. If I don't take him out he gets depressed, when I do he stumbles and struggles. It's heart breaking for me. My daughter thinks he should go on longer... I am not convinced.
my 13 year old Shepherd cross has all the signs of DM. He has never been an overly friendly dog so when the vet tried to examine him he wasn't very cooperative. She saw he had both middle nails on both back feet worn down and I explained that he was having a strange gait and wasn't steady on his feet. She checked to see if when she put his foot on its knuckles, if he righted them quickly. One did and one didn't. She said without a proper diagnoses she was suspecting DM. We tried Seizure meds but they didn't help so I've now tried CBD oil and he seems to be better. He is falling more now but still asks to go walking. I have a wheel chair for him and I think its time for that. I know I have to make a decision but it's hard. He has started snapping at my husband and I for no reason and growls and doesn't want us to touch him sometimes. Is that normal with DM?
I had a problem with my dog and the CBD oil. It seemed to bring out an aggressiveness I had never seen before with my fellow. So I cut out the CBD and the aggressiveness eased. I don’t other people have had great success with that… That for us it was just making an already bad situation even worse .
My great natured Giant German Shepard who has DM, started getting snippy and even biting rarely. Have you tried Gabapentin ? That seemed to help a lot and when doing things where I must have my hands within striking distance, I use a soft muzzle, which he readily accepts and sort of just removes that choice from the equation. Some vets have all of their DM dogs on gabapentin, and it's inexpensive. Good luck to you, this disease sucks and the breeders must take responsibility for testing their breeding pairs before any more dogs end up with this diagnosis. There is an inexpensive, accurate DNA test available, samples collected at home, sent to lab , and results are emailed within 3-5 days. Hope this helps.
I'm so appreciative of this post. I'm sitting up, unable to sleep, basically looking for "permission" to euthanize my sweet, 12 year old Corgi, Wesley. We've been dealing with DM for almost a year and it's getting to the point to where I know he hates his life and me and my fiance are exhausted. But - I'm not ready and I know it's selfish. I know it's time and two vets have agreed but, how do you let go??
I devastatingly decided to let my 11 year old boy go be a frolicking boxer puppy in heaven 5 days ago. It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make. Marley was not a dog, he was my other half. He started having symptoms 13 months ago and I tried everything I could think to keep him mobile and happy. We triedwater therapy, he had a wheelchair, my home was covered in yoga mats for traction. In the last couple weeks he seemed to take a sharp decline, telling me he was ready. He was barely able to get up to his water and food dish, he could barley reposition his hips in bed and he started wetting himself in bed. Marley was always a dignified man with lots of pride. He was embarrassed to need us to carry his hind end in a harness while he dragged his feet so he could go potty. I miss him so very very much. My heart aches but I know he wasn’t happy in his body and yet he would have stayed around as long as I asked because he loved me so much. I love you Bubba and will see you one day
After almost a year with DM, my wife and I decided to have our Boxer Rosie euthanized yesterday. It was a gut wrenching decision, but the deciding factor was earlier this week, she had fallen into her poop after losing her balance. She had become unsteady on her feet, her legs wobbling and crossing, she couldnt walk on our tile floors anymore, so we had a system of rugs going everywhere; but lately that wasnt enough and she was still slipping. She would give us this look of despair, and as Boxer owners are aware, their eyes are very expressive. Trust me, after her positive test for DM we did a lot of research. We tried: RockTape, because it said that it would increase blood flow, as it does for the athletes, we tried booties which she hated and always found them somewhere in the house and finally acupuncture. We were very lucky to have her for 10 and a half years. She was a member of the family and will be sorely loved and missed. RIP Rosie!
Heart Broken i had to say good bye to my 9.5 year old German shepherd today : I have been nursing him and carrying him around for 5 weeks : He was diagosed Oct 17 spent thousands on hydro thearpy didnt care : its a wicked wicked demoralising desease
A very helpful article and frankly, brings me to tears. My 14 y/o lab has DM. He was uncomfortable, licking his back legs and pelvis constantly and panting horribly. He was never comforable repositioning several times an hour. Two months ago we started him on CBD hemp oil. Unbelievable results. He pronates less, no incontinence. He sleeps 12 hrs at a time in the fetal position with rarely a reposition. It has been miraclulous. 20 drops of 500mg CBD. Ask your vet, see a canna medic. It's worth it. If he had to go tomorrow, we have helped him be comfortable thanks to this oil.
Thank you so much for this article and your perspective. My 10 yr old boxer was just diagnosed with DM, and although I had researched his symptoms before taking him to the vet, I just knew he had it. He's in the mid to late stages of the disease I believe. He's been such a friendly loving active friend, and although his spirit wants to do these things, its not possible any longer and its so hard to watch. Knowing when to let go for him and for us seems so difficult, but I am determined to love him through this until he can no longer do the small thing that make him so happy like following me from room to room just to be close and know what everyone is doing. He's such a good friend and so much company, and its hard to imagine life without him. I cry as I type this, but I will pull it together and get back to life for HIM! Thank you again, you have no idea how comforting this article was for me.
My dog Abbey was diagnosed a year and 4 months ago. We are watching her decline slowly and it breaks our hearts. We got her a wheelchair when she needed it and take her out to go potty 5 times a day. Her mobility is slowing down and walks are getting shorter. She just now is having a few potty accidents and I fear the time is getting closer for her. She also has start to slip in her front legs as I see they might be getting weaker as well. Abbey still likes to play with her toys, eat, socialize with other dogs, drink water and have her frosty paws treat nightly. We carry her up the stairs every night so that she can continue to sleep with us. I know what's ahead of us and it tears me up inside. I know we will keep her around as long as she is doing well. I am fortunate I work at home to tend to her needs throughout the day. I can't imagine having to leave her home while at work.
Hello Vickie, It has been roughly 2 years since our German Shepherd starting to show signs of this awful disease. We never confirmed with the test but all the symptoms pointed to having Degenerative Myelopathy. We did the same thing. Provided the best care we could to give her as much independence and care as possible. We wanted for her to not feel "broken" or not a part of her family so we included her in everything. We couldn't find a anything on the internet to properly carry her for walks and bathroom breaks that we made our own "sling" to let her chase balls, get the mail and walk outside. We miss her so much. We had to make that decision that we knew was coming. I was fortunate to have a job that lets me work from home. So we could watch her most of the day.
(Remainder of my message) Vickie- We only left her home for 4 hours at the most if we had to run errands or social events. Her spirit and upper body strength was very strong. Prayers kept us strong. Reach 4 support. Prayers to Abbey & You!
My 12 year old Corgi was just diagnosed with DM. Hes still eating, drinking, and now has a very fancy set of wheels. We also have to keep diaper type things on him since he cant hold his potty.
I know the time to say goodbye is coming soon which I'm far from ready for.
Thank you for this article.
i just wanted to say thank you for the articules, my dog has the disease and where we live there is no water therapy or physical therapy for dogs, i've been feeling very helpless. your articles help. thanks again
My beautiful Shepherd, Rocky was a rescue and diagnosed with DM a year ago. I am devoted to him and his care and your information was so helpful and supportive. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and your advise. He has a wheelchair that he took to pretty fast and we go out several times a week. Rocky is also amazing and being with him always makes me feel peaceful, happy and lucky. He is my sunshine and joy every day !
Very nice article
Our almost 10 year old corgi started the slippery slope in the summer
He has lost the use of his left back leg and the right is going.
We have a cart on order for him and hope this will perk him up.
He is a trooper, not one complaint.
He also has seizures. These started 6 years ago and he is on meds for this
So the poor soul has his problems , we live him dearly and am not looking forward to the next decision .
Great article , lots to think about
Thank you
Thank you for this. Just got the diagnosis today and I am devastated. Your article really helped answer a lot of my questions. Thank you.
We said goodbye to Lilly, our 13 year old Pembroke Corgi, on 2/27. She struggled with DM for the last year. It was such a hard decision when to euthanize but she was becoming more depressed, started whining at night and unable to position herself to eliminate. Horrible disease but we were fortunate to have her healthy and happy for all those years. Miss her so much.
Our 11 year old sweet natured German shepherd couldn’t get up this morning. We knew he was having difficulty prior to the holidays. I had driven him to a rural vet who did laser therapy to get his thru Christmas. I found your article and I’ve read it three times. This part is always hard and I’m in tears. I swore to myself I’d never let another of my pets suffer by trying to extend their life. And to see him frightened to descend the small two back steps into the yard, and fall over, I now face that the time is coming fast. My 23 year old daughter stayed home today, has set up a nest of blankets to lie next to his bed in the tv room. He’s not in pain, but I can tell he’s depressed. Our 3 year old shepherd circles the house, expecting him to follow, and keeps returning to his pals bed to sniff him. 11 years isn’t long enough, especially for a big bear of a dog with the sweetest disposition and love of hikes & play. Thank you for this article. Thank you
Our sweet lovable pittie mix, Ginger, a female brown/black sweetheart I strongly suspect has DM. She hasn't been diagnosed but I think she probably had it for awhile but her energetic activity allowed her to compensate for awhile before a few nights ago starting to notice frequent urinary and fecal accidents and the wobbly gait and her beautiful tail doesn't wag much anymore when it used to go a mile a minute when you gave her a belly rub and told her you loved her. It's going to be hard....REALLY hard as she's been been my cuddle buddy for 11 years (she's 12 we got her when she was a year old as a former forced breeder from an illegal puppy mill operation and likely was a product of the same operation). We're waiting to hear from the vet for an appointment to confirm DM and will likely discuss euthanasia then :(
iI have been watching my boxer deterioate over more than a year. She is at the point of not using her hind legs at all now. Her stub doesn't wag and her ears hang low. I just can't bear to let her go.
Thank you. As I read this, I am weeping but so grateful to you for sharing your thoughts and experience. Our German Shepherd has DM and we have been struggling so much over what to. She is the sweetest, most loving companion and we are heart broken. Your comments on "when is it time" have really helped us. No easy solution but knowing that we are not alone in this is a great help. Thank you .