October 12, 2000

Tough Choices With Pets
   by yawetag

Last night I was told by my parents that we would be taking our pet dog, Spanky, to the vet. When I asked why, I was told that he had been losing a lot of weight and drinking a lot of water. I thought the vet would say it was some type of virus and he'll be better in a week or two.

This morning, I found out that Spanky actually has sugar diabetes. There are only 2 options with the disease: to put the dog to sleep, or to give him a daily insulin shot.

The choice was hard. In one boat you've got the thought that you don't want the dog to suffer for the rest of his life (which would be about 2 years), but you also love the animal so much that you can't stand to put them to sleep.

I wish choices like this would never come up. I would prefer my dog die in his sleep one night or leave one morning and never come back than to know that I had to end his life early or force him to spend the rest of his life in misery.

We decided to try the insulin shots for a while to see how it goes. If he seems to be worsening in a few weeks or months, then we will probably end up putting him to sleep. On the other hand, if he seems to be the same old Spanky, then we'll continue the shots until he decides that he's had enough of this world.

Published: October 12, 2000
Editor: stacy