I am so very sorry Eric, from what you have said you have given your dear friend a peaceful and dignified escape from the hateful ailment that was causing her distress, you knew it was time, and you let her go, that of course is small comfort for a broken heart.

May she rest peacefully in the sun at the Bridge.

I am so very sorry to be reading about your loss, Eric. In following this thread, we knew the day was coming eventually. As others have said, please don't second guess your decision or the timing of it. Some times it becomes a no-brainer but other times you have to just use your best judgment. I don't ever know of a time when we or anyone I knew wished they would have delayed letting their dog go. You stepped up and made the most difficult decision anyone could make for the sake of your great companion and friend. You deserve all the respect in the world for doing that. She is now in a much better place, pain-free, running with her new, and old, friends, and waiting for you someday to join her at the Bridge. I sincerely believe that and you should, too. Good on you.

condolences to you eric , you have the support of this community .

use your good memories of her to help you through these times , even though those thoughts will bring sorrow .

anyone else find it strange that it takes dogs to teach us to be more human ?

 Quote: Greg Meyer

I am so very sorry to be reading about your loss, Eric. In following this thread, we knew the day was coming eventually. As others have said, please don't second guess your decision or the timing of it. Some times it becomes a no-brainer but other times you have to just use your best judgment. I don't ever know of a time when we or anyone I knew wished they would have delayed letting their dog go. You stepped up and made the most difficult decision anyone could make for the sake of your great companion and friend. You deserve all the respect in the world for doing that. She is now in a much better place, pain-free, running with her new, and old, friends, and waiting for you someday to join her at the Bridge. I sincerely believe that and you should, too. Good on you.

AMEN to what Everyone has said here, Eric, and my Heart-Felt Empathy reaches out to you -- It often happens that they "rally" on the pre-planned Farewell day & then maybe we can't make ourselves go through with it yet, so we put off that final trip to the Vet for another 24 hours, and then they suffer audibly in the night because we could not bring ourselves to do the Right thing in time to spare them ... Eric, you have SAVED your Dear Dog from ALL further Suffering and have Released her to our Forever Home of PAIN-FREE "joy inexpressible" IMHO.

And now I also believe that you will know when the Time is Right to make room in your heart & home for yet another Canine Companion who will be an HONOR to the MEMORY of all the dogs who came & went before -- Loving REQUIRES Courage, and our Devoted Dogs teach us about both of those attributes, so I personally feel it is Our Duty to pass it on & pay it forward in TRIBUTE to THEM

 Quote: ian bunbury

eric , you have the support of this community...anyone else find it strange that it takes dogs to teach us to be more human ?

Ian, rather than finding that "strange", I actually find it humbling instead -- I so frequently find myself being humbled by my dogs' guileless display of faith, Hope and LOVE that it brings me to shame ... "WHO" knew that our dogs and other intrepid animals would be The Ones to teach us many subtle meanings of "1st Corinthians 13"

Eric,

I'm very sorry. Following this thread has been so sad - we've all been there. Never doubt that you did the right thing at the right time.

In the past 10 years I have lost three dogs: one old Airedale mutt who made it to 14 and I finally had to make the same decision you just did, and two much loved and hard working GSDs prematurely at 7 (lymphoma) and 6 (hemangiosarcoma). When I lost the second one, like you I doubted that I could bear that much heartbreak again. Then someone said to me that when a good dog passes on they send you the next one, which I found oddly comforting, and maybe it's true - my current GSD was born 2 days after the previous one died. I did try to tilt the odds, though, by researching breeders and interviewing aggressively about the health and longevity of their dogs before deciding. Then the right pup picked me.

There will be another one out there for you. Meanwhile, you are in my thoughts.

"Today was the day".

Strong to step up and take action sooner rather than later.

We are all thinking of you today.

I'm so sorry. I'm shedding tears for you as I type. Take care.

 Quote: Eric Eschmann

Today was the day. I'm still not convinced it was time, but if not today it would have been in a week or maybe a month. I guess...

Eric, I'm so very sorry for your loss. Your words above bring back memories of the last time I had to let a dog go. I admit I beat myself up for a long time thinking I might have been too hasty. Yes, I probably could have kept her alive for another few weeks, maybe a month. But I ask myself, at what cost to her? She was deteriorating steadily, and I made that gut-wrenching decision at a time when I felt she still had dignity in her life and she wasn't suffering terribly. I was fearful that she would take a serious downhill turn at a time over a weekend or something, when my regular vet wasn't in, and I would have to go to a stranger at an ER. I am now at peace with the choices I made, and I would do the same thing faced with similar circumstances, but of course knowing that doesn't make me miss her any less.

I recently had to go through making the same decision for my 26-year-old horse. In her case, physically, I know I could have nursed her along for a bit longer, but she was deteriorating mentally, as well, and was becoming dangerous to those who handled her. Again, it was a choice to let her go with dignity and to take away her fear and confusion and pain before it got unbearable for her.

You made a difficult decision based on what was best for a special dog you loved very much. You did the right thing. It's natural that you will be feeling the emotional pain for a long time. My heart goes out to you and your family.

Thank you all for your condolences and support.