I think my dog has reached the end of the road.

Some of you have met my dog. He's 3/4 standard poodle and 1/4 Golden Retriever. In his prime, he was 85 pounds of one of the most magnificent examples of a canine as I've ever come across. At 13, he'd lost a few pounds and a step or two but was incredibly active for a dog his size.
In late August, he woke up one day with a slight limp. It didn't concern me for a few days but when it didn't improve, I took him to the vet. With COVID, you don't actually see the vet and my dog was returned to me a few hours later with a bottle of pain killers and I was told the vet would call me after she consulted with the person who reads her X-rays.
After he had the pain killer, his appetite seemed to improve but not his limp.
The vet calls me the next morning and after a few pleasantries, she floors me by telling me Bailey has a golfball-sized tumor deep in his shoulder, and that it has already started to spread. All we can do is make him comfortable and when asked how long he has she says weeks, maybe months. All we can really do is make him comfortable. That was two weeks ago and yesterday he couldn't put any weight on his front leg and wouldn't eat or drink. I got him some liquid via sponge but he wasn't having it. I took him to the vet expecting to come home alone but she suggested a different medicine. Last night he surprised me as he had a big appetite and he actually tried to hop on my bed. I picked him up and we spent the night on the bed although neither of us slept much. He was in pain and very restless.
This morning, he wouldn't get off the bed and snapped at me when I tried to help him. Right now he is pumped with codeine, Gabepentin , Rimadyl, and pet CBD. He is laying down and seems fine, but he has no quality of life.
Making it even more difficult is the fact that he was my Mom's dog before she died and being with him reminds me of her.
Barring these new medicines producing a miracle, I think he'll make the final visit to the vet on Monday.
2020 just keeps getting better and better.

Sorry Bill, losing a pet is horrible but only you will know when it is time to put him down. When that time comes you will not second guess it because you know you will be doing the best thing for him.

Do vets their offer to come to the house to do it? My vet does and for our dog it was the best thing because she was in so much pain we couldn't even get her in the car.

My Bichon is 16 and can barely
walk now. His hind legs are
no good to him anymore. I
hate it, he used to be so active.

I feel for what you're going through. I get very close to my pets and know how it feels to lose them. Not that I'm an expert, but I believe pets know when they are ready to go. They express it by going to a dark place, they stop eating, and just want to be left alone. Sounds like your dog has a lot of spunk and isn't giving up easily, but probably has just reached that point. May he go peacefully.

Good luck, Billy. I am going through similar troubles with dog that came with wife's daughters a month ago. It is 12 or so, and has a bunch of benign fatty tumors; too many to remove. And some dental abscesses that will need surgery in a few weeks. The vet has advised us that the dog is very high risk and might not survive the surgery. I've bonded with him, but you can tell he is often just not comfortable. But he still gets around, barks up a storm at visitors or other dogs, and is generally feisty. My wife will put him down at the right time......

It is one of the reasons I never wanted a pet.... knowing that you have them for just a decade or so before they leave...

Quote: SOOPOO

It is one of the reasons I never wanted a pet.... knowing that you have them for just a decade or so before they leave...

Yeah...............but think of the pleasure and love they give you during that decade or so. That's their life expectancy and not much we can do about it.

This is a sad thread......reminds me of pets I have lost in the past. One of the worst things about it, is you CANNOT explain to your family friend, why it hurts or what they are going through. Most dogs will look at you with their sad eyes, "saying please help me".............. and it just tore me up.

I found this almost fourteen years ago while in the waiting room of my vet.
Truer words have rarely been written.


There is one place to bury a good dog.
If you bury him in this spot, he will come to you when you call
Come to you over the grim, dim frontier of death
and down the well-remembered path to your side again
Another dog will not resent his coming, for he belongs there.

People will scoff at you, who see no slightest blade of grass bent by his footfall
who hear no whimper
People who have never had a dog.
Smile at them, for you know something that is hidden from them
Something well worth knowing
The one best place to bury a dog is in the heart of his master.

Thank you, Ben Hur Lapman

Really sorry, Billryan.