I think our little dog is on the way out.

footman

footman

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Laurence
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Our12 year old miniature schnauzer Archie has been very poorly this week with a nasty gastric problem. He's spent a day and a night at the vets and when we brought him home this morning he seemed quite well but has gone down since then.
He seems utterly depressed and disinterested, just sleeps and won't eat, fortunately he is drinking some water. The vet seems to think he'll come round but it doesn't seem to be going that way. I really can't see him lasting much longer to be honest.

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Poor little fella.

Fingers crossed that he rallies to keep going healthily.
 
Hopefully the vet, will be correct and he come around, over the next day or so.
 
Poor little chap, and I feel for you watching him. Our eldest cat is struggling at present too, he's 13 and has hyperthyroidism, we have to shove liquid medication down him twice a day to keep his hormones normal, then lately he's having a lot of gum/teeth problems so he struggles to eat so he's on a painkiller until he has an op on Friday.
These pets mean so much to us all and we do suffer with them in a way.
 
Thanks for the kind replies, it's a very difficult conversation to have when you have a pet that's near the end of their normal life span and you have to make the decision
whether to treat further, often it's not in the animals best interest to do so. We'll just have to see what today brings.
The weird thing is that he greeted the postman yesterday with his usual bark and tail wagging but looks at us as if he doesn't know who we are!
 
Poor little chap. Best wishes for a recovery. How old is he?
Our little Norfolk is 12 now and he is showing his age bless him.
Our last dog, a Westie made it to 15.
 
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footman said:
Thanks for the kind replies, it's a very difficult conversation to have when you have a pet that's near the end of their normal life span and you have to make the decision
whether to treat further, often it's not in the animals best interest to do so. We'll just have to see what today brings.
The weird thing is that he greeted the postman yesterday with his usual bark and tail wagging but looks at us as if he doesn't know who we are!
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I'm not sure that "near the end of their normal life span" means a lot, we have to make the decision about the specific animal, not the breed average - my last dog, a GSD, was fine and enjoyed life until he suddenly didn't, at the age of 14 1/4, well above "normal" age. He didn't have an identifiable health problem, he simply stopped enjoying life, and my son's border wally was 18, she was well past "normal" age and still enjoyed life even though she had been deaf for a few years.

It's always a hard decision, but at least it's a decision that the animal can benefit from, we have the power and the duty to do whatever ever we think best at the time, and in my own experience the right time is when it's clear that the animal no longer wants to go on, and I also think that the right time for the animal is a day early, rather than a day late, but that's never the right time for us.
 
Garry Edwards said:
I'm not sure that "near the end of their normal life span" means a lot, we have to make the decision about the specific animal, not the breed average - my last dog, a GSD, was fine and enjoyed life until he suddenly didn't, at the age of 14 1/4, well above "normal" age. He didn't have an identifiable health problem, he simply stopped enjoying life, and my son's border wally was 18, she was well past "normal" age and still enjoyed life even though she had been deaf for a few years.

It's always a hard decision, but at least it's a decision that the animal can benefit from, we have the power and the duty to do whatever ever we think best at the time, and in my own experience the right time is when it's clear that the animal no longer wants to go on, and I also think that the right time for the animal is a day early, rather than a day late, but that's never the right time for us.
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Thanks, wise words indeed. Amazingly he seems brighter this morning so fingers crossed the trajectory might be upwards.
 
All the best for Archie. We have a 14 year old crossed fell terrier who has had pancreatitis and some gastic problem in the last 18 months. The symptoms were being off food(and sometimes drink which resulted in a day stay at the vets to get rehydrated), lethargy, obvious discomfort, if he did eat food, being sick soon after and bloody gelatinous poos even when he nothing to go on.

We thought he wasn't going to make it but fortunately he got better.

Hope Archie pulls through too.

Dave
 
Update: Psychologically he seems to be gradually getting back to normal if still slightly weird. He follows us around the house, wags his tail and barks, he's been to the park for short walks on the lead and interacts with other dogs but he simply won't eat. It's as if we're giving him mud to eat!
So far we've tried tinned puppy food from the vet, some warm chicken and finally today some scrambled egg, apparently all deadly poisonous. He may still be a bit nauseous but we're forcing some small anti nausea tablets down wrapped in some brown goo they seem to like. Maybe back to the vets again tomorrow!
 
Hope he recovers o.k , we sadly had to say goodbye to our 10 year old poodle a couple of months ago ,he was losing his sight and had problems with his larynx ,and a continuous hacking cough .. the vets advised us it was the best outcome for him … heart wrenching for both of us . I still want another one but 5he Mrs says she can’t go through it again .
 
One human year is supposed to be 7 dog years, so he's 84. I'm early 70's but look a lot worse than your dog! Fingers crossed for you.
 
Pixbarmy said:
One human year is supposed to be 7 dog years, so he's 84. I'm early 70's but look a lot worse than your dog! Fingers crossed for you.
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On that basis, my sons' dog lived until she was 126 and a human is sexually mature by 3 1/2 - old wives' tale.
 
Back to the vets this morning whereupon he was spectacularly sick in the waiting room! That was a positive thing though as it told the vet his stomach was still irritated and he was nauseous hence the not eating. More injections and come back tomorrow.
He could be referred to a diagnostic centre but that would cost many more thousands than we have available at hand :( .
 
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footman said:
Back to the vets this morning whereupon he was spectacularly sick in the waiting room! That was a positive thing though as it told the vet his stomach was still irritated and he was nauseous hence the not eating. More injections and come back tomorrow.
He could be referred to a diagnostic centre but that would cost many more thousands than we have available at hand :( .
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Sadly, vet costs have now spiralled out of control, with just 6 large foreign banking organisations buying them all up and (effectively) operating a cartel.

Silly thought, that you and the vet have probably already addressed - but could he have been poisoned, for example could some well-meaning idiot have given him chocolate to eat?
 
Garry Edwards said:
Sadly, vet costs have now spiralled out of control, with just 6 large foreign banking organisations buying them all up and (effectively) operating a cartel.

Silly thought, that you and the vet have probably already addressed - but could he have been poisoned, for example could some well-meaning idiot have given him chocolate to eat?
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As far as we know there has been no opportunity for anyone to give him something to eat without our knowledge. Interesting about the cartel, dentistry and to some degree general medical practices are being being swallowed by larger companies aggressively pursuing large profits.
@Garry Edwards , further to your comments:
 
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Garry Edwards said:
Sadly, vet costs have now spiralled out of control, with just 6 large foreign banking organisations buying them all up and (effectively) operating a cartel.

Silly thought, that you and the vet have probably already addressed - but could he have been poisoned, for example could some well-meaning idiot have given him chocolate to eat?
Click to expand...
I think it is only about half the practices have been bought up by corporates. Sometimes it isn't easy to find out if a practice has gone corporate, but its worth checking if you have an independent near you.
 
Currently looking at adopting a dog from a rescue centre . But what a palaver fill out a form and if successfull then meet the actual dog ,followed by a home visit to ensure you don’t live in a flat I suppose .. . Will update if it goes through
 
A couple of weeks ago when I got up and headed downstairs my cat Whiskas was not at the bottom of the stairs waiting for his breakfast feed.... he was still inside his igloo cat bed. I checked on him and he was breathing but didn't make any attempt to get up..... I knew something wasn't right so phoned the vet who told me to take him through to their main vet surgery. The vet checked him over but said he was very ill and his organs were failing. it was heartbreaking but I made the decision to let him go.... I'd already informed my daughter I thought it was the end for him and she said she wanted to come say her goodbyes to him, and that required 70 mile drive..... the vets allowed me to wait for my daughter to arrive so I sat and waited with Whiskas who was laying there unable to move but still meowing quietly.... My daughter made it and we both gave him a cuddle before we let him go.... He was 18 and was a kitten of my brothers cat... He'd been fine the day before....

Up until 3 years ago I'd had 3 cats, but now they've all gone.... They all lived to the ripe old age of 18, 20 and 18.... It now feels very strange without having a cat in the house....

I'm going to wait until we move over to Thailand before adopting another cat....
 
footman said:
Archie made his last journey this morning, despite all the vets treatment and care he was deteriorating over the past few days and we felt it was time.
Thanks to all of you for your kind messages.
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Sad to hear Archie has gone...
 
footman said:
Archie made his last journey this morning, despite all the vets treatment and care he was deteriorating over the past few days and we felt it was time.
Thanks to all of you for your kind messages.
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:(
 
footman said:
Archie made his last journey this morning, despite all the vets treatment and care he was deteriorating over the past few days and we felt it was time.
Thanks to all of you for your kind messages.
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Sorry to hear that, Laurence.

I know it will be difficult for you, but Archie will have had a good life with you and you'll have some good memories.

All the best.

Dave
 
sorry to here that Laurence ,know exactly how you must feel right now
 
Garry Edwards said:
Sadly, vet costs have now spiralled out of control, with just 6 large foreign banking organisations buying them all up and (effectively) operating a cartel.

Silly thought, that you and the vet have probably already addressed - but could he have been poisoned, for example could some well-meaning idiot have given him chocolate to eat?
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Pound Coin said:
I think it is only about half the practices have been bought up by corporates. Sometimes it isn't easy to find out if a practice has gone corporate, but its worth checking if you have an independent near you.
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Article dated May this year re Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation.

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...tigation-over-fears-pet-owners-are-overpaying

September 4th.
novaramedia.com

Six Companies Own 60% of UK Vets, and Workers Are Sick of It | Novara Media

Global megacorporations have spotted an opportunity in the millions of new lockdown puppies and are snapping up local veterinary practices in bulk. The result is broke pet owners and underpaid workers - and the first vet practice strike in UK history, reports Polly Smythe.
novaramedia.com novaramedia.com

From the article.
"When Valley Vets, a veterinary practice in South Wales, was bought by VetPartners in April 2017, there was no sign for pet owners that the independently owned outfit had been snapped up by a private equity firm; the practice retained its name, branding and staff.Seven years later and a noisy picket line outside Valley Vets should help any pet owners still in the dark over who really owns their vet.

Here's the crux of it. I'm not a supporter of deregulation.The only ones to profit..handsomely ,too, are the companies , bosses and shareholders(if applicable).In industry safety is sometimes compromised. Grenfell Tower being the worst example in recent times.

From the same article.

Pet care wasn’t always big business. Until a legal change in 1999, only qualified and licensed vets could own a veterinary practice, meaning that vets tended to be independent practices or small local chains.Deregulation chipped away at the small business model, allowing corporations to quietly gobble up clinics. In 2013, only 10% of vet practices were owned by the "big six"... Pets at Home, CVS Group, IVC, Linnaeus, VetPartners and Medivet. Fast-forward to 2024 and it’s 60%.
 
I'm not sure that post @JohnC6 is entirely relevant or in best taste at this time really. However...

@footman Sorry to hear your news, but Archie was loved and gave you his love and trust, and those memories are priceless and forever. Not gone, just on a new big adventure...
 
footman said:
Archie made his last journey this morning, despite all the vets treatment and care he was deteriorating over the past few days and we felt it was time.
Thanks to all of you for your kind messages.
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My sincere sympathy. You did everything you could, and had the guts to do what was right for him.
 
Be proud of the life you gave him and remember the good times.
 
Oh dear Laurence. I'm very sorry to read this thread but please take comfort from giving him a good life and keeping him in your heart.

Best Wishes.
 
Really sorry to hear this, always difficult to cope with. Remember the good times, don't let them be affected by his illness.
 
Really sorry hear the bad news. I have a Cavachon who's just turned 12 and every morning I worry I'll wake up to find him gone. We've been through some tough times together including a house fire in 2019 the nearly got both of us.
People say "oh it's just a dog" how wrong they are, mine are my life savers.
Archie I'm sure was far more than " just a dog" rest in peace little man.
 
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