One Of The Toughest Decisions Is
When To End An Ailing Pet's Life

Catherine Keefe
The Pet Column

Deciding whether to end the life of an ailing animal is one of the hardest decisions a pet owner has to face.

Veterinarians can assess the animal's medical condition, but the decision rests with the pet owners. Here are questions to help pet owners decide the fate of an elderly or sick animal.

If your answers indicate that the problem lies less with your pet's health and more with your ambivalence about keeping a pet any longer, consider finding an adoptive home for it, rather than euthanizing it.

• Is your pet eating and drinking normally? If these most basic needs are abnormal, your pet is suffering.
• Is your pet interacting with the family as usual? If your pet doesn't acknowledge your presence, it might be a sign it is too old or sick to care anymore.
• Does your pet's activity level indicate it has "checked out" of this world? If a dog that used to love to play catch doesn't lift his head when he sees a ball, it might be a sign of a lost will to live.
• Are you up to providing the care that an elderly or sick pet requires? If cleaning up pet messes and keeping a constant vigil over a needy animal is taking a physical or mental toll on you, perhaps it's time to let go.
• Is your animal in pain? Keeping a pet alive in constant pain is not in the best interest of the animal.
• Will caring for a sick or elderly animal place an unreasonable financial burden on you? There is no law that says you must go down in financial ruin to care for a pet.
• What is your pet's quality of life? If your pet has lost its dignity to debilitating illness or age, it is not enjoying a quality life.
• Has your pet become aggressive and threatening to you or others? It might be dangerous to keep an aggressive animal.
• Are you keeping your pet alive simply because you can't bear to let go? The time will eventually come when your pet will die. Is it better to let it go in peace? It might be helpful to work out details well before the day an animal will be euthanized. It's easier to make decisions . when you're not in the emotional throes of the impending death.

Consider these questions:

• Do you want to be in the room when the vet gives the injection?
• If not, do you want to say goodbye at the vet's office or at home?
• Who will go with you to drive and offer emotional support?
• What do I want done with my pet's body? Options include having the vet arrange for county cremation, private cremation, private burial at home or burial in a pet cemetery.

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Keefe is a writer for the Orange County Register. Sources for this story were Janet Aldrich, veterinarian and chief of Emergency and Critical Care, Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis; Scott Weldy, veterinarian; and Larry Lachman, animal behaviorist.