when do you know its time to say goodbye?

Question
Hi, I have two beautiful rescue shepherd mixes.  One of my boys is 13 and has been diagnosed with prostate cancer (via ultrasound).  He takes a variety of medications including a chemo drug (piroxicam) and a pain killer (tramadol).  His appetite is waning (only eats 1 of his 2 meals a day) and he frequently wakes us in the middle of the night to go outside.  He still gets up to "dance" with me when I put music on and gets peppy at walk time, but he also lies in his bed whimpering sometimes.  He also sleeps a lot because of the tramadol.  I just don't know if it's time to say goodbye because he's in discomfort or if the small pleasures he experiences warrant keeping him with us.  I love him so much and want to be courageous enough to know when it's time to put him down.  Thanks for any advice you can offer me.

Answer

Hi Heather,

What you're dealing with is the hardest part of pet ownership, and my heart goes out to you.

There is a scale to help assess an ailing pet's quality of life called The HHHHHMM Scale. That stands for: hurt, hunger, hydration, hygiene, happiness, mobility and more good days than bad days. A score above five on most of these issues is acceptable in maintaining care until there is change in the dog's condition. You can see the HHHHHMM Scale here:

http://www.pets.ca/dogs/tips/euthanasia-and-the-hhhhhmm-scale-pet-tip-228

If you're in doubt about any of the points in the HHHHMM Scale, ask your vet for his or her's advice.

I hope I've been a help.

Patti