Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives

One thing I would like to add- slightly off topic as it is not about pack mate Tani, but I guess it is about pack mate me.

I have absolutely no regrets about the day Maggie crossed, and I don't at all doubt that it was the right time.  When Maggie was diagnosed with the second cancer in March, and when the path forward I took involved not treating it, I then defined what Maggie's minimum quality of life was.  It was a little difficult because she was reluctant to eat with the kidney failure so I couldn't really gauge how she was feeling by her eating or not eating.  But what I was concerned about was pain- I knew when the tumor broke through into her upper palette that the resulting bone pain would not be manageable for her.  She did not tolerate strong pain meds like tramadol, and NSAIDs were not an option because of the kidney failure.  I don't think NSAIDs would have done much good on bone pain anyway, and medicating the pain would have just put of the inevitable for a week or two- without quality.

But my point is- that I defined her quality a couple of months before we got to the end, I knew what I was looking for.  It really helped me make the decision confidently.  And even now- when the occasional 'what-if' sneaks in, I am able to walk through my decisions and know I did the right thing at the right time. 

Karen