Burying a Deceased Dog

We recently found out that are wonderful 8-year-old Great Pyrenees, China, has bone cancer. It is very advanced and she probably won't last long. We are giving her pain-relievers from the vet, and she still seems very happy to be here with us, and doesn't seem to be suffering much, but when her suffering seems to outweigh her happiness, we will be taking her back to the vet to be euthanized. We've actually only had her for 8 months; she came with our property that we bought in June of last year, but she is just the sweetest dog, and we will miss her greatly.

We want to bury her in the yard and I am wondering if there is anything I should know about this. We have 3 1/2 acres, red clay covered with varying amounts of sand/ sandy loam, depending where in the yard we are. We are on a slight slope, and on the uphill side of the property the sand layer is thinner. I was thinking of burying her on the uphill side of the property because I figure that will keep the decomposition farther away from the groundwater (if that is even an issue?) We don't have a well, but I still don't like the idea of contaminating groundwater. I admit I know nothing about this. Being a Great Pyrenees, she is a very large dog. The uphill side of the property is also well away from my veggie garden area, if that is an issue. It occurred to me maybe I should make a bed of "browns" like dry leaves and maybe a bag of purchased pine shavings under her body in the hole, to help balance things as her body starts to decompose.

We also wanted to plant a fruit over or near where we bury her, with the idea that her body will feed the tree and it will be "her tree". My daughter is extremely sentimental, and this idea comforts her. Any advice on this idea; distance away to plant the tree, stuff like that? We are in Central Texas, and the trees we are considering are peaches, pears, Asian pears, and mulberries. I have other dogs, so I plan to bury her pretty deep, with a layer of rocks somewhere in the backfill, to make sure they don't dig her up. Or maybe some cement paving blocks on top of the ground after we fill the hole (we have a bunch laying around the place I could use) So I will probably plant the tree off to the side, and make sure the dogs are not interested in that area before I do so.

Thank you very much. The folks on this site strike me as some of the most intelligent people I've ever encountered online, so I bring this question to you all.

I am sorry to read about your dog.  It is always sad to lose a member of the family.

I like the idea of planting a fruit tree which will give you something to remember her and the love you shared.

One of our members lost her dog and I thought you might find the story interesting:

https://permies.com/t/40/87862/ungarbage/Green-Family-Cemetery#1112950

Well, after I posted, this thread appeared on my side-bar, answering a lot of my questions https://permies.com/t/117023/burying-dogs-euthanasia-harm-earthworms. But if anyone has anything else to add I would like to learn as much as I can. I think I will make the milk bokashi that Bryant Redhawk mentioned in the other thread. I think we probably have just about the right amount of time to let it ferment before her time comes. I will also look into getting a packet of mycorrhizae fungi as well.

Going off of another comment on that thread, it might be better not to bury her too deep, to avoid possible groundwater contamination, and just cover the filled-in grave with paving stones instead for a year or so, to prevent anyone digging it up. I think I will add as much browns as I can find under and on top of her body as well, and pour the milk bokashi and fungi on top of the browns, to make it a bit less weird-looking for my kids, if they choose to be there when I am burying her.

I think planting a tree by your dog is a beautiful idea.

Lila, I'm sorry to hear about your dog. We've always had Great Danes so we know about big dogs and how much they fill your life. One of ours died of bone cancer also and it was really tough for us since he was only 3 years old. He lasted 2 weeks from diagnosis to us putting him to sleep.

If your dog still seems unhappy with painkillers, please talk to your vet. Dogs have a really high pain tolerance and won't show it, so she may be suffering more than you think. Bone cancer in humans is one of the most painful types so it's probably the same in dogs. I would personally err on the side of letting her go sooner than later. If I had to do it all over again with our dog, I'd have had him put to sleep much sooner since every day was worse than the previous one. It still makes me sad.

We've buried a couple of our goats with about a foot of dirt covering them. Unless you mound it a bit you'll end up with a depression in the ground. Your idea about planting a tree is a good one. The trees near our goats grew better than ones further away.  

I did this not long ago. I buried my dog and covered his grave with a large rock pile to keep animals from digging him up. He is in the middle of my food forest with a persimmon guild in front of him. I visit him daily.

I think I have mentioned this on an other thread somewhere, but when our dog called Fox died quite a few years ago we buried her in the garden and we planted foxgloves  on her grave to remember her.  Couldn't miss the flowers in the summer and the bees loved it!  Always made me smile to see those flowers and thinking of her as I walked by.

I think planting a tree on top of your dog's grave is a beautiful gesture, and I am so sorry to hear that your lovely companion is not long for this world.  I have nursed many animals to their final days and it is always heart wrenching when they leave.  I will be thinking of you.

Olga

[quote=Robin Katz] Lila, I'm sorry to hear about your dog. We've always had Great Danes so we know about big dogs and how much they fill your life. One of ours died of bone cancer also and it was really tough for us since he was only 3 years old. He lasted 2 weeks from diagnosis to us putting him to sleep.

If your dog still seems unhappy with painkillers, please talk to your vet. Dogs have a really high pain tolerance and won't show it, so she may be suffering more than you think. Bone cancer in humans is one of the most painful types so it's probably the same in dogs. I would personally err on the side of letting her go sooner than later. If I had to do it all over again with our dog, I'd have had him put to sleep much sooner since every day was worse than the previous one. It still makes me sad.

We've buried a couple of our goats with about a foot of dirt covering them. Unless you mound it a bit you'll end up with a depression in the ground. Your idea about planting a tree is a good one. The trees near our goats grew better than ones further away. [quote]

That would be very hard to have that happen to such a young dog, I was hoping we'd have at least a few years with China, but at the same time, 8 isn't particularly young for the large breeds. So far, she is still trying to play with the other dogs sometimes (which I hate because her front leg is the one with bone cancer and I'm afraid it will break). She is still smiling her big doggy smile and giving big tail wags. Still voluntarily walking around the yard to lay in her favorite lookout spots. I've been encouraging her to come in the house more, and yesterday she spent a good part of the day stretched out on the couch. I've never seen her get up on a couch or bed before, but I guess she has some idea that she's allowed to do whatever she wants these days. Besides mostly holding up her bad leg when walking, she is giving no signs of being in pain, even though I know it must hurt. We are taking it day by day and watching her closely. I'm going to start digging the hole today, so we will be ready, because I know it will be soon.

Howdy,


"So far, she is still trying to play with the other dogs sometimes (which I hate because her front leg is the one with bone cancer and I'm afraid it will break). She is still smiling her big doggy smile and giving big tail wags. Still voluntarily walking around the yard to lay in her favorite lookout spots. I've been encouraging her to come in the house more, and yesterday she spent a good part of the day stretched out on the couch. I've never seen her get up on a couch or bed before, but I guess she has some idea that she's allowed to do whatever she wants these days. Besides mostly holding up her bad leg when walking, she is giving no signs of being in pain, even though I know it must hurt. We are taking it day by day and watching her closely. I'm going to start digging the hole today, so we will be ready, because I know it will be soon."

Yes, I know the "feeling". I always wonder if my dogs feel pain. I have one that is a real character. Loves to chase sticks. He will bring them back to me, so I "taught" him to have to give them to me, put them in my hand so I don't have to bend over. What gets me the most is he is faster then the stick and sometimes gets hit by it! And doesn't even whimper but returns to "Do it again. quick, Whats takin so long, Throw the stick!" Again, I always wonder, Do they feel pain. I know I would if you hit me with a stick!

Sorry for your loss.

Sadness.

The normal chemicals they use here for euthanizing animals leaves the corpse a toxic mess.  It has to be disposed of in a hazmat facility as it can poison water supplies.  Be sure to talk to your vet about the chemicals and your intentions and they can choose better options.  

Gosh, that's really interesting. I did mention to my vet I would be burying her, and she said that is totally fine. I doubt it is that they use less toxic chemicals here, but more because there are less regulations here in Texas. I can definitely see the poisoned dead body being a danger to any wildlife that may eat it, if not buried carefully, but it's surprising that the little plunger full of chemicals they use to euthanize a dog would be an issue with contaminating groundwater. One reason I wanted to bring her body back to bury is so the other dogs can see it and know she is gone and didn't just go off in the car and never come back. I don't know... I will think about this a bit more.

r ranson wrote:Sadness.

The normal chemicals they use here for euthanizing animals leaves the corpse a toxic mess.  It has to be disposed of in a hazmat facility as it can poison water supplies.  Be sure to talk to your vet about the chemicals and your intentions and they can choose better options.  

Oh, I have no doubt they feel pain. If you accidentally really hurt them, they will yelp, or if their paw hurts, they will limp and avoid using it. I do think they are tougher than we are, and very "in the moment" so if you accidentlyy throw a stick into their face, it may hurt a little, but they are too excited about playing the game they are not going to waste time paying attention to it.

randal cranor wrote:Howdy,


"So far, she is still trying to play with the other dogs sometimes (which I hate because her front leg is the one with bone cancer and I'm afraid it will break). She is still smiling her big doggy smile and giving big tail wags. Still voluntarily walking around the yard to lay in her favorite lookout spots. I've been encouraging her to come in the house more, and yesterday she spent a good part of the day stretched out on the couch. I've never seen her get up on a couch or bed before, but I guess she has some idea that she's allowed to do whatever she wants these days. Besides mostly holding up her bad leg when walking, she is giving no signs of being in pain, even though I know it must hurt. We are taking it day by day and watching her closely. I'm going to start digging the hole today, so we will be ready, because I know it will be soon."

Yes, I know the "feeling". I always wonder if my dogs feel pain. I have one that is a real character. Loves to chase sticks. He will bring them back to me, so I "taught" him to have to give them to me, put them in my hand so I don't have to bend over. What gets me the most is he is faster then the stick and sometimes gets hit by it! And doesn't even whimper but returns to "Do it again. quick, Whats takin so long, Throw the stick!" Again, I always wonder, Do they feel pain. I know I would if you hit me with a stick!

Sorry for your loss.

Here they do several injections.  One to sedate.  Another one to make sure the sedation is working.  Then the death chemicals - which may take two or three injections depending on the size of the animal.  

My family had a cat that the vet euthanized and cremated turn up a month later with burns all over her body due to insufficient chemicals (the vet was famous for his frugal approach).  That used to be not uncommon before they regulated the method of euthanizing here.  

That is crazy about your family's cat. Some cats really do have 9 lives!

I will check with my vet. The last pet my family had euthanized was nearly 20 years ago, so things may have changed since then. Maybe cremation would be the better option.

r ranson wrote:Here they do several injections.  One to sedate.  Another one to make sure the sedation is working.  Then the death chemicals - which may take two or three injections depending on the size of the animal.  

My family had a cat that the vet euthanized and cremated turn up a month later with burns all over her body due to insufficient chemicals (the vet was famous for his frugal approach).  That used to be not uncommon before they regulated the method of euthanizing here.  

I’m sorry about your dog.  If you consider doing it your self with a firearm, PM me and I can share my experience.  We planted our old billy goat at the base of a newly planted apple tree and it is now our largest one.  

Lila Stevens wrote:
I will check with my vet. The last pet my family had euthanized was nearly 20 years ago, so things may have changed since then. Maybe cremation would be the better option.

I have buried six cats euthanized at the vet in the last 20 years and specifically asked about environmental contamination. The vet told us it was safe, but I guess it's possible they don't really know.

Thank you! I do appreciate the offer. My dad had to do this a few times when I was a kid. I don't think I could do it. I know it would be less polluting to just use a bullet, but I feel like euthanasia would be less suffering, and, maybe selfishly, that's more important to me right now.

Gray Henon wrote:I’m sorry about your dog.  If you consider doing it your self with a firearm, PM me and I can share my experience.  We planted our old billy goat at the base of a newly planted apple tree and it is now our largest one.  

Christopher Weeks wrote:

Lila Stevens wrote:
I will check with my vet. The last pet my family had euthanized was nearly 20 years ago, so things may have changed since then. Maybe cremation would be the better option.

I have buried six cats euthanized at the vet in the last 20 years and specifically asked about environmental contamination. The vet told us it was safe, but I guess it's possible they don't really know.

Yes, I think it's quite possible they just aren't aware. There are so many things the average person isn't aware of. But at the same time, it does seem that any environmental contamination would be rather small and contained, especially compared the the terrible environmental atrocities committed every day, by just about every major industry in the world. I guess the question is whether I want that potential contamination on my land, and if fungi and natural decomposition would deal with it adequately, which is hard to figure since I'm just not highly educated, especially in things like biology and chemistry.

r ranson wrote:Here they do several injections.  One to sedate.  Another one to make sure the sedation is working.  Then the death chemicals - which may take two or three injections depending on the size of the animal.  

My family had a cat that the vet euthanized and cremated turn up a month later with burns all over her body due to insufficient chemicals (the vet was famous for his frugal approach).  That used to be not uncommon before they regulated the method of euthanizing here.  

That hasn't been my experience with ether of our malamutes or our cat (2 separate states on opposite sides of the country).  One shot as a sedative, I believe it's ketamine or propofol, and then the second is often potassium chloride to stop the heart.  

I'm not saying that the combination is necessarily good for the soil, but I wouldn't be concerned with having the animal buried in my yard if I wasn't going to be eating food produced from that very spot.  

Not to push the issue at all but rather to share my experience and thought process, as to using a gun...

Yes it was really hard, but I felt I owed it to my dog because she would have done anything for us. It's over in a split second, no trip to the vet, no strangers, no freaky drugs. My dog hated those things. Actually she loved drugs. Because we wrapped them in cheese!

Best dog I ever had.

We've buried tons of dogs, which makes us sound bad I think, but the biggest thing we learned is to bury them deep enough the coyotes can't dig them up. Traumatizing lesson.

P.S. Our great pyr, 13, also has cancer. We did not anticipate him living beyond the year but here we are and he's looking better than ever. My husband started giving him CBD and turkey tail mushrooms. His tumor, which was very visible and spreading, actually got way smaller. It's crazy. He's doing way better.

And I'm posting again to weigh in on the "how to kill them" argument. So we've had lots of dog euthanized and buried them just fine. We also shot one, as we knew he needed put down before we got to the vet. I will say I think the shooting was kinder, TO THE ANIMAL. My husband is very good at putting animals down, since we do kill pigs, etc. So the dog died without any real pain or trauma, that we can tell. When we get to the vet and are informed the dog is unsavable we do have them euthanized there. If I had the choice for the dog, I'd pick shooting. Way harder on my husband though. Not that either option is easy really. It's nicer to the animal though, to not be packed up and taken somewhere where they smell suffering and strangers.

Either way, make sure you are there with them till the end, that's what matters.

Yes, I can see how that could be easier on the dog. This dog is rather shy of strangers, and going into the vet's office would definitely be hard for her.  We will just do it in the back of our SUV, outside the vet's office, with the back open. She didn't seem to mind the actual veterinarian, maybe because this vet is a woman, and she warms much more easily to women. If it's just me and her there, in the back of the SUV, it should be about as ok as it can be. All of my dogs dislike the sound of gunshots; if a neighbor is shooting a lot they will always come hang out on the porch in the hopes I will let them in. So that sound at close range... of course it would be over quickly, but I do feel like it would scare her right before she died. Maybe not, but it would just be impossible for me to do in any case.

I called the vet's office and they said they don't do a sedative, just the actual "death drug." I'm not going to worry about the contamination too much; I will bury her with lots of browns under and around her, and inoculate with some composting helpers if I can get those ready before the time comes.

She's still seeming happy, with her painkillers, and the nice little cream-cheese sandwich treats I wrap them in. Even before we had the painkillers, though, she never really acted like she was in pain, and she must have been. I don't want to keep her around if she is unhappy, but at the same time, I don't want to kill a happy dog either.

elle sagenev wrote:And I'm posting again to weigh in on the "how to kill them" argument. So we've had lots of dog euthanized and buried them just fine. We also shot one, as we knew he needed put down before we got to the vet. I will say I think the shooting was kinder, TO THE ANIMAL. My husband is very good at putting animals down, since we do kill pigs, etc. So the dog died without any real pain or trauma, that we can tell. When we get to the vet and are informed the dog is unsavable we do have them euthanized there. If I had the choice for the dog, I'd pick shooting. Way harder on my husband though. Not that either option is easy really. It's nicer to the animal though, to not be packed up and taken somewhere where they smell suffering and strangers.

Either way, make sure you are there with them till the end, that's what matters.

It's hard. It's awfully hard. I know. I will be preparing another grave before the fall.

In the grave, I add a layer of dry ash and char above the animal to mask the scent of natural processes as they take their course.

When the time comes, be at peace with the knowledge that you have made the hard choice, taken the responsibility, and done what is right for the animal. There is honour in that.

Oh yes. Not advocating either way. It was tough on my husband to shoot the dog. I wasn't present, I was with the kids. I don't know how I would have handled it and I've seen tons of things get shot. But I've had enough dogs euthanized to know that they don't quite love that. So it's totally a lose lose.

I do really appreciate you sharing your experience. It all helps. My mom always kept us kids in the house, when my dad had to shoot an animal too. It only happened a few times, but I remember every time.

I was back at the vet's today to pick up more pain-relievers, so we'd have enough to last at least a few more days. I was noticing that the vet's office is set way back from the main road, basically in the middle of a peaceful field, with scattered oak trees around. Very quiet and nice, so I think if anything can be good about this situation, the location will be.

elle sagenev wrote:Oh yes. Not advocating either way. It was tough on my husband to shoot the dog. I wasn't present, I was with the kids. I don't know how I would have handled it and I've seen tons of things get shot. But I've had enough dogs euthanized to know that they don't quite love that. So it's totally a lose lose.

I just wanted to jump back on and say that my dog too had great results, mobility and pain-wise with CBD.

While I understand what you guys are saying, just the thought of shooting one of my dogs has me ready to cry.  If one got hit by a car or something and was suffering and I knew wouldn't make it, I would do it.  And then it would haunt me forever.  I've had to shoot plenty of animals, but never my dogs.

Trace, I completely understand. It's not something that's easy to do when a companion dog is involved.

~~~Some of you may prefer not to read further. It involves a technique for euthanasia.~~~

I had to do it last year. A fine old hound was in pain, great distress, and his digestion and mobility were basically gone. Med's weren't enough. I could have waited for a week for an appointment, and carried him to the car and to the vet's office for the final chapter, but that would have been painful and stressful for him. I had to choose what was best for the animal, not for me.

We knew the day would come. One of my vets is sharp as a tack and fully versed on every modern technique, but operates a city-country practice. While it's not generally talked about, it seems there is a method of euthenasia with a .22 rifle that is considered humane. A .22 short is adequate. The round is placed in the centre of the skull, along the line of the brows above the eyes. Usually a bowl of irresitable food is placed, the animal dives in, and the round is placed at essentially contact distance. I can attest that the effect is instant; the animal is unconscious and gone. It is also very messy, since it takes a minute for the heart to stop. Be warned.

Some folks here will recoil with horror and disgust at this whole spiel. I respect your feelings. There are certain practical difficulties we face in the country, and this is one we do our best to navigate. There is no easy way.

elle sagenev wrote:P.S. Our great pyr, 13, also has cancer. We did not anticipate him living beyond the year but here we are and he's looking better than ever. My husband started giving him CBD and turkey tail mushrooms. His tumor, which was very visible and spreading, actually got way smaller. It's crazy. He's doing way better.

Somehow I missed this comment of yours until today. That is amazing! I am going to keep an eye on my other dogs, as they are all large-breed dogs that are prone to bone cancer (or so I've heard). Maybe I will start giving us all turkey-tail from time to time as a preventative. For this particular dog, the bone is already too eaten away, I think, for anything to do any good. The vet said she was surprised it wasn't already broken and it could break any time. It may well have broken in the 10 days or so since we had the x-ray.

I am sorry to hear you are going through this with your dog. It is never easy.

We have buried four dogs in the last 6 years and I have found the best way for us was to simply lay the dog's body on the ground without making a hole, then covering the body with enough earth so that nothing shows through, then a few more inches on top of that. I make sure to use earth that contains some lime in it which, from my experience, exponentially speeds up the decomposition and also makes for no decomposition odors. One of our dogs was buried in the height of summer, and still no odor.  I have found that the lime is an important component of the earth covering the body. It doesn't need much at all. The earth we used had a ratio of maybe 1:300 lime to earth, but it made all the difference.

May your dog live out the rest of her life peacefully and pain-free.

Sorry you have to go through this. All pet owners (and people) do at some point. I'm not a gun advocate but I'm pretty confident using them. I borrowed a neighbor's pistol and put down two beloved dogs and a cat when their time came. This after going through the euthanasia experience at the vet's office which I Absolutely hated. I stood out in the parking lot and cried buckets, not caring who saw me. Waiting for them to come out and tell me it was over felt like a lifetime. Vowed I would never do that again. It just felt so wrong for me not to be there when they left this world.

I just felt so much more in control and in tune with my pets' end of life experience when I did it myself. And, yes, you need to be very careful with a loaded weapon and all that emotion. Also, and I don't know this to be fact, but an anesthesiologist MD told me the pre-pills/shots for pain are hogwash. Just an extra charge. Animal is gone even before pain pill/shot kicks in and the other treatment kicks in without pain. Husband couldn't be anywhere near when I did it but did help with burial. This will sound callous, but a tip for you. Even with a small animal it is astonishing how heavy your animal feels when it is lifeless. So, you need to have that hole dug already if you are doing it at home with a gun.

I cringe when I think back on the vet experience. Not that they weren't good people, it was just such a bad experience for me. Such an incredible feeling of helplessness.  I look back with love and comfort on the experience of those I put down myself. Knowing I was with them at literally their last breath, being able to say goodbye in a good way and knowing I was helping a much loved pet out of their pain instantly made it worth it. Pulling that trigger is a hard thing to do and a sobering experience. But I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

You mention yard, so I'm assuming you aren't out in the countryside. Really check out local regulations on inground pet burial. You don't want a neighbor turning you in. In fact, I wouldn't tell anyone because people just don't get that. No offense to anyone who has done this, I think pet cemeteries and pet cremations are ridiculous. But that's me.  As well (at least in California), you are supposed to declare this burial when you sell your property. Thought we would live on our countryside slice of heaven forever, but life changes sometimes. We went through a rapid sale and closing. Then we packed up the last of our stuff and set out on a 9 state cross-country move to the East Coast. At about Wyoming, when my mind finally had time to process it all, I went OH %$*$! We had read the fine print well, but I'm sure under some vague wording there was a paragraph or sentence area where we were supposed to declare the burials. Since I knew the trust fund babies who had bought our property would be doing fancy landscaping right away, we waited for the indignant call from them or their landscape folks. Not a word, so guess we went deep enough, which is also a good tip for you as well.

Best of luck, you have my heartfelt sympathy.

Molly Gordon wrote:Sorry you have to go through this. All pet owners (and people) do at some point. I'm not a gun advocate but I'm pretty confident using them. I borrowed a neighbor's pistol and put down two beloved dogs and a cat when their time came. This after going through the euthanasia experience at the vet's office which I Absolutely hated. I stood out in the parking lot and cried buckets, not caring who saw me. Waiting for them to come out and tell me it was over felt like a lifetime. Vowed I would never do that again. It just felt so wrong for me not to be there when they left this world.

I just felt so much more in control and in tune with my pets' end of life experience when I did it myself. And, yes, you need to be very careful with a loaded weapon and all that emotion. Also, and I don't know this to be fact, but an anesthesiologist MD told me the pre-pills/shots for pain are hogwash. Just an extra charge. Animal is gone even before pain pill/shot kicks in and the other treatment kicks in without pain. Husband couldn't be anywhere near when I did it but did help with burial. This will sound callous, but a tip for you. Even with a small animal it is astonishing how heavy your animal feels when it is lifeless. So, you need to have that hole dug already if you are doing it at home with a gun.

I cringe when I think back on the vet experience. Not that they weren't good people, it was just such a bad experience for me. Such an incredible feeling of helplessness.  I look back with love and comfort on the experience of those I put down myself. Knowing I was with them at literally their last breath, being able to say goodbye in a good way and knowing I was helping a much loved pet out of their pain instantly made it worth it. Pulling that trigger is a hard thing to do and a sobering experience. But I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

You mention yard, so I'm assuming you aren't out in the countryside. Really check out local regulations on inground pet burial. You don't want a neighbor turning you in. In fact, I wouldn't tell anyone because people just don't get that. No offense to anyone who has done this, I think pet cemeteries and pet cremations are ridiculous. But that's me.  As well (at least in California), you are supposed to declare this burial when you sell your property. Thought we would live on our countryside slice of heaven forever, but life changes sometimes. We went through a rapid sale and closing. Then we packed up the last of our stuff and set out on a 9 state cross-country move to the East Coast. At about Wyoming, when my mind finally had time to process it all, I went OH %$*$! We had read the fine print well, but I'm sure under some vague wording there was a paragraph or sentence area where we were supposed to declare the burials. Since I knew the trust fund babies who had bought our property would be doing fancy landscaping right away, we waited for the indignant call from them or their landscape folks. Not a word, so guess we went deep enough, which is also a good tip for you as well.

Best of luck, you have my heartfelt sympathy.

I ended up putting her down on Friday afternoon. If I had had to bring her inside the vet's office, and especially if I couldn't be there with her, I would have looked for other options. That sounds awful. As it was, our vet's office is out in the country, set waaay back from the highway, basically in the middle of a nice, tree-dotted field with nothing else around. I opened up the back hatch of our SUV and sat with her for 15-20 minutes while we waited for the vet and her assistant to come out and give her the injection. I was able to pet, hug her and talk to her the whole time. They gave her an overdose of anesthesia, and she very quickly got very sleepy, laid her head down on her paws, and went to sleep, and then she was gone.

It was as ok as it possibly could have been, but it was still HARD. It's not so much the loss of her, though I do miss her, but more the weight of the responsibility of that decision, of deciding when it was time for her to go. She loved us so much, just loved being with us; her humans, her animal friends, her home, all of it, and it was so hard to make that decision that it was time. I chose to do it Friday because I was afraid her pain would get much worse over the weekend when the vet would be closed. I don't feel she would have chosen to go at that time, if I could have asked her, definitely not. But the other option was waiting until her pain was so bad that she WANTED to die, and that didn't seem like a good option either. I just thought the decision would be easier, more obvious, but it wasn't. I cried a lot; before, during, and especially after. I got into the driver's seat after (thankfully with the windows all shut, so no one could hear me) and just sobbed like a little kid. I don't remember the last time I cried like that. I say all this because I guess I was just really surprised what a sharp, intense experience it was.

Anyway, as it turned out, burying her body was the easy part. I had dug the hole a few days before, and had put a folded blanket in the back of the SUV for her comfort, which ended up being extremely lucky, because my husband and I were able to use it to lift her body out, like a hammock, to put it into the grave. We actually do live out in the country, on unrestricted land where you can do just about anything you want. Our yard is 2 1/2 fenced acres, bordered by another acre of goat pasture across the back. It's a big yard, but I still consider it a yard for some reason.

Anyway, thank you very much to everyone that commented.

I'm sorry, Lila. Your dog was lucky to have someone so concerned about her suffering. Thank you for keeping us posted and for talking about this difficult issue (I've been following because I have a senior dog with bad hips- his pain is under control for now but I know it won't always be. I dread that day but I also want to do right by him, like you did.).

If this hadn't kind of come out of nowhere for us and been so advanced, I would maybe try CBD. That might help your dog? I truly wish you all the best. It's hard being the "responsible adult" in this situation.

Tereza Okava wrote:I'm sorry, Lila. Your dog was lucky to have someone so concerned about her suffering. Thank you for keeping us posted and for talking about this difficult issue (I've been following because I have a senior dog with bad hips- his pain is under control for now but I know it won't always be. I dread that day but I also want to do right by him, like you did.).

Lila,

It sounds like you made the right decisions for you and your dog. In these types of situations, sooner by a day or two is way better than later. When we had to put our Danes or cats down, we were always there with them, and both my husband and I were in tears throughout the process. But the passing was peaceful for our pets and that was the most important consideration. It sometimes surprises me that I still feel so strongly about our pets dying, but I wouldn't trade it for not feeling anything. Grieving is ok.