Not a happy subject I’m sorry you don’t have to read this if you don’t want to.
To give you a little background, my Golden Retriever is now 13 years old. She was born with early-onset arthritis in one of her hind legs, and we always knew the end would be difficult. For the past year, she’s been living with a leg that’s practically useless and has struggled to move around. My parents have always done everything they could to ensure she could continue living as well as possible despite her disability. My mother came to see me in my room this weekend to tell me that they’ve decided to have my dog euthanized this week. They don’t know exactly when they’ll go yet, but they know they can’t let her live like this anymore. The vet has always warned us to make sure flies don’t swarm around her, because that would mean they’re starting to lay eggs in the open wound that her disabled leg has become. I feel powerless in the face of death, and it terrifies and saddens me. I still have a choice: to decide to accompany her through her final crawling steps to the euthanasia appointment with my parents, or to let my parents go without me. They seem ready, but I’m not. I’m a young adult and don’t know what to do in this situation. My dog has been with me since I was 8 years old and has always been part of my life, near or far. Over time, I naively came to believe she would always be there, and I haven’t necessarily been a constant presence in her life.
This is a very delicate situation, and my decision may not be influenced by the responses I receive to this post. Just know that I haven’t made up my mind yet, and even if this post doesn’t lead to anything, at least it will have allowed me to confide in someone about this issue that’s been weighing on my mind for the past few days.