putting old dog to sleep

[Shannon Nelson]

Pardon my nitpicking, but...
Is there any arsenicum tioxide *in* Arsenicum 1M?
Or is the effect of it an energetic one, rather than chemical?

(No this isn't a real question...)

[John Harvey]

No, it's a fair question, but I don't see why it arises in this case. What have I said here that's confusing?

Cheers!

John

[Shannon Nelson]

Oops, my bad...
When she said she did it chemically, you assumed she'd meant *crude* arsenic.
My fingers got ahead of my brain on that one.

[John Harvey]

It looked that way to me, yes. Never mind; I think we've sorted it out now.

Cheers!

John
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"The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience. It would be easy, however, to destroy that good conscience by shouting to them: if you want the happiness of the people, let them speak out and tell what kind of happiness they want and what kind they don't want!"

-- Albert Camus, Resistance, Rebellion, and Death.

[Liz Brynin]

I had almost exactly the same experience when my beloved cat died a few years back - he had feline leukaemia, so simply wasted away. The vet assured me he wouldn't suffer, and encouraged me to make the journey with him. And he didn't suffer, just got more and more tired and slept all day on a chair by the radiator (he was very cold) except when I picked him up for a cuddle or to let him use the litter tray. In the end, I didn't even do that. as he became incontinent. But when I came home from work each day and went to see how he was, he always made a little noise "bbbrrup" to let me know he was aware of my presence, even if he was too weak to lift his head. The last few days we put him into a cardboard box for a feeling of security, with a padded bed of towels so that we could change them and keep him dry. I would go into the spare room where we had put him each morning, holding my breath, wondering whether he had died in the night.
The only remedy I was using was Rescue Remedy and the occasional dose of Phos 10m (his constitutional). Then I found him one morning, crawled out of his box, under the nearby bed, Cheyne Stokes breathing, flat on his belly, with all paws extended - he had struggled out to die - maybe to hide under the bed as he felt the end approach.
All I could do was stroke him and talk to him - I rubbed some Phos 10M onto his ear and told him it was all right to fly away with the birds (which he had always loved to watch). Immediately, he gave one more huge breath and was gone. It was all very peaceful.
So if your dog isn't suffering, why don't you just go with it? It is amazing to be with them until the end - a lovely proof of your love - and far better than just having an animal put to sleep, which I have done also, when one of my cats had a tumour and was in visible pain. In that case, it was the best solution, but very hard.
Liz

[Teresa Kramer]

Thank you, Liz! I so appreciate hearing someone else’s experience. We recently made that decision (without benefit of a vet’s opinion so we were quite nervous) with our elderly cat. It was painfully slow to me but she did not seem to suffer. Toward the end, several times she made the chirping sound she had always used when carrying her “kitten” (stuffed kitten) and looking for a good place to put him. I hope she was dreaming of a happy life to come. Teresa (Northern VA)
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From: minutus@yahoogroups.com [mailto:minutus@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Liz Brynin
Sent: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 3:29 AM
To: minutus@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Minutus] putting old dog to sleep


I had almost exactly the same experience when my beloved cat died a few years back - he had feline leukaemia, so simply wasted away. The vet assured me he wouldn't suffer, and encouraged me to make the journey with him. And he didn't suffer, just got more and more tired and slept all day on a chair by the radiator (he was very cold) except when I picked him up for a cuddle or to let him use the litter tray. In the end, I didn't even do that. as he became incontinent. But when I came home from work each day and went to see how he was, he always made a little noise "bbbrrup" to let me know he was aware of my presence, even if he was too weak to lift his head. The last few days we put him into a cardboard box for a feeling of security, with a padded bed of towels so that we could change them and keep him dry. I would go into the spare room where we had put him each morning, holding my breath, wondering whether he had died in the night.
The only remedy I was using was Rescue Remedy and the occasional dose of Phos 10m (his constitutional). Then I found him one morning, crawled out of his box, under the nearby bed, Cheyne Stokes breathing, flat on his belly, with all paws extended - he had struggled out to die - maybe to hide under the bed as he felt the end approach.
All I could do was stroke him and talk to him - I rubbed some Phos 10M onto his ear and told him it was all right to fly away with the birds (which he had always loved to watch). Immediately, he gave one more huge breath and was gone. It was all very peaceful.
So if your dog isn't suffering, why don't you just go with it? It is amazing to be with them until the end - a lovely proof of your love - and far better than just having an animal put to sleep, which I have done also, when one of my cats had a tumour and was in visible pain. In that case, it was the best solution, but very hard.
Liz

[Priscilla Tan]

Thank you all who have responded.
We will discuss and decide what is the best for him...it's still holding on maybe because he is waiting and wanting to see my other brother (who is currently working abroad but coming back in March) whom he was very close to..

Hopefully, he will leave in peace after he sees him for the last time.
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[Liz Brynin]

That's a lovely story. My cat also 'hung around' after he'd gone - I would hear the cat flap go, and then from the corner of my eye I would see a shape skidaddle past me - when I turned my head, it would disappear. It happened so often that I thought I was going a bit crazy, until someone told me that they hang around until you no longer need them to be there.
Finally, I got two more cats, a brother and sister from the RSPCA rescue centre, and the 'visits' stopped after a while, although interestingly, not immediately.
Liz
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[Priscilla Tan]

Hi Liz,
Re: your cat 'hanging around' after death gives me a bit of a spook

I wonder how one would explain it scientifically?? Maybe animals do have souls??
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[Tanya Marquette]

Well, don't you think cats/dogs are sentient beings? Not humans, but beings with feelings
and perceptions, likes and dislikes, and loyalites. Cats in particular, I have come to learn,
have a very caring and caretaking attitude toward their humans. I used to call my deceased
19 yr old my spoiled teenage brat. However, I learned late in the game that she hung around
me until she felt I didn't need her and then she would go elsewhere. This was not the self-centered
behavior of many teens, but the act of a really caring being.
tanya
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