14 replies to this topic

[Apparelyzed]

This will either make you laugh, or make you angry!

Britain is a nation of animal lovers. But how far are owners prepared to go when their pets develop special needs?

From parrots on anti-depressants, to paralysed rabbits in wheelchairs, this one-hour film from the Cutting Edge strand follows a number of owners striving to come to terms with their beloved pets' disabilities.

Searching for treatments in a bid to not have them put down, owners often seem prepared to try anything – from false limbs for their Jack Russell to hormone implants for their sexually disturbed birds.

http://www.channel4....pets/index.html

[Hoanui]

Yep, will be watching

[silone74]

I saw the advert for this and i was laughing when the dog was stuck on its back i couldn't help it.



Silone74

[Lucydog]

I will be watching this. Although its sort of funny, any pet lover knows how heart breaking it is to lose one. My mum has a habit of letting her dogs go on too long, which I understand 'cos shes on her own and they are her best friends, but as a result IVe vowed never to let mine go on longer than they should. Ive made that heartbreaking deciision 4 times now and it gets no easier.

[StellaLAtella]

I've been faced with that terrible decision several times in the past. It really does not get easier.....Lucy nailed it. But there are people like myself who do not have children and are otherwise alone and our pet is our companion. I would do some things within reason to extend my pet's life, provided that it doesn't jeopardize the pet's comfort. It's not just about the money, I've paid over $4K to save one of my dog's life........even when I didn't have the money, I just did without other extravagances at the time. It's a fine line between saving a life and extending a life of a pet.


This past March, my little mini dachshund was diagnosed with aggressive lymphoma. The vet said that I could do chemotherapy, but it wouldn't change the ultimate outcome which was certain death for this dog. I had 4 weeks to the day from the diagnosis of my dog's cancer & I tried to make the most of every day. It was a fast four weeks in that I knew that one day soon he would die. This was a 3 year old, otherwise healthy, active dog. Looking back, I can't say I would have done anything different. I would not have even opted for chemotherapy for him. I wouldn't do that for myself.


You really do have to make the determination of whether you are helping or harming your pet. I know that eventually, they all die. It cannot be avoided, it's just a part of life. It is the most unselfish decision to end your pet's life in a humane manner rather than keep it around because you can't deal with the inevitability of death. Right before Halloween, I judged a costume contest where the winner was a dachshund who was paralyzed. Its' guardian had bought a specially made wheelchair for him.
Maybe some of you saw his photo. I'll add it here, if I can find it again. I know every situation is different. And it can be a tough decision to make.
~Stella

P. S. Wish I could catch that programme!

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[cate]

I agree it is a horrible decision to make, and every case is different. I have always had German Shepherds, and in all of them but one I have had to decided when the time is right. you always wonder did I make the decision to soon, or in some cases did I not make it soon enough. and as Stella has said they may be your companion that means so much to you, In March of this year my daughter had to make that same decision for her Germany Shepherd who had been her companion for 10 years, she also lives alone, so seemed to be a big loss,
She has now decided the time is right again for her to have another dog, so she is going to rescue one, it will have a loving home, her step father and I do the exercising mainly, but she will train and work her in her garden.
When she made the decision that she should let her dog go, she was feeling very guilty, had she made the decision to soon , could they have operated on her and maybe saved her, but the time had come to be strong, and the vets at the hospital in Cambridge, said afterwards that she had made the correct decision, but they try not to tell you, They want you to make the choice, Very hard it depends on the quality of there life and if there is pain etc.
Cate

[wheeliebear75]

Well I have seen a dog who was very happy.....couldn't wag it's tail or move it's hind legs....but it was still obviously still a very happy dog, I'm sure THAT dog is very happy and would be even happier to know what could have happened didn't. ;) But on the other side of that is the fact that I'm glad I'm a human and not a pet......my mom never even entertained the thought of "putting me to sleep". I hope it will be rebroadcast or else if someone finds it on the web in it's entirety let me know.

[Trinity]

The little Jack Russell in her little wheelchair was so cute, it obviously made a huge difference to her quality of life as she looked so happy running around strapped into her little chair! This wasn't an old dog and it was admirable the lengths the owners went to to help her.

When the alternative is to put an animal down then I can understand why some people go to such lengths. Although knowing when enough is enough is also important.

The depressed parrot also had quite a personality after the drugs kicked in.

For anyone who missed it you can watch it at channel4.com however i suspect that it won't stream outside of the uk

[megatrig]

Just saw the post!

Why own a Dachshund??

It will inevitably develop problems due to build!

Deep Sigh!

The real problem is "designer" breeding of dogs!!

Also people owning Parrots, etc because they are "pretty" ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

So .. So .. So wrong!

Dogs, cats, horses .. a few others are able to fit into the human environment!

Especially Dogs and cats! !5,000 years of domestication for dogs. 1500 for cats. They will fit in.

So so cruel to do it to "wild" birds though! As in Parrots!!

God I'm angry!

[mikeC5/6]

I think longer than 1500 for cats.. The egyptians had them too!

[china]

I had to make the heartbreaking decision just two weeks ago, my kittens wre out playing when one of them came in walked passed me in the kitchen and lay on the floor.

I noticed he was bleeding, someone had pulled his tail so hard that there was only a little left attached.

We rushed him to the vets where she said they didn't know if they could save him as his compleate backend was torn.

They took him in and opperated but there was too much damage and he would be in pain.

The vet wouldn't tell me what to do but i couldn't let him suffer so had him put to sleep.

I am missing him like crazy so is his brother, sisters and mum .wish that i could turn back the clock and have found a way to keep him.

Maybe it was living with someone who suffers every day that told me it was the best thing to do

I couldn't watch the program as i'm too soppy and would have ended up crying


maria

[silone74]

I watched the program and was in 2 minds about a few of the animals the parrots as said in the program only have the mental issues due to the fact they are kept as pets and not like dogs or cats have been domesticated for years, I thought the terrier was great and it was happier to be able to move without falling over i feel that the women with the rabbit was abit wrong with the statement about us not putting humans down just because we may be disabled so why do it to an animal, acting as though there pet rabbit has the same feelings as humans? but if thats what they want to spend there money on so be it let them get on with it i would not keep my dogs alive if the had an injury the same as me not because i dont love them but because i do love them and it is hard enough for me to deal with how i live and i understand what has happened so i feel that would be best for for my pets.



Silone74

Edited by silone74, 21 November 2008 - 09:02 PM.

[dancin' johnny]

Bunny with Spasms


Or is it incomplete?

The comments are a bit juicy!

[Slowlegs]

We have only had to make that decision for just one of our pets, a dog. He had a heart attack in the back of the car one day (he was 21) and when we got to the vets there was nothing they could do. I spent $11000 on one of my two previous dogs and $4000 on his brother. They died just a month to the day apart of the same thing.
It is up to each individual pet owner and depends on the animal. The thing is to choose a competent (and compassionate) vet who will remind you when he or she thinks it is time to put the animal down. My sister has spent over $30000 on her 17 year old dog and chooses to do that and drives around in an old rusty $500 car. He has had half a lung removed, has pancreatitis, cushings disease and currently has cancer for which he is receiving chemotherapy. The vet is a specialist and my sister often wonders if she is doing the right thing.
She knows (and the vet tells her they are amazed by him) when each time he comes out of the vets he jumps up, wags his tail and runs around the vet clinic all happy to see her. He usually pulls all of his plasters they put on after his drips are removed before even getting out of the vets carpark. I think it should all depend on the quality of life the pet experiences, other than available finances the quality of life the pet experiences should be the only consideration.

[sits2much]

I have four pets now, two 4 year old cats (Gidget and Oaklie we found as abandoned kittens within months of each other) and two dogs (Griffin not yet a year old weimaraner and Ellie Rose a 5 year old sheltie.) Gidget is our special cat, she has 7 toes on both of her front paws. It is a birth defect that we could have had corrected but it didn't seem necessary since it doesn't cause her any pain and she is not debilitated from it. If that becomes the case in the future than we would have it corrected. I was told a 7 toed cat brings good luck, so we have two times more luck now. Ellie Rose and I went through training and she is now my service animal, Griffin and I will be going to classes soon so he can become a therapy dog. They are as much a part of my family as us humans are and I treat them as if they were human. People don't give animals enough credit when it comes to how smart they are. I would not say they have an IQ of 180 but they sure know what I am saying to them, and I am not just talking about my dogs.

I am sure that one day I will have to make a difficult decision in each of there lives, I would go to any means to help them live a longer happy life. I do know that at some point it is time for them to leave this world and I don't want to prolong that if it means them suffering. So as long as I can make there stay here a happy one then I am all in, that is if my bank will allow it. I would exhaust all my financial means just as I would do for my kids, but they don't the same benefits as humans do. They so have some good pet insurance out there now though, which helps with those big vet bills our animals can rack up. It can sometimes come down to how much you can afford to do for your pet, which is sometimes hard to swallow when faced with a huge decision.

I love animals and think they bring so much fulfillment to me and my family, they are like kids each having there own quirky personalities and temperaments. I just could not image life with out them.

Cheers to all you animal lovers out there!