Dog's do not belong on wheels?

[bodie]

I had a row with my brother recently,  in the park.  It was over a dog.  Details are:
Old lady walks through the park every day with her dog.  An old Pekingese. We are both regulars in the park at that time of day and acknowledge each other with a smile or a nod or an occasional quip about the weather.   A few weeks ago, i had my brother with me as he was kicking a ball about with the urchin (a skill i have not mastered)  old lady passes by,  but she has her dog on wheels!  Fuck knows what the correct terminology is for this contraption but the dogs back legs were on a board several inches above the ground and below it were two maybe pram sized wheels.  It was a ridiculous sight.  It was using its two front legs as normal. 

I had a bit of a row with my brother because he thought i should go and tell this old lady to go and have her dog put to sleep.  He didn't say  dog actually,  he said 'cunt licking lap rat' which is what he thinks of 'companion breeds'.   I knew her dog was old and it had been struggling for ages. What  I didn't know, however, was if it was suffering or not?,  or how he felt about his back wheels.  I did not want to tell her to put her pet to sleep,  and i didn't.  Hey! it's not my business!

Well i was wrong.  And he was right.  As much as i hate to admit it.  I saw her earlier  .  Her dog is worse.  It's breathing is very laboured yet she insists on having him manoeuvre across the park for some fresh air. I studied the animal closely for the first time today.  I knew it was old -  but it is fucking ancient.  I was appalled by the scratches and scabs on its back end, and from the smell of it,  it is obvious the poor fucker has been 'resting'  it's back legs in his own pee.  If his back legs were barely functional before his wheels came along i reckon they are truly fucked now!   It also has a problem with it's eyes,  they are gunked up with snot.  I could have cried.

I decided to ask her about the wheel thing,  and she said her 'vet' had supplied it.  I said something about her dog struggling and she just flippantly said something like how happy he is when he gets home and lies by the fire beside her.

I said nothing else.  I regret that.  She might be spending many a happy evening thinking of old times with her dog,  but her dog sure as hell isn't.  Dogs are intelligent but their brains are not constructed to hold 'treasured memories' as such.  They remember things, sure,  but only if prompted or reminded.  Dogs live 'in the moment' and if all it knows is pain and suffering then it is time.  I don't care if you are 'ready' or 'upto' it.  Don't have a dog unless you can do this final thing for them.  I have cried rivers, i have photo albums i just can't 'open' and a stereophonics album i can't even listen to because it brings me to tears over the dogs i have lost.  I have never been 'ready' and no, there is never a good time.  There is only the right time.

I am going to go to the park every day to try and see this lady again.  I just don't know what to say to her?  I hate bizzybodies,  but i can't stop thinking about this poor dog.   Obviously the lady herself is lonely and i don't want to give her grief,  but something needs to be done. 

The dog is beyond 'dead' and she clearly is keeping it alive because she can't bear to say 'goodbye'.

I am in Disturbia, and i can't find the exit.

[Adam]

fucked up situation. I wouldn't know what to say there either. It's not right though, no. We had to put Flo to sleep in 2010 and it was fucking awful
 (she was nearly 14 and I'd had her since I was 8 years old, we were really close). But you ahve to do what's right for them. Not what makes you feel better yourself. It sounds very selfish

[Adam]

I know there are dogs (and other animals) who are disabled and the wheel thigns work for them - they can still have a good quality of live and be happy etc. But when it's just to prolong the life of a very old dog who , by the sounds of it, is in very bad health, it is just wrong

[bodie]

I have not been able to eat my dinner.   

It yelps every now and then too.  I would say that when it isn't in actual pain it is probably at the very least uncomfortable,  unless it is sleeping.

[Pyraxis]

Dunno what to say. Sometimes you just have to watch it happen because it's all you can do. The consequences of interfering are worse.

(Unless you think you could get her to understand, but from what you've said here, it sounds like not.)

[earthboundmisfit]

Is there a U.K. version of the ASPCA?

[Adam]

yeh there's the RSPCA. I dunno if contacting them would get very far though as it isn't obvious deliberate abuse. You'd hope that they would still investigate though?

But then if a vet actually gave her the thing (recently) and she's telling the truth, then it's unlikely they'd overrule that.

I'm not sure. I also think this may be something you can do nothing about bodi. But I hope you can. I just dunno how. You could try the RSPCA or even ask the local vet

[Callaway]

I don't have a problem with wheelchairs for dogs if it improves their quality of life.  Sometimes the problem could just be with their hips and the dog could be healthy otherwise.

However, if the dog is in a lot of pain then she needs to ask herself if she's doing this for her dog or for herself because of how much she would miss him.

[bodie]

I agree and i don't have a real problem with the wheels,  if it was just a rear leg problem and would give the dog mobility to enjoy a good quality of life.   That is my problem -  it's the quality of life it doesn't have.  It has gone downhill fast within a few weeks.  I hate to think of it suffering.

I think vets are often unscrupulous bastards when it comes to money!  I wouldn't be surprised if they are not just rinsing her,  but i doubt they have seen it the last couple of weeks because even though they can be money grabing sods, i doubt any vet in the land would allow things to continue in this way.

I thought about the RSPCA.  I really considered it.  I am sure they would investigate but i don't have the right to do that,  as it is not 'wilful neglect'.  It would also be very distressing for her and her dog, if they took it away,  and i wouldn't want to put the dog through that.  Too traumatic.  They have obviously been together for years, and there is undoubtedly much affection between them.

It is a very tricky one, as its a fine line line between being an interfering bizzybody and doing the right thing.   I think i will try and talk to her again,  i guess i could offer her transport to the vet as i doubt she has any.  I wouldn't want her to be alone anyway.  Poor old dear -  i don't think she realises at all.

I have to try, anyway,  as it is affecting my appetite and my sleep

[renaeden]

Geez, that sounds terrible. It does sound like there are a lot more problems for the dog than just its back legs too. I wonder what the vets have done about those. Plus there is probably medicine the lady should be giving to the dog too, to treat its eyes and skin.

We could have had the wheels thing done for our cat who was bitten through the spine by the next door dog which had gotten out of its yard. But there would have been very low quality of life for the cat as he had no control over his back end, he was a paraplegic essentially. So we had him put down. One of the saddest days of my life as he was such a young and funny cat, our family loved him. When I last saw him, he seemed really happy to see me which made it all harder. I was about 11 at the time.

I just hope the lady sees that she has to do what is best for the dog, not just what she sees as better for her.

['andersom']

Sometimes people can't let go.
A woman in the streets I roamed as a postie had to be really pushed by the vet and her family to let her little dog go. The critter was anything but dead, and, yes, happy, a few moments a day, but really miserable and incontinent most of the time. That woman did everything for her doggy, cleaning the critter, and her house, many times a day. She took good care of it, but, it was not beneficial to the dog any more.
Vets may be after the money, but, in a lot of cases, they probably can not handle the sorrow of the owner. Or, the owner gets a solution for a while, knowing it is the last thing the vet can do, and they don't dare going back to the vet after that. They will know the vet only will have one solution. And, they don't want to miss their loved pet, and, will probably project their emotions on the pet, thinking the pet is not yet ready to miss them either.

[bodie]

That is a good explanation Hyke.   I know the heartache very well.  Losing a pet is a biggie.  Bigger for some.   I have said many times 'never again' while sobbing my heart out.   I always do.  I am a fool,  but i will die a fool that has had many happy hours goofing around and having a ball with my dogs.  The grief is worth those times.

But i am not a lonely old lady (well..erm..debatable i guess) and i can't imagine how that lady will be feeling.  I see why she is putting it off,  but it is still wrong.  I haven't seen her for two days.

['andersom']

Lets hope you saw her walking her dog the last time as a farewell walk.

Having to let go of a pet is a big thing indeed, but, a pet should not be suffering on behalf of their human. Suffering on the way of getting well is something else. But, suffering because of postponing the end, no, not good.

I'm glad that the cat I had to let put down a couple of years ago did not suffer for more than a few hours. I would have felt, and I would have been guilty, if I had made him carry on for my sake. Now, I was just really sad, but knowing it was the best for him.

[Al Swearegen]

I dunno. Someone else's pet i guess? Someone else's problem?