Q.  We have an old Brittany Spaniel who is fourteen years old.  She is a good dog and was used for hunting until she was twelve.  She now has arthritis so bad it is hard for her to get up or climb stairs.  We think she is also going blind and does not hear well.  I'm looking for advice on what to do for her.  What is your opinion on when to end an old dog's suffering?  Jim H.  Chicago, Illinois.

 

A.  There comes a time in all dog owners lives when we are faced with the problem of an aging dog.  I tell puppy buyers to cherish the puppy years and take plenty of pictures.  It won't be long before your pup is a grey faced old timer nearing the end of their life.  Anyone who owns dogs has been through it.  Old age brings the harsh realities of life that your hunting dogs will only live ten, twelve or maybe fourteen years. One of the hardest decisions you will have to make is when to put the old timer down.  There is no set program or procedure for doing this but you must always keep in mind what is best for the dog.  Not what is best for you, what is best for the dog.  Tough?  You bet.  Heart breaking?  It better be.  Or you don't have a heart.  But an old dog who can't walk, is blind or deaf, or in constant pain?  You owe it to that loyal companion/servant/friend to take them out of their misery and give them a dignified death.  I have owned over two hundred dogs.  The ones who were good enough to live their life in my kennels, died in my arms.  I helped them to pass on to a place with no pain, no disease or old age.  I held them as the injection was administered.  I talked to them to reassure them that I was there as I felt the life slowly slip away.  And then I cried.  I have seen dogs suffering with maladies who were owned by someone who couldn't take care of them.  Who couldn't bring themselves to help the dog to pass on.  In the wild that dog would have already died a terrible death.  Don't let them suffer because you do not have the strength.  Come to the rescue if your dog is living in constant pain.  I believe that dogs go to heaven too.  And that I'll be with them again if I make it.