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Quality of Life vs Euthanasia

3K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  JoanneF 
My heart hurts for you, and I don't really know the answer.

Quite a few years ago I watched a documentary and in it was a woman with dementia. She spent her days seemingly oblivious to her surroundings, she didn't respond to her husband, she didn't respond to her name. She circled round her room endlessly, stopping to look out at the window briefly, stopping at her bed, sometimes keening quietly, sometimes seeming to talk gibberish to herself. My father also passed from dementia, but by the end he lacked the ability to move, to speak, to comprehend.

I, personally, would not want to live like either of those two people, even for a short while. Legally and morally, I may not be able to make the decision to euthanize another human, but I think as my dog's caretaker, I do have that right, even obligation. If there is no longer a connection to who or what one loves, no comprehension of one's surroundings, than to me that is not a live worth living, for me or for my dogs.

I can't say what the answer is for your Rusty, only you know how much he's still 'there' with you. Don't beat yourself up, whichever way you decide to go. It's far more important that you remember and rejoice in the 17 good years you had together.
 
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