All living things die, of course. It’s natural. Maybe the most natural thing in the world. I think if you take life as a miracle and death as inevitable then you have a healthy approach. Your question of when is it time relates. It sounds like you’re really asking when is the best time for the dog. Most people operate on the level of…when is it most convenient for me? I used to think that looking at it from the dog’s perspective was right…like asking the dog if they want another day, week, etc. or to just go now and be done with it. But I realized that I was still looking at it as a human. Dogs don’t plan ahead. They just take days as they come, as an endless stream, until they’re asleep, permanently. So I think that if you asked a dog if they wanted to go today or later they would give you that little head twist that means…what you talkin’ bout Willis? A dog doesn’t have a problem wandering around outside, having forgotten why she came out. But if she’s not eating or drinking it’s kind of like the hospice routine. The body can’t be sustained that way and they’re already on that final path. That’s the point at which I’d think it was the time. In hospice care people are given drugs to alleviate pain, suffering, etc. Dogs don’t get that kind of care so in order to prevent physical suffering I would intervene…like you are doing.
A question of equal importance, in a way, is what to do to support the one that’s left behind…if there still is one there. It can be very traumatic for a dog. Replacing the one that’s gone might be a consideration. But surely more activity, places where he might be around others of his kind. You might find he “adopts” a different species animal as a replacement buddy. That would be healthy…so long as it’s not a Rhino or a Giraffe that wants to live inside.
In any event, regrets for you all. Time will heal.
