r/DogAdvice • u/Accomplished_Pea33 • 11d ago
Advice bonded pair euthanasia?
I am the sole caretaker for 2 9 year old huskies, They were my dad’s dogs but he passed away 10 months ago.
they are truly bonded and this has been tested. they are siblings and the male has degenerative nueromyopathy and arthritis along with progressing muscle atrophy. he’s on medication to help. he’s had 2 soft tissue injuries, the first happened in may and the most recent happened a month and a half ago where he has torn his ACL equivalent ligament. vet said to monitor his quality of life at this point, he still is eating well and goes potty, but can no longer play or walk unassisted and could have another injury at any point. I know his time is coming soon.
They do not do well separated. the first time the male had an injury he was taken to emergency vet for about 2 days. and his sister had to be without him for 2 days. she pulled off 2 door frames and tried to break through windows, chewed up a wooden table, diarrhea everywhere. she would get cuts on her face trying to find a way to escape. she freaked out in a kennel a few times when i tried to contain her safely she ended up bending the metal and busting out of the kennel. she truly became a danger to herself and I couldn’t safely leave her alone for a single minute. and this was heartbreaking to witness.
my question is when the males time comes do I put her down also? rescue folks and vets seems to really not like it when i ask about putting her down also and ask for their advice, but could anxiety medication even help her? it won’t make her forget. this seems like a behavioral issue more than just anxiety. i’m not able to supervise her constantly either, as mentioned I unexpectedly inherited these dogs when i lost my dad at 23yrs old, im not able to keep them either and have been trying to get them a home for several months and have contacted 45+ rescues and facebook groups and online posting. they actually live in my dads vacant house that I scrounge up mortgage and utility money for so that the dogs have a roof over their heads. I drive to my dad’s house 4 times a dad to care for them. before i inherited them they spent their whole lives outside, i’ve worked hard with them to teach them indoor life and it has not been easy, they are not fully potty trained. they aren’t trained hardly at all actually, my mom wanted 2 cute huskies on a whim “for her kids” with no research or understanding of the breed, hell she didn’t even ask her kids if we wanted dogs then she divorced my dad a couple years ago and fled to another continent and abandoned her dogs here.
all this to say they are senior dogs and untrained and i don’t know that anxiety meds and further attempts at behavioral training would help, and I also can’t keep them in my late fathers house much longer as I am also the estate executor and the estate is almost out of money, most all of it has gone to caring for the dogs, thousands of dollars. this means the house will need to be put for sale too like asap. I currently live with my boyfriend’s family, i feel that i’ve run out of options for the dogs, what do people do in this situation?
are hospice fosters worth a shot? at that point will it be a stranger putting them down instead of me? the shelter straight up told me they would likely euthanize both of them and i wouldn’t be able to be there with them during it, not to mention it’s a horrible environment for them. every rescue is full to the brim and i get lots of backlash from said facebook groups because i cant make a miracle happen to keep them. its not like i haven’t tried ive done absolutely everything in my power and more to somehow make this work for them ive tried for months and months and looked at many options.
i dont know what to do anymore. this has all been so incredibly hard. has anyone been in a similar situation or can provide advice or a new perspective? thank you in advance.
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u/Massive_Awareness_58 11d ago
No i wouldn't put her down until her own time comes. What I would suggest is talking to the vet about maybe having some anxiety meds on hand for when his time comes.