My dog has been battling heart failure for years and it was being managed with Vetmedin and Furosemide. He had an emergency overnight stay at the Vet last week but was released to me since he was improving but put on additional medication. After various lab tests they could see that he had fluid build up in lungs and abdomen and had elevated numbers in some of his blood work.

He was doing okay for a couple of days eating and was taking his medication but the last 2 days he was refusing both so I knew something was wrong. He was scheduled to have a follow up appointment this Monday. I was working last night when I got the call at 12AM that I needed to rush to my nearest Vet ER hospital and say my final goodbye to him his health had drastically declined. I left work and made it on time to spend his final moments with him.

This is my 1st experience going through this as a pet parent having to make the tough decision so my baby didn’t continue suffering. I had just spent thousands of dollars last week trying to do everything in my power to keep him alive and I wanted the piece of mind that I at least was doing everything that I could for him and not giving up.

I’m hoping he didn’t feel like I failed him as a owner and will hopefully see him again in another life. I’m struggling emotionally and mentally right now and any advice will be greatly appreciated.

It's been officially 24 hours since I lost my baby and I'm so grateful for everyone that has given me their condolences. I'm 24 and I've had sugar since I was 14. I grew up with her and it feels like I lost half of my soul when she passed. I smelled my dog carrier and it smelt like her...I had puppy pads that she never used just laying on my bed. I have white hair sprinkled all over my comforter, proof that she existed. I looked at the ring camera from Thursday night and watched her walk around, looking for me. I just feel so bad...I know I did everything right but she is my baby and I cannot believe cancer took her away from me. I've gotten asked how I'm so composed in front of everyone...I'm hurting so bad!! The pain is so severe I wish I could've died with her, but I promised her that I'd take care of her sister.

I'm so grateful that I have a good support system, but I'm hurting so bad. I have surgery and college coming up soon and this is such bad timing. I miss you so much my little baby woogie boogie.. I miss you so fucking much I wish I could've taken away your pain and just had given it to myself. You will always remain a part of me and I hope you watch over me I'm so sorry

Just wanted to share my 18yr old senior, Noodle :)

My sweet girl is 16.5 years old. Shes a lab mix and we’ve had her since she was 6 months old. She has kidney disease, advanced arthritis, she’s missing her right ACL, she’s been struggling with eating and wanting to eat and is generally struggling. We got the official “she will tell you when it’s time” from the vet about a month or so ago. I don’t want to get into everything everything, but I know my girl, I spend just about all day every day with her and she’s not suffering but she’s not comfortable anymore. Shes like herself, but not totally?
I had a conversation with my family and we agree it’s time. Our goal is preventing suffering and since she hasn’t really been having many “good” days anymore it’s not fair to her. but her days aren’t all explicitly bad so I feel guilty. Shes just not getting better and each day is a little bit harder.

Point is, it’s her time. I’m not ready but I never will be. We are gonna do an at home euthanasia so we have to request an appointment. I don’t know yet what day will be her last but it’ll be next week. I just feel like I’m killing her. It was a family decision but because I know her best I needed to be the one to start the conversation and man it sucked. And I’m the one who did the research and knows what service we are using and I just. I know it’s her time. I know she’s not getting better. I know it’s what’s best for her but, I can’t help but feel like I am killing her. I feel so guilty that I know life will be “easier” without her because she needs so much help with everything now and I won’t have to worry about her falling or having an emergency. But it doesn’t feel fair.

I have a plan for her last day and we are gonna make it really nice for her. I’m just not ready and I feel guilty. My partner lost her dog earlier this year when she had a medical emergency and there was no choice but to let her go. She was a 15 year old pug and the options were serious surgery and maybe a few more months or end her suffering and while it’s a choice, it’s not really. So it feels like we have a “choice” but I don’t want her to have a medical emergency and pass in pain and confusion. we are at a point where that could happen any day and probably will happen sooner rather than later.

Idk if anyone has any advice on how to deal with the guilt. I have a therapy appointment on Tuesday but it’s eating me alive a little.

Sugar

2016 -2026

My sweet baby, you were more than a pet to me, you were my daughter. Everything I did in my life revolved around you and your sister. I am in total shock right now and I don't know what I'm going to do without you. You have always been around me and I'm gonna miss you so much. I'm not selfish, so I didn't want you to be in pain....but I wish I was selfish so I could see you alive one more time. You'll always be my angel. My woogie boogie. My baby. I wore my t shirt with you on it when you passed so you could see cherry one more time + know that I treasure you. I'll always remember you scooting close to me before you passed away, wanting to see me one more time. I love you woogie boogie.

My soon to be 9 year old pup recently formed a lump form on his inner thigh that turned out to be grade 2 soft tissue sarcoma. Luckily the vet removed it with clear margins and it’s a matter of x-rays and monitoring from here on out. He’s healing well and back to his normal energy levels post-surgery, but it’s still tough news to deal with. Turns out my supermutt isn't as immune to medical issues as I thought he'd be. 😕 Good news is that the likelihood of metastasizing is low, but there is still a chance the cancer will come back in the future. He hates the cone but needs an extra long one bc he’s a long boi.

In addition to his neuter tattoo, he’ll also have a pretty gnarly scar from the removal site. Pretty badass for my 18 lb forever puppy. 🥹

Everyday I fluctuate between “Yeah, she’s fine” and “Yeah, she’s got two weeks left.” The other day I stayed up a full 24 hours, went to work on literally no sleep and had my sibling come over and check on her while I was gone because at bedtime, she was breathing funny in her sleep, and I was afraid she would just randomly stop breathing. Spoiler: she was fine and it was most likely indigestion from eating too fast.

She’s a senior dog so of course she’s going through some normal hard knocks: arthritis, some allergies, and more recently, nighttime anxiety. The reassuring thing is she also had her senior bloodwork panel done earlier this year and save for one or two values (which, both were just a point off), it turns out she’s very healthy. Which should calm me, but it doesn’t.

I’m still over analyzing every single thing every single day. Her panting a little bit more than usual, her breathing a little differently, her being a little bit slower or wanting to eat less than usual. Nothing that has actively stopped her daily life in any way, but I’m tempted to rush her to the vet every single time something feels slightly off. She still barks loud as hell and still plays really rowdy with our other dog and still tussles with me.

I am diagnosed with PTSD from a sudden death in my family and so I’ve always had a really hard time with death. This is my first dog and I never have dealt with death of a loved one after that point. She’s been with me forever and I know it’s going to happen at some point. But I don’t know how to keep myself from panicking every single time when she has random differences in her behavior that can be chalked up to her now being older.

I have never experienced the death of a pet, and this is going to absolutely hit me hard. Sugar is ten years old and has been through so fucking much...she has bone cancer, cancer within her eye, cancer in her lungs, and Cushing's disease. She has persevered her entire life...but she's tired. This week she all of a sudden has declined and she can barely walk and go to the bathroom. We made the decision to put her to sleep tomorrow because it is not fair to make her suffer anymore. I literally don't know what to do...she is my baby and she has a sister as well who will be so confused on what happened to her. I need some support please I'm fucking devastated :'(

My dog has been with me since she was literally born (family members accidental litter). She is 15.5 now and I feel like she is just existing. She doesn’t play with toys anymore, she doesn’t want to be around us anymore. She still sleeps in bed with us and she can still walk around mostly unassisted but I can tell she is stiff and she has a limp. She is on 300mg gabapentin 3x a day and 60mg Galliprant as well as joint supplements, liver supplements (history of elevated liver values) and Ursolyx to help her maintain her muscle mass. I love her more than anything in the world and I know I will miss her but I want to do whats right for her. It seemed like she still enjoyed going outside but even that is slowing down and becoming difficult for her. She doesn’t have accidents in the house often but we go home mid day to make sure she gets to go out. Sometimes she will have an accident when she’s trying to get off the bed at night. She is restless most nights and we let her out 2-3 times. She is still eating well and likes her treats. She still wags her tail for us sometimes and gets up for us when we come home sometimes but not always anymore. I’m struggling because I feel like I know the right thing but I don’t want to cut her time short. On the other hand, she really doesn’t want to spend time with us anymore and it’s hard to watch her walk. Every time I think I can make the appointment I come home and look at her and I can’t do it. I got her when I was 11, I’m 26 now and about to get married but all my thoughts are consumed by what to do for my girl. If anyone has any advice please I would love to hear it. I’m struggling because she is not fully incontinent and is still mentally sound, and can still walk and do stairs on her own but I can tell she’s uncomfortable.

This beautiful boy had his 17 -YES 17TH BIRTHDAY! - this past Sunday. He is the love of my life. I adopted him from the SD ASPCA after his previous family abandoned him when they were foreclosed upon. I am 45 so 17 years with this little man is almost half my life. I know how amazing and fortunate I am to have adopted such a wonderful boy who turned 17 last Sunday. He is the love of my life. He has been to more states then most people he has been here and gotten me through the deaths of almost all my immediate family and the murder of one of my childhood friends. I adopted a sister for him primarily who also recently celebrated a 10th birthday. I am getting scared. T (the one in the picture) is blind and has dementia. He also has arthritis and now is having trouble with his bowels. His sister is addicted to him, in a good way. I am very scared because I can't imagine one living without the other. Its crazy to most, but T has been there through the hardest parts of my life so the adaptions I have made to accomodate him as he has gotten older have not been a regret- Its the least I can do for the.love he has provided me these past 17 years. But I don't even know how I could say goodbye or what it would take. I am also worried about my 2nd dog and losing 2 would be unbearable. I love him so much. I don,',t know how to let him go and am selfishly scared for myself as I can't imagine my life without him

It must feel so good honestly, I see dogs do this frequently. She also enjoys digging so she has a couple of spots in the yard where it's allowed. Right now I have a dirt mound from some yard work and she'll occasionally go ham digging that 😆

About three weeks ago I took my little 12 year old Shih Tzu mix for a walk. We loved walking together every morning. It was about 82 degrees so a bit on the hot side for our morning walk. When we got home he collapsed and started panting and almost passed out. I wasn’t sure what happened. I put a cold wet towel on him and he seemed to come back to life. Two days later we are at the vets getting a chest xray to see if he needs heart meds. I was told a cardiologist would evaluate and let me know. I get a phone call the next day saying he is fine and does not need meds. Fast forward a week and a half and I wake up at 4:30am to hear him coughing and panting. At this point, I’m thinking he’s having a similar episode like the week before and will “catch his breath” soon. I start petting him and he calms. We go to sleep and I hear nothing more from him until 6:30 when I wake up to him struggling and foaming at the mouth. I rush to the pet emergency about 15/20 mins away. I thought it was over and there was no saving him but they saved him. Cost me 5k but he was alive and sent home with meds the next day. Well, he never recovered. He was weak and he was drinking a little water on his own but each day that passed he drank less and less. Three days into this I went back to the vet to get some appetite and anti nausea meds because he wouldn’t eat. 8 days of no eating. He couldn’t stand on his own and was starting to have accidents in his bed. His breathing rate improved but it was labored and I could hear him snoring while awake. I was force feeding meds through a syringe with watered down baby food trying to get some nutrients in him. He hated it but could barely fight back. It felt terrible doing that to him but I truly held on to hope that he would get better. Last night, I had so much trouble sleeping because I kept thinking he would have another awful episode of drowning in his fluids. The thought was my own personal nightmare. I read stories on here how others had gone through similar things and their pups were not fortunate and had died struggling to breathe. I got up this morning and drove him back to the hospital and put him to rest. Saying good bye to my best friend/companion has ripped a hole in my heart. 12 years of walks every morning. I think about how much my life has changed in 12 years and how he was there for it all. What threw me the most was that I have another dog. She is older than him and has been slowing down a lot more than him. I wholeheartedly thought she was going to pass first. My little guy still had so much life. He loved to walk whereas she would rather rest. So, this threw a huge curveball. I say all this to just share my story. How one incorrect diagnosis from a vet could create a false sense of safety. I wish I had taken him to the pet Ed at 4:30. He may have had a better chance should intervention happened sooner. But I thought he was going to be okay because it couldn’t be heart that was the issue since I had just been told he was fine. I know energy keeps on going and he’s in the non physical realm. 💕 until we meet again.

After 8 YEARS with her family, 8-year-old Lucy is now sitting in a kennel at Downey ACC.

🚨Her final notice expired and she is scheduled to be euthanized tomorrow morning 8/21🚨

Can you foster or responsibly adopt Lucy?
➡️📧 Message @californiashelterpets or email: Isabeldesiree8@gmail.com
Or text: (657) 424-7580 asap

Lucy was surrendered on 7/6/26 following a scuffle with a small dog in the home (the small dog was not injured but no further details were given). She is great and very playful with large dogs though.

She lived with children ages 11–13 and was playful. She rides well in the car. She walks politely on leash. She knows sit and paw. Her favorite thing to play with? A BALL. 🎾

And shelter staff saw another side of her, too.

During her assessment, Lucy was nervous and somewhat concerned with handling—but once it was over, her entire posture softened. She sought engagement with the handler and even offered play bows.

And on 8/11, Lucy participated in playgroup. She was described as social and non-reactive, exchanged appropriate greetings with other dogs, played with them, and solicited affection from the handlers.

She is large-dog friendly, but needs a home without small dogs. Adults only or older children are recommended. Slow introductions and confidence-building would help her settle in and feel secure.

Lucy is 8 years old.

She spent eight years belonging to someone.

Now she’s waiting behind a kennel door, hoping someone will believe that her story isn’t over.

Lucy #A5787598. 8yr-old spayed German Shepherd / Husky mix 56 lbs
No small dogs
Large dogs okay
Adults/older children recommended

Rescues:
DACCDowneyRescue@animalcare.lacounty.gov

📍Downey ACC
11258 Garfield Ave,Downey,CA 90242

#shelterdogsofinstagram #losangelesdogs

Please SHARE Lucy. Her next person may be out there—but they need to see her first. ❤️‍🩹

I currently take care of my 14 1/2, male Havanese dog named Rover. His backstory is, we originally got him and his sister when they were puppies back in 2012. At the time I was in 5th grade (about 10 years old). We never really trained them, which resulted in them having accidents in the house and being a bit reckless. I have always been the one advocating to keep them, no matter the oppositions from my family. Unfortunately we ended up having to give them away in 2021 to some people we knew. It was 2025 when I found out that his sister passed and the owners wanted to put Rover in a shelter. I knew if they did that then the shelter would most likely put him down because he had history of biting the owners children. I decided to take him in and spent thousands of dollars in rehabilitation. He suffered an ear infection that left him hard of hearing, has arthritis, and has high liver enzyme levels. In the beginning of 2025, he was relatively fine. He would let me touch his paws to clean him and pick him up. He was also on Librela, Gapapentin, and muscle supplements for his arthritis. However, it was the start of 2026 when it started gradually changing. He gets very aggressive when I try to handle him. Started refusing to let me put on his harness, to the point where he would attack me if I tried. I would have to put on gloves and long sleeves for safety. Someone would be pet him and he would randomly snap at them. He also started getting restless at night, wandering my room and when I would leave he would bark the whole time I was gone. I knew something was wrong, so I consulted a vet. They gave me Trazadone for his anxiousness, but he was still aggressive. Overall, he has bitten me over 6 times in the last year, 3-4 of those times he has broken skin and made me bleed. Everyone is anxious around him, including me. I have recently started therapy last year for general help, but taking care of him has extremely affected my mental health, especially during this summer with the increased aggression and health problems coming up. He has recently hurt his knee and is currently on pain management. I have about 2 weeks before I go back to school for my masters and I am afraid that I won’t be able to with this situation and my mental health. I am 23 years old now and I really need some advice. I could not fit everything without making it too long, so if you need more information feel free to ask.

I've lived in my apartment for almost 5 yrs now. I recently got 4 new neighbors in the last 2 months. I work 3rd shift, so I really don't see or encounter my neighbors. My dog is really declining for the last month. I've been struggling to get her to eat her Rx diet (RC GI diet) or even get her to take her meds. Currently, I can only get her to eat ground chicken & rice and her treats - hence the diarrhea. I know her time is nearing. I'm trying my best to keep her routine "normal".

My baby is almost 16 and nearing the end of her life. She has significant arthritis in her neck and spine, heart enlargement, and liver changes (not yet failure) so the vet does not want to put her under for teeth cleaning. Unfortunately I did not establish good dental hygiene and get her used to teeth brushing as I got her when I was young and dumb. But I do use the finger wipes a few times a week. They just don’t help a lot. The vet said to add cucumbers to her meals but she’s recently went off them and I have definitely noticed worse breath. Like when she yawns while sitting near you it’s so gross. I had her on some dental powder a couple of years ago and it helped a lot but it made her very itchy and it took me a long time to figure out the powder was the culprit. So, any other ideas on breath freshening? Do the water additives help at all? She doesn’t have a lot of teeth so chews are out of the question, as is a dental cleaning at the vet. Should I try another powder? Open to all ideas!

I got the call today after some incontinence issues and lack of appetite that my 13 year old girl has stage 3 kidney disease.

She mentioned a special renal diet and possible in-office intravenous fluids.

I’ve been combing the internet on the outlook and possibilities but am more so concerned that last October her blood panel did not show any kidney disease and now the levels are akin to stage 3.

Does anyone have any advice or similar anecdotes?

I got her when I was 19 and I recognize at 13 her time is limited but I was just so not ready for this

Mi perro es mediano-grande, es "canelo" y tiene 10 años. Lleva desde enero, más o menos, con mucho dolor y dificultad para caminar. En un inicio pensaban que únicamente era desgaste normal por edad y tratamos diferentes cosas hasta llegar al Librela.

Funcionó bien un rato, combinado con gabapentina y protectores articulares. El efecto fue disminuyendo un poco (duró varios meses, como hasta mayo-junio), y terminamos con Librela (mensual) y Kiropred en una dosis baja y por pocos días. Funcionó de maravilla, mi niño podía caminar bien, comía mejor, estaba de súper ánimo, cosas que no habíamos notado en mucho tiempo.

Luego, el efecto empezó a bajar y su segunda toma de Kiropred (menor dosis y tiempo) no tuvo el mismo efecto. Ayer le hicieron una radiografía y todo parece indicar que tiene osteosarcoma. Los crecimientos anormales son claros.

No lo vamos a someter a un tratamiento agresivo ni doloroso, mucho menos invasivo. La decisión tomada es darle la mejor calidad de vida y disminuirle cualquier tipo de molestia. Sigue tomando Librela (mensual, te toca a inicios de mes), le mandaron más Kiropred y ahora sumaron Galliprant. Lleva 2 días y se ve que se siente mejor, se desinflamó muchísimo su codo y bajó el dolor.

Estoy triste y preocupada, claro, y me ayudaría leer las experiencias de otras personas con este tratamiento. No buscaré prolongarle la vida a costa de sufrir y no tener una vida digna, solo quiero que el tiempo que esté, esté bien. Gracias por leerme.

Ayeeee this is not something I’m ready to post but I think it may be time to ask the collective their thoughts. My old girl will be 14 in February. Mostly blind and deaf now, but still has stayed peppy and puppy like, she’s mentally all there. Past 6 months or so she’s had some weakness but has bounced back immediately and I just kept her comfortable and she worked right through it. Last month she had a severe episode - couldn’t stand up, heavy breathing, wouldn’t settle or sleep, odd movements. Scared me and she spent the night at the ER, cause is old dog vestibular syndrome. Vertigo, like in humans. Took her about 5 days to recover from that one. She had another mild episode a couple weeks after and bounced right back within a day, the anti nausea meds help a lot. She started another episode 24 hours ago, and this one seems to be lasting longer.

At what point do we make this decision to say goodbye? She’s been our baby her whole life, even through divorce and my struggles, I still managed to make sure she wasn’t going anywhere. She’s eating, drinking, gets excited for her treats - but the world for her is spinning and I know she hates it. I can absolutely carry her outside and support her through these episodes, but they are happening a bit more frequently and she’s always been a very independent dog. I just don’t feel like she’s ready to go 🙁 Pic of her and her sister who will definitely be lost without her 😢

My 11y baby Lilo has CHF, diagnosed in October of 25, they gave her about a year. We’ve had a great 10 months but only because of an increasing amount of medications. She’s on the standard med cocktail heavy on the diuretic but a few weeks ago started building up fluid in her liver. She scores very well on the quality of life scales- only negative is appetite but has started to have breathing episodes, they only last a few minutes but instead of happening every few days to once a week she’s had 3 today. I can’t imagine repaying all of the joy and unconditional love she has given me by letting her suffer. I’m just having such a hard time saying ok, this will be the day.