question: My husband and I have a little German Shepherd named Rascal that we rescued when he was just 4 months old. We trained him to be a therapy dog and spent many happy hours with him in hospitals and nursing homes, where Rascal greeted each patient and resident as if he were his best friend.
He is now 14 and we thought he was in good health, although a little slower. We recently had him at the vet and they discovered he has a malignant tumor. We don’t know if we should wait until he suffers from health problems and then euthanize him, or let him go until that happens. In the meantime, this looms over us and we are both very sad to think that he will cross the Rainbow Bridge.
Please help me decide what to do with our little rascal.
~ Love our bad boys
Our dear and beloved villain,
I was saddened to hear that your dog Rascal is having health problems. It is difficult to watch pets decline when they were so active in helping other pets. This is a difficult time. My heart goes out to you all.
Your primary concern is Rascal’s health, safety and comfort. If the tumor is operable, it would make sense to remove it to extend his life and service. If it is inoperable, hopefully pain medication will keep him comfortable. I am not a veterinarian so I will rely on the wisdom of the experts. It is truly heartbreaking to see such a wonderful service animal and loving pet suffer so unnecessarily. When all attempts to provide comfort and an acceptable quality of life have been exhausted, your only option is to let Rascal go from you.
Losing a beloved pet is traumatic for many and very difficult to overcome. I remember when we had to give up Delilah. Our family was heartbroken. She was a source of joy for us and we couldn’t imagine a world without her. We were all literally devastated at the thought, but we all agreed that we would never let her suffer for a minute, something we knew could have been prevented. It was awful, but we faced her death together as a family and were with her as she died. I remember our vet, Dr. Freese (now retired), being very loving and giving us so much. He was unique and we felt loved and understood.
Grief will happen, and there is certainly no perfect way to grieve, but what we do know for sure is that the grieving process is necessary for our mental health to establish a new balance. This applies not only to our beloved four-legged companions, but also to the important people in our lives.
In her book Rising Strong, Brene Brown writes, “We run from grief because we fear loss, but our hearts turn to grief because the brokenness longs to be repaired.” Brown’s words suggest that the way to heal from grief is to move through it so that the brokenness can be repaired. Here are some additional thoughts from the anonymous author: “Grief never ends, but it does change. Grief is a passageway, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness or a lack of faith. It is the price of love.”
It reminds me of Ecclesiastes 3:4:, “A time to cry, a time to laugh. A time to be sad, a time to dance.” For Rascal to have time to dance, you may also need time to cry. I pray for your decision and cheer for your strength along the way.
May you be blessed with good health!
Lucinda Guarino
lucindaguarino1@gmail.com
To Rascal’s Parents
I really sympathize with your dilemma, as I am a dog owner myself I understand your pain.
What does the vet say? I think you should take him to a few more places to see if he’s in pain.
Sadly our animal friends don’t live as long as we do, but 14 years is a long life for a dog the size of Rascal, I think I would wait until I felt pain and then euthanize him. if He thought he was hurt.
This is a prayer by Margaret Wise Brown that my mother read to me when I was a child: “Dear Father, hear and bless Your beasts and singing birds, and protect with tenderness the small things that are unspeakable.”
Please protect Rascal with kindness.
lindemanskip@yahoo.com
Pastor CL “Skip” Lindemann
Upland Christian Church, Disciples of Christ
