I adopted a dog from a rescue organization about 8 months ago, and he's about 12 years old (based on what the vet said). He's acted odd the entire time I've had him, so I took him back to the vet to be re-assessed and I was told the following:
- He's about 99% blind
- He's quite deaf (not sure how far gone it is, but he only hears things that are quite loud, such as clapping by his ears, sneezing loudly, dropping a pan, etc.)
- He has arthritis, although it doesn't seem too awful
- He has dementia, and has likely had it for 8+ months and symptoms he exhibits are:
- Pacing
- Walking in circles
- Staring at walls/nothing
- Confusion/disorientation
- Lost in the house, stuck under furniture, constantly walking into something he just walked into, etc.
- Going potty inside the house/unpredictably
- Beginning to lose motor control
- He can't do the stairs (he is like a fish out of water, literally flopping around, and will fall down the stairs)
- His legs slide out underneath him for a few minutes after he first stands up
The vet suggested euthanizing right away, but I'm extremely conflicted about it. While my dog does have these problems, he's always SO happy. He gets so excited when I get home and he follows me around (or tries to, at least, since he has troubles finding me) and just wags his tail whenever he finds me or I pet him. He eats well, drinks a lot, and walks plenty (when it's warm enough, I walk him for 30-60mins every day). To me, he seems okay?
But the vet said his quality of life is probably poor, since he constantly walks into things, can't see, can barely hear, and is always confused. He's also afraid my dog will become aggressive, as that's a common symptom in dogs with dementia. However, he has yet to exhibit any sort of sign of aggression.
What should I do? The vet is telling me to euthanize, and the rescue is telling me to give him more time since it sounds like he's not THAT confused and is still enjoying life. I agree with the latter, but I'm also so worried that my dog is in more pain than I realize or that I'm overlooking things because of how much I love him.
What would you do? Has anyone gone through something like this before?
tl;dr - My dog is blind and quite deaf and has arthritis and dementia. The vet tells me to euthanize, the rescue tells me to give him more time. He seems happy but I don't want him living a miserable life, either. What should I do?
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/aol3or/when_do_you_euthanize_a_dog_with_dementia/
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