Ever had to put a dog down?

I have never had to personally make the decision to put an animal down until this past Father's Day. We woke up to find our ten year old Jack Russell disoriented and shaking. We immediately got dressed and drove the twenty minutes to the nearest animal hospital. On the way I checked the available balance of every credit card and added up exactly how much I had to spend. I came up with only $226.

We arrived at the vets and they immediately ushered us into an exam room. The nurse took his temperature and looked him over while taking his history. A few minutes later the doctor came in and did an examination and asked us what we were expecting. We told him that we had $226 to spend and we wanted to do whatever was best for little Ollie. He then told us that it was his opinion that there was not much that we could do for Ollie. However if we wanted we could have the vet run some tests and determine what was wrong. Again he said it was his opinion though that they findings would not be good and that Ollie would probably pass away on his own within the next twenty four hours. The poor little guy was in such distress it was breaking our hearts. So we went with the vets recommendation and decided to put Ollie down. I held him as the vet injected him, he took one breath and then nothing. his little body went limp and I balled even harder than I had been! We buried Ollie in the backyard with his favorite bone and tennis ball. I will miss little Ollie for a long time, but I am glad that he is no longer suffering.

Before we left the vets office we stopped to pay our bill. i was fully expecting to have to spend all $226. The bill was only $68. They waived all the vet fees and only charged for the iv and the injection. The nurses cried with us as we left and wished us well.

What is your experience with pets dying? Have you ever had to make "the decision"?