Putting your Dog to Sleep: Saying goodbye is never easy...

I have yet to put a dog down. But I have put about two cats down in my life and it's very hard to do. I hated each time I had to do it. To lose any pet gives you a cloud of overwhelming sadness. I'm lucky that my puppers is healthy and young...

We had to put one of our dogs to sleep last Summer. He was in bad shape. Couldn't walk anymore and losing a lot of weight. It was the hardest thing we ever had to do. I still cry sometimes when I think of him. He was a good dog and I miss him a lot. It's never easy to put a pet to sleep. They are part of the family. I have another dog and she is sweet and special to me too. But our other dog had a different personality and I really miss him. He made me laugh.

I can understand how one feels losing a best canine friend. Years ago, before I got married, my girlfriend (wife now) used to have a black dog called Vicky. She was a very loving and faithful dog. I remember seeing Vicky when I went to her home during my courting days. She had Vicky for more than 10 years, and as she aged, her organs started malfunctioning and she couldn't eat, and so she had to make a painful decision to put her down at the vet. My wife related to me that she cried for days upon losing Vicky....it was such a sad parting for her. That was more than 20 years ago. Now she is asking me if we should keep a dog in our apartment.