Helping a Pet Finish Well

As a human, created in the image of God, we have an idea of what it's like to finish a life well.

I love my spouse well and support him in achieving his goals and fulfill his calling — whatever that looks like for him.

I prepare my children well for adulthood, help them to utilize their God-given talents to the best of their abilities, and make sure them know that they are always loved and valued by their Mom — especially when it seems I'm the only one.

I've always said that I wanted to leave the world a better place because I was in it through the touched lives of the people I leave behind.

What does it mean to finish well ... if you're a pet?





We are now struggling through this decision for the second time in as many years.

RIP Titan
Last year, we found that our beloved Doberman Titan had bladder cancer and a mass in his spleen. Due to various complications, aggressively treating him was not an option. We didn't have any assurances that it would significantly impact his life span or quality of life, and it would cost more than we could afford. So we treated only the bladder cancer with a mild drug that was to have extended his life by about six months — hopefully through Christmas.

It didn't. He passed away in July while we were on vacation. The mass in his spleen ruptured, and he was gone in a matter of hours. Fortunately, our son Sandy was in town for football practice and his dad took him to be with Titan when the doctor put him down. The rest of us couldn't have gotten there in time.

Titan was sick ... very sick ... but you wouldn't have know that by looking at him. Up until his death, he was his normal, outgoing, loving, co-dependent self. There really was no quality of life issue for him. He had a great time right until the end.

Now ... Belle
Now our 16 year-old cat Belle is also sick. But this is very different. She has hyperthyroidism which is giving he a heart murmur, causing her to lose weight, and is making her more prone to urinary tract infections.

But we're told that she likely also has kidney issues. The side effects of the thyroid issue are, strangely, supporting her weak kidneys. We won't know for sure the extent of her kindey issues unless we treat the thyroid to stop the artificial support. But, if the doctor's suspicions are correct, she could go into renal failure once the thyroid issue is corrected.

What to do?

How do you decide what is a "full life" for a cat who, in human years, is probably in her 90s?

How do you choose the lesser of two evils?

Or how do you decide just to let nature run its course?

She seems happy. She's active — or at least as active as a 90 year old generally is — and affectionate. But she's also skinny as a rail, and her appetite is down. She doesn't appear to be in any sort of pain or distress. The doctor said that if left untreated, she'll probably have a heart attack or stroke and just ... die.

How do I make that decision for her? For anyone? I've loved her for 15 years, ever since we adopted her from the Gwinnett Humane Society. They rescued her from an abusive situation, very sick and pregnant. We took her in, fattened her up, and were able to coax her into trusting people again.

Should she trust me now, when her life depends on it?

I don't know.

Finish well, Belle.