Articles

The Big Question

August 2004

The other day I was talking with a friend when he posed a question to me. "Polly, how do you know when it's time to let an animal go?" This was a timely question for him as he and his wife are faced with this decision for one of their dogs, a blonde Aussie mix named Tess, in the near future.

How do we know when it is time to say goodbye, time to assist in our animal companion's transition out of their body? The simple answer, of course, is when they are suffering and have no chance of getting better. At that point it is clear to most of us that we can help them out of their anguish without a sense of guilt. Two weeks ago I found a baby rabbit who had been attacked by another animal and had escaped. Unfortunately, the tiny bunny had lost large sections of its skin in the process and was clearly in excruciating pain. It was a no brainer that the kindest thing I could do was to take the rabbit to the vet to be euthanized. It was suffering, it was extremely young and didn't stand a chance of recovery. The only thing that awaited it was a painful and prolonged death.

However, many of us are faced with end of life decisions with our animals that aren't as clear-cut. In the case of the friend who asked this question, his dog Tess isn't in tremendous physical pain, but has slowly become increasingly paralyzed over the past three years. As a matter of fact, when I first met Tess she was spending part of her day in a dog wheel chair and part of her day loose, happily dragging her rear limbs behind her around the farm where they live. She wasn't depressed. She wasn't suffering. She was happy. What impressed me most about her was she wasn't focused on what she couldn't do, but seemed quite content with what she was still capable of doing with her body.

Some people might have judged the situation from a different perspective and concluded that Tess didn't have a good quality of life because she couldn't move as independently as she once did and would have thought euthanasia should have happened long ago. For Tess, she was having a wonderful life even though it was more limited in recent years. Yet, for another animal in the same situation, things might be completely different. If they are depressed by their physical limitations and not enjoying the life they have, then perhaps assisting them to let go of their body earlier might be the best choice.

Sometimes animals simply are aging and their bodies are wearing out. Figuring out when the best time is to help them let go is often much more difficult of a decision in this case. When talking with many of my animal clients who are dying, the majority of them understand that things die and most understand they are dying. One thing I've heard repeatedly is they don't feel the need to stay in their bodies to the bitter end when their bodies hurt and don't work right. In the wild, when an animal is fatally injured they often go into shock while they are dying and lose touch with what is happening to their bodies. As a result they are generally suffering for a relatively short period of time. With the advent of all the veterinary treatments and testing and medications that are now available to our companion animals, we have certainly saved many lives, but we have also developed the ability to sustain lives of suffering, often for our emotional needs and not for the desires or well being of our animals.

So when is it time to let them go? This is always an individual choice based on each unique set of circumstances and the animal's wishes. I have several questions I ask myself when faced with such decisions.

1. Would I want to live in the condition I am asking my animal to live in?
2. Would I want the type of medical intervention necessary to sustain my life in this condition?
3. Is my animal still enjoying its life the majority of the time?
4. Could my animal be holding on just because I haven't been ready to let them go and could they are trying to survive mainly for my needs?

After I've answered these questions for myself, then I am ready to ask my animal what it thinks. Ultimately, their response is my deciding factor. I can then go to my animal with an open heart and tell them I'm going to be sad and really miss them if they need to let go of their body, but I also let them know I don't want to hold them in a life they don't want anymore. If my animal then says they are ready to leave, I feel comfortable about helping them let go of their body.

As I finish writing this article I've learned that Tess and her people have made the choice that she is now ready to let go. I dedicate this article to her amazing spirit. She will be missed.

If you have a question you would like to see addressed in an article, please send it to Polly Klein at paws@tonglenhealingarts.com

© Polly Klein 2004. Polly Klein, owner of Tonglen Healing Arts for Animals, is an animal communicator, Reiki Master and Certified Animal CranioSacral Therapist. You can contact her on-line at www.tonglenhealingarts.com.