Is it time

Hello.  I have a 10 year old Westie named Mickey who was diagnosed with TCC bladder cancer back in February.  He has been on Pirxocam but his health has steadily declined.  He is incontinent, will only eat portions of his food and I have recently noticed that he trembles.  The vet has told me that the trembling indicates that he is in pain.  I am just so confused as to whether it is time for me to let him go or not?  The vet has urged me to put him down but I am scared to let him go.  I have never had to put a dog down and I can honestly say that I have cried many a tears just thinking about it.  Can anyone offer me some advice based on their experience with TCC?  He has lost alot of weight and I know the end is near, I am just so scared to do it right now.  However, I don't want my buddy to be in pain.  Please help

I am so sorry about Mickey.  I have two 19 year old cats who are also having health issues and it is so hard to watch them suffer.  As hard as it is, I think it is probably time.  The last thing you want is your beloved pet to suffer more than necessary.  Sometimes I think that pets are the lucky ones because euthanasia is acceptable for them.  I had to put down my previous cat and it was very peaceful and nothing to be afraid of.  You will know inside when the time is right.

Hi!  I am so sorry to hear about your Mickey.  I am just starting the journey you've been on.  My Westie, Willie, is also 10.  We just learned that he has TCC and started on piroxicam after he had surgery to remove the tumor.  I don't know yet if he will tolerate piroxicam on a long-term basis and I haven't decided about chemotherapy.  I just know that someday I am going to be asking the same questions that you are.  I have no answers....I just wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you and Mickey as you struggle with this. 

Sue

We just had to put our Samantha down.  She had arthritis so bad that her back leg was like mush.  My husband had to carry her everywhere and she would wet on herself as she couldn't get up.  She started wimpering occassionally but was still eating selectively, (hamburger & chicken, goodies) and drinking and very alert. She was almost 14 (October) and she was our baby.  My husband couldn't sleep at night not knowing if it was time and the night before she was restless and barking/crying and wimpering, dragging her self until she got comfortable.  We gave her additional pain meds and she slept through the night.  The next day she had a similar incident and I told my husband I felt she was having episodes of pain and I promised I would never let another dog suffer in pain so we did what was best for Samantha.  It was hard and is just now getting better.  We put her down last Saturday.  My sister had a dog that lived till 18 and one night she said about 4:00 PM the sounds coming out of her were heart wrenching and she knew she had waited too long.  She called the VET on a Sunday and he could here her moan in the background and told my sister to break her in then and now.  My sister felt so guilty that she allowed her to experience that one day of extreme pain.  My husband and I both work and the thought that this might happen when we were gone and coming home to see her like that was worse than the thought of saying goodbye.  It is as hard as hell but love sometimes means letting go.  My heart goes out to both of you. 

It sounds like you are close to the end, but I am not sure that the trembling is pain. Mydog has tcc and severe arthritis that has caused some atrophy of the leg muscles. She trembles also, but our vet says that it is general weakness that causes it. My daughter had a old maltese with heart disease that lost weight and trembled toward the end and her vet said the same thing.