Many of us have or have had pets. Cats, dogs, horses, lizards, mice; the list is endless.
One of the hardest parts of being a pet owner is making the tough decision to let them go. It has been almost two years to the day since I made the decision to euthanize my 16-year-old Shih Tzu.
I got Ariel through a friend of a friend when she was 3. We fell into a daily routine and adapted to each other rather quickly. However, after a few weeks, I wondered if I had made a mistake in taking her. She was rather destructive sometimes when I wasn’t home, and gradually I noticed that the destruction was worse during thunderstorms or any kind of fireworks.
The path of destruction included several rugs and damaged doors and their frames. After reading some library books, consulting with friends and general online research, I started leaving the radio or TV on when I left the house. When that tactic didn’t work, I gave her Benadryl on days it was supposed to storm, hoping it would make her sleep or at least drowsy and less likely to wreak havoc. If anything, it made her more hyper.
With my options running out, I borrowed a crate from a coworker, and began crating Ariel. During the first thunderstorm while being crated, my 12-pound dog promptly destroyed it, cutting her paws and losing a tooth in the escape process. The vet who stitched Ariel’s paws suggested putting her on medication.
We tried three different medicines yet nothing seemed to work. The vet finally recommended a dog behavior specialist. He came to the house and although he provided a wealth of knowledge, Ariel still seemed to develop Incredible Hulk-like characteristics during storms and fireworks. The behavior specialist was opening a daycare for dogs, so I started taking Ariel to daycare. Initially, I took her only on days when the percentage of storms was greater. When a pop-up storm with no warning came through town, Ariel broke through another crate and started attending daycare on a daily basis for the next nine years.
When Ariel started losing her hearing around 2017, I checked out a couple of library books on sign language and started teaching her a handful of basic signs including “out,” “food,” and “sleep.” She was very smart and learned the signs quickly. This worked great until January of 2019, when I began to notice subtle changes in Ariel. She was slower and slept more, and developed cataracts in both eyes.
Ariel turned 16 in March, and by early May, she was considerably worse. She started staring at walls, bumping into furniture, could no longer find her food and water bowls, would walk right by me or bump into my ankles, acting agitated and would circle or pace. Books and research pointed to dementia. I knew it would break my heart to let her go, but it was breaking my heart to know that she could no longer see or hear me, but especially to see her acting so confused and anxious.
Everyone from the vet, to Ariel’s groomer, to all her human friends at daycare were kind and sympathetic. Grief, whether it be for a human or pet, is difficult, yet necessary to deal with.
Bartholomew County Public Library has some resources for you and your family on getting through losing a pet. We have the print books “Good dog: true stories of love, loss and loyalty” and “There are no sad dogs in Heaven.” Available in print and in digital format through Hoopla on www.mybcpl.org is the book “When your pet dies: a guide to mourning, remembering and healing.” There are also many books by Gary Kurz available through Hoopla. To help your child through the pet grieving process, check out “A stone for Sascha” and “Saying goodbye to Lulu”.
I don’t know if I will ever have another dog, but time will tell. If your family lost a pet and has decided to get another pet, I think that’s wonderful, and rest assured, the library has many books and DVDs to help with everything from potty training to leash training and everything in between.
Missy Henderson is a technical services department assistant at the Bartholomew County Public Library and can be reached at [email protected]
