Thread: Dementia in dogs

Yeah it happens. My Dads dog, a rough haired collie, which was 17 when we had to have her put down but had been going downhill mentally for a good 6 months prior to that. She'd been deaf for about 2-3 years but had still "with it" then over 6 months prior her bowels stopped working and she would get disorientated and was going blind. My Dad really struggled to make the decision to let her go since he was her shadow as he lives alone but she was really far gone and he'd just had his hip replaced a couple of months before. About 2 weeks before we let her go she went out during the night in the rain and collapsed in the yard, the old man goes out to find her and tries to pick her up and then finds he can't get up, ended up lying there in the yard till daylight apparently. When he gave me the call and said it was time I drove to his place (in Marton) to give him a hand with it all and help him through. I'll never forget the smell when I first walked in the room where she was and how she was just skin, bone and hair. Must have weighed about 12 kg (18kg was optimum for her). I personally think the old man left it a week or so too late. I insisted on digging the grave myself over night. Took me 8 hours through 5 foot of clay and I was sore as shit the next day but I'm glad I did. Also insisted that we use my vehicle to take her to the vets as I didn't want my Dad to forever associate his car with the dogs death. Dad was crying when we took her in and I had tears running down my face, welling up thinking about it now. I remember her looking at me as they put her to sleep and you could see in that moment she was with it and knew what was happening and was fighting it but to keep her alive any longer would have be evil. Still nearly broke my heart seeing it. She hadn't eaten or taken a shit in 3 days at that point and stank of bile and... well death really. Heart was strong as anything and wasn't going to give out but her mind was gone 90% of the time and she would have starved to death despite anything we did. That was 11 months ago.

But ah yeah, anyway. Yeah they sadly do get it and I really feel for you. It's not a fun or a easy thing to deal with!