Pittie life span & other questions

[lipshipsattitude]

Ok so last night I had the worst dream EVER. Basically Rory got out into the street (i'll never let this happen) got ran over and I was holding her bleeding head in my lap, she was convulsing and I was pleading with firemen to put her out of her misery. He kept saying no and my dream ended with me shooting her because I loved her.
Ok I know that is a terrible thing but it got me thinking. I had this one lady proudly introduce me to her 16 year old poodle who couldnt hear, see, walk or eat whole food. He had scabs all over his body and she was so happy he was still alive. Now I dont know about you all but that seems extremely selfish to me. I for one would not want to be living, I wouldnt keep Rory alive either if that were the case. My mother says I'm cruel. I say I dont want my baby girl to live like that, I dont want to remember her like that. I want to remember her hauling doggy butt through a field, ears pinned back, all wild and free. I mean obviously if she is young and she needs surgery thats one thing but if a dog cant walk and is pissin on itself I think its time to let it go, what do you all think? When would you call it quits? Its not about us, its about them ya know?
Thankfully Rory is only 19 months and she has a long happy life ahead of her but you know I never investigated the life expectancy of pits. What is the average? How many of you have pet health insurance and is it worth having?

[realpitbull]

How horrible! I'm sorry you had to have that dream.

But to answer your questions, I take quality of life very seriously for my dogs, and if they are suffering and I can help them pass, I will. You really need to know your dog and how they are living/feeling, and, if they are sick, what the prognosis is. It's a really individual thing. Just to give an example, one of my dogs was diagnosed with cancer in late 05; he was ten years old. I promised myself that I would not let him suffer, knowing he was an older dog, how painful cancer is, and the odds of recovery. We went through the surgery and all was fine for about a month, but then he started deteriorating. I thought about it for 3 days and then knew it was time to let him go. He was miserable, and I had made a promise to him.

Lord knows how long he could have/would have lasted; but keeping them around as long as possible isn't the point; keeping a high quality of life while they ARE around IS.

Life spans....I would venture to say average is 11-12 years old. Some stick around longer. But for dogs of their size, this is pretty normal.

I just started checking into health insurance, and the one that I was looking at didn't seem worth it to me, price-wise. Maybe for people who are at the vets several times or more a year, and give their dogs the full schedule of vax, but definitely not for me.

[04100824]

Personally, I would put mine down if his quality of life was bad.

But then, I'm one of those people that wishes humans could do the same. It's good that we can do this service for animals - to have them drift off to sleep and end their suffering, but peoplehave to suffer and their families are put into debt and all are at the mercy of our medical field employees.

...not to get off topic, of course. Yes, I would do whatever it took to ease any animal's suffering.

[lipshipsattitude]

Yup, I seem to have the same opinion on the insurance of you, the price out weighs the worth.
I'm sorry to hear about you fur baby with cancer but it I would have done the same thing. I bet it was one of the hardest things for you, to not be selfish and keep him around becuase of your feelings. My mom says its easier said then done but I dont think so.
Of course I'd pay for Rory to have any surgery but not if she was still going to be suffering. I just couldnt imagine her confined to a corner, immobile due to pain or something else. 11-12 years isnt that long, but long enough for me to give her the best I can give.
One thing I am concerned about is that Rory does not give any hints when she is in pain, maybe she is a lil fussy but she's pretty good at hiding it. I havnt had anything too tragic to test it, hopefully I wont!

[realpitbull]

Yup, I seem to have the same opinion on the insurance of you, the price out weighs the worth.
I'm sorry to hear about you fur baby with cancer but it I would have done the same thing. I bet it was one of the hardest things for you, to not be selfish and keep him around becuase of your feelings. My mom says its easier said then done but I dont think so.

Thanks for your condolences. I will tell you what was the hardest: watching him suffer, and afterwards missing him (and I still miss him so much, every day, 1.5 years later).

[lipshipsattitude]

If I may........with all do respect, honor, and love.


High up in the courts of heaven today
a little dog angel waits;
with the other angels he will not play,
but he sits alone at the gates.
"For I know my master will come" says he,
"and when he comes he will call for me."

The other angels pass him by
As they hurry toward the throne,
And he watches them with a wistful eye
as he sits at the gates alone.
"But I know if I just wait patiently
that someday my master will call for me."

And his master, down on earth below,
as he sits in his easy chair,
forgets sometimes, and whispers low
to the dog who is not there.
And the little dog angel cocks his ears
and dreams that his master's voice he hears.

And when at last his master waits
outside in the dark and cold,
for the hand of death to open the door,
that leads to those courts of gold,
he will hear a sound through the gathering dark,
a little dog angel's bark.

[realpitbull]

Oh jeez. I'm glad no one's in the office to see me tearing up.

That was very sweet, thank you for posting

[pitbullmamaliz]

Damn, I shed a tear too.

I have VPI pet insurance. For the high-end, covers everything, even cancer, it costs $30 a month. A little pricey, but quite frankly, my girl is an accident waiting to happen, so I feel safer knowing that lack of money will never prevent her from life-saving treatment. She's my love.

[lipshipsattitude]

Pitbullmamaliz,
Do they cover regular visits, medication, vaccines, and preventive medicine?
Have you used it yet? Do you find it helpful?

[pitbullmamaliz]

They cover regular visits as well as prescriptions, vaccinations, and speutering. And then it covers the majors such as x-rays and surgeries. I've not used it yet. I believe there's a $50 deductible...I think...it's sad, I haven't totally figured out how it works yet! I know it doesn't cover pre-existing conditions (damn, it's just like human insurance!!!). It's nice because I can go to any vet in the world - I have to pay up front, but then I get reimbursed.