Satnam all-
I am a new member & feel a little self-conscious about making a formal introduction, so I'll do it here quickly: I have been practicing Kundalini yoga over the last five or six years and because of this have developed an interest in the Sikh tradition, although at the moment I am not terribly knowledgeable. Sikhism seems to me to be the wisest of the religions I have studied, so I feel safe asking my questions knowing they will be informed by compassion and ethical thought rather than mere dogma. So I thank you all for this forum. Okay...
I'm looking for help deciding what to do for my dog Jane. She is a Llasa Apso, which is a small breed (12-14 pounds) and she is elderly--almost 18 years old. Her body is quite "worn out" from age; she went blind and deaf 3 or 4 years ago, has severe arthritis, and has lost efffective use of her hind legs--she can use them, but is not coordinated enough to really stand and walk around.
Around January, her body started to "waste," that is, she has lost an incredible amount of weight in a short time. (She lost 4 pounds and so now weighs 10 pounds.) The blood tests we took were inconclusive, but the vet says this would only be caused from something such as advanced cancer. She also said that it was amazing that the dog was still alive, that her "brain had outlived her body," because she is still mentally present, with only the tiniest signs of dementia. She said that I should put Jane to sleep because she didn't do any of the things dogs like to do, and was effectively "no longer a dog." She doesn't think it's humane to keep her alive.
There's no question Jane's quality of life is diminished, but she still loves to eat and I get a strong sense that she still has a will to live. Llasas are feisty little dogs and this one has always been incredibly stubborn, so it makes sense that she would feel this way.
The problem is, the vet says she's staying alive just for me, and I don't want her to suffer in order to make me happy.
I started asking the Sikhs who teach my yoga class what they thought, and I was very surpised when they told me there was no clear answer, and one of them had in fact put his dog to sleep. I thought that Sikhs rejected mercy killing.
So, I don't know what to do now. It looks like without any intervention from me, she will die a natural death in 3 or 4 weeks. But, it could be a painful death, such as her organs failing, etc. The vet told me that most people who put their dogs to sleep, if they have any regrets, it is that they didn't do it earlier because they didn't realize how much their dog was suffering until it was too late. So since she is so close to death and has no intention of leaving me, I wonder if I should just make the decision for her in order to lessen her suffering. Is that my obligation as her caretaker?
This is so hard. I would be grateful to hear your opinions.
I am a new member & feel a little self-conscious about making a formal introduction, so I'll do it here quickly: I have been practicing Kundalini yoga over the last five or six years and because of this have developed an interest in the Sikh tradition, although at the moment I am not terribly knowledgeable. Sikhism seems to me to be the wisest of the religions I have studied, so I feel safe asking my questions knowing they will be informed by compassion and ethical thought rather than mere dogma. So I thank you all for this forum. Okay...
I'm looking for help deciding what to do for my dog Jane. She is a Llasa Apso, which is a small breed (12-14 pounds) and she is elderly--almost 18 years old. Her body is quite "worn out" from age; she went blind and deaf 3 or 4 years ago, has severe arthritis, and has lost efffective use of her hind legs--she can use them, but is not coordinated enough to really stand and walk around.
Around January, her body started to "waste," that is, she has lost an incredible amount of weight in a short time. (She lost 4 pounds and so now weighs 10 pounds.) The blood tests we took were inconclusive, but the vet says this would only be caused from something such as advanced cancer. She also said that it was amazing that the dog was still alive, that her "brain had outlived her body," because she is still mentally present, with only the tiniest signs of dementia. She said that I should put Jane to sleep because she didn't do any of the things dogs like to do, and was effectively "no longer a dog." She doesn't think it's humane to keep her alive.
There's no question Jane's quality of life is diminished, but she still loves to eat and I get a strong sense that she still has a will to live. Llasas are feisty little dogs and this one has always been incredibly stubborn, so it makes sense that she would feel this way.
The problem is, the vet says she's staying alive just for me, and I don't want her to suffer in order to make me happy.
I started asking the Sikhs who teach my yoga class what they thought, and I was very surpised when they told me there was no clear answer, and one of them had in fact put his dog to sleep. I thought that Sikhs rejected mercy killing.
So, I don't know what to do now. It looks like without any intervention from me, she will die a natural death in 3 or 4 weeks. But, it could be a painful death, such as her organs failing, etc. The vet told me that most people who put their dogs to sleep, if they have any regrets, it is that they didn't do it earlier because they didn't realize how much their dog was suffering until it was too late. So since she is so close to death and has no intention of leaving me, I wonder if I should just make the decision for her in order to lessen her suffering. Is that my obligation as her caretaker?
This is so hard. I would be grateful to hear your opinions.
