We had 3 kitties. We put one down about 7 years ago, 1 a year and a half ago on our anniversary, and the last one just before Christmas last year. We decided we didn't want anymore after that, but now that its about 9 months later we are starting to keep our eyes open. Hopefully we'll have a noisy, stinky fur ball creating havoc, destroying furniture and pissing all over the place once again. (Can't wait! Stupid cat!) :)

You just gotta keep spreading the love bud. At least they are getting good homes for awhile.

My thoughts exactly.

Yes, it sucks. Really bad. They are so helpless and give us so much love, it's so hard to deal with their pain and death. But you get to a point you realize it's time. And it's really hard. But life isn't easy right.

Aaron,

First let me say my heart goes out to you. The thought of losing a loved pet is always a hard one.

Before flying to Bermuda August 4th, I put down the second of my female Rottweilers. That marks two gone within a year. She had a host of problems with her back legs stemming back to being a puppy and her liver was failing as well. I struggled for a long time with when was the right time to do it.

After many long conversations with my sister who is a Vet over what percentage of good vs. bad times for the dog would be a good time to do it I ultimately decided that I didn't want to wait until she was having only bad days and that doing it while she was still having some good days was probably the right thing to do for her. I decided to do it the day of my flight rather than upon my return because I came to the decision that it was best for her.

I do not regret the decision one little bit and felt an emormous sense of relief when she went to sleep and her head sunk in to my hands. She looked so relaxed and at peace that I knew I had done the right thing.

Finally, it helped me to understand that dogs are non self-aware. They have no concept of life and death and are not capable of wanting to live forever.

In the end, if you think about it hard enough I am confident the love you feel for your pet will prevail and you will make the right choice for the both of you.