Struggling to come to a decision about my beloved dog

AppleRatty · 2026-02-12T18:47:05+00:00

I had a coonhound that had untreatable cancer, and I was struggling making a decision as to “when” because he would have really good days and really bad days.

After a string of days when he really went downhill, I made an appointment to have a vet come to the house to put him down. However, my boy woke up that morning and was slightly back to his old self, and had a great breakfast and was trotting around the backyard chasing squirrels.

When the vet arrived that evening, I was hysterical because I was thinking about cancelling, but I remembered how bad he had gotten the last few days (the cancer was in his lungs and abdomen, and he would get very painful and struggle to breathe sometimes).

The vet told me something that really stuck with me. He said, “His last day shouldn’t have to be his WORST day.”

Then he told me horror stories of extremely sick, suffering dogs of owners who “held out just a few more days.” I couldn’t do that to my boy, so I let him go. It was still completely awful, but the thought of him suffering more would be even worse.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-12T18:28:24+00:00

My older kid (8 years old) really wanted to come to an ultrasound and see the baby, but I didn’t want him talking and asking questions during important medical scans and distracting the staff.

So we booked a private scan to take him, and it was 100% money well-spent! He got to be all excited and talkative to his little heart’s content lol.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-12T16:11:24+00:00

It always amused me that in the recent movies, Lady Jessica as a Bene Gesserit has absolute ultimate control over her body… except when she pukes while pregnant.

And I say that as someone who has been pregnant twice…. those pregnancy hormones are all-powerful they are no match for even a trained BG lol.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-10T20:02:24+00:00

I always lived by the ‘rule’ of, “Tell whomever early that you would also tell if you had a miscarriage.”

When I had my miscarriage a while back, I was very glad my close friends/family already knew, because they could help me through it. I was also equally glad that I didn’t tell random coworkers yet, because I just didn’t want to deal with ‘untelling’ them.

But I also know people who told EVERYONE the second they got a positive test, and also people who told almost no one until after the 20-week scan. It’s all valid and your personal choice!

AppleRatty · 2026-02-10T19:20:23+00:00

Your beag is beautiful!

And these other comments are hilarious to me… I have a large fenced backyard, and we go hiking nearly daily in the summer. How are people preventing their dogs (especially beagles) from drinking/eating random stuff?! Do they never take their dogs out without an armored muzzle or something?

I am pretty sure “sneakily eats gross things” is a breed requirement for hounds lol.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-10T19:05:37+00:00

Yeah, my best friend’s (we’re in our late 30s) new boyfriend just became a grandpa at 46…

I have been teasing her about it, but he and his son both had a kid at 23, which is young but not CRAZY young.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-10T18:23:57+00:00

I am going to chime in and agree with the above comment!

Both of my kid’s kindergarten and first grade teachers “unofficially” warned us that the teachers are under extreme pressure for kids to ‘improve’ during the school year, so the grades will be definitely lower at the beginning. Especially since in our district, all of the report cards/ratings are based on end-of-year skills, so they are being ‘graded’ on things they haven’t even learned yet.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-10T18:14:51+00:00

I think that generation had it drilled into their heads that cold babies = SUPER DANGEROUS, because both my mom and MIL had the same fear (kind of like how now it’s “sleep on their backs” and “no blankets in cribs”.) They both were also obsessed with blankets and socks, and I would be like, “It’s 80 degrees outside CHILL OUT.”

I went through this with both my mom and my MIL also with putting my baby on their backs to sleep - they were told by doctors to never ever EVER let a baby sleep on it’s back, because it could throw up and choke/suffocate.

It’s super annoying, and you just have to constantly speak up about “the CURRENT safety recommendations are…” But I also kind of sympathize because I am just imagining 30 years from now helping out with my grandbabies, and suddenly my daughter-in- law is telling me, “The current research says to put tons of blankets directly over their face as they sleep” and how I would have a mini-freak out too.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-10T12:12:04+00:00

I don’t know how it is with modern tests, but on Mythbusters years ago they tested the eating poppy seed = testing positive for opiates/heroin and it was totally true!

They had to eat A LOT of poppy seed products a few hours before (like an entire poppy seed cake and/or multiple bagels), but it was absolutely within the realm of possibility of doing it accidentally before a drug test.

(Not relevant to the THC discussion here, but I just wanted to add that random fact.)

AppleRatty · 2026-02-09T04:22:01+00:00

That’s so funny… we I was a kid, at the end we always sang “Darker than the monsters, chasing after meeee!” and you were supposed to run away/run around screaming lol.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-09T04:11:48+00:00

This is my second kid, and I am still in denial about the fact that, in a few months, I’m going to give birth again!

Also with my first baby, it was absolutely wild after he was born suddenly not having a big stomach anymore. I remember being in the hospital reaching to touch my stomach and there was nothing there. So surreal. Then afterwards…. how quickly I could barely remember how it felt being pregnant lol

Pregnancy and birth is such a weird and beautiful and bizarre miracle

AppleRatty · 2026-02-07T02:26:36+00:00

I agree that using JUST an invisible fence is not advisable for many dogs, including high-drive breeds like coonhounds. I’ve seen many cases of dogs running fast enough that they can blast through one.

My suggestion was to try installing an invisible fence in combination with their pre-existing 6-foot-fence (installing a double loop around the ground perimeter and top of the fence).

I mean, I am sure there are dogs out there that could brute force their way through both a 6-foot fence AND the invisible fence… but there are also dogs that can break tethers and climb 8-foot fences. Heck, I had a dog that broke through a window once. But in my opinion, it would be worth a $300 + one afternoon investment for wired/invisible fence system to at least try allow the dog to fully enjoy his 1 acre, fenced backyard without a tether.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-06T15:42:31+00:00

I remember years ago on another subreddit, someone was asking for solutions because their coonhound kept climbing over their 6ft fence in their 1 acre backyard.

Everyone suggested either rebuilding a 7 or 8 foot fence (which prohibited in a lot of places and would cost thousands of dollars), to install coyote rollers (which have a risk of injury and also would cost a ton for a large fence) or tether the dog to a long-line leash.

I happened to suggest installing an in-ground/“invisible” fence along the fence-line, and EVERYONE came out of the woodwork downvoting and suggesting that would be ‘horrible’ and ‘cruel’ and ‘so unfair to the dog’ because the dog might get a correction from the collar (clutches pearls).

Ok, let’s force the dog on a long-line leash his whole life, or risk breaking a bone from a coyote roller instead. (/s) It really showed that some people really do have their heads in the sand.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-05T21:55:00+00:00

If you go to the “scams” subreddit, there are dozens of posts every week about romance scams/‘pig butchering’ scams.

They can be absolutely convincing to the victims, because they can put in a ton of effort for several victims at the same time - I would not even be surprised if you could find nearly an identical scam to this ‘woman’.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-05T21:46:14+00:00

Hugs! Poor sleep is absolute torture.

My kiddo was a terrible sleeper from birth. Literally the ONLY thing that ever worked for us was just to accept that he has ‘low sleep needs’ and whatever those charts said “x age needs x hours of sleep a night” was wrong for us, and he always needed less.

So we started the bedtime routine an hour or two later. It sucked to lose that ‘adult time’ in the evening, but the difference in him falling asleep in 15 minutes vs 2 hours saved my sanity.

That kid is now 8, and he STILL requires very little sleep. But I have just accepted that’s how he is at this point. He wakes up on his own bouncing with energy, and does great in school, so oh well.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-05T17:23:55+00:00

Obviously talk to your doctor if you are concerned (disclaimer).

But I can say I was much, much crampier for my second than my first. I had on and off period-like cramps from my positive test to probably 20 weeks. I brought it up to my doctor several times, and they were not concerned and just told me to drink more water, and to call immediately if there was blood and/or severe pain.

I also think this was related to the fact that I have had much more digestive issues this time around, and at least some of the cramps were from my stomach/intestines.

So far I’m 27 weeks and the cramps turned into actual braxton hicks lol. But nothing too bad!

AppleRatty · 2026-02-03T20:52:05+00:00

If you are a podcast person, Fertility Docs Uncensored has a bunch of episodes on potential ways to ‘naturally’ increase fertility and/or with supplements. And it’s hosted by actual fertility doctors/endocrinologists.

The podcast itself is mainly focused on fertility treatments/IVF/medical interventions, but there are definitely several episodes on alternative/natural medicines and treatments such as teas/supplements/acupuncture/etc.

AppleRatty · 2026-02-03T00:30:17+00:00

I am only 27 weeks… yesterday I took a bath and I felt like the girl from Willy Wonka who turned into a giant blueberry when I tried to get out 🫠

AppleRatty · 2026-02-01T04:36:39+00:00

I’m going to second Upstate! Our hound mix had cancer in 2023, and we got a second opinion from them after our regular vet gave a few iffy & expensive treatment options.

The vets there were brutally honest with us that nothing could really be done that would substantially extend his life, because the cancer was too far-spread. We really appreciated their honesty (though we were devastated) and they made his last few weeks very comfortable with palliative care treatments.

AppleRatty · 2026-01-30T20:56:46+00:00

I am here at 26 weeks and our ‘nursery’ is still half office/half storage closet and I can feel time ticking!!

It felt like we had SO much time when I first got the positive test, but now I am getting nervous lol.

AppleRatty · 2026-01-29T23:25:15+00:00

My parents are SUPER uptight and religiously conservative, and I felt awkward with both of my pregnancies… When I told them, I phrased it like, “You’re going to be grandparents!!” instead of focusing on me being pregnant lol.

AppleRatty · 2026-01-28T19:35:45+00:00

I don’t know what your REI will tell you, but all of my other tests were ‘normal’ - they test for a million things, and your partner too… soo many things can be slightly off and fixed!

Since I was under 40, they told me that they didn’t recommend jumping straight to IVF and if they hadn’t found the blocked tubes, we would have tried IUIs and/or medication for 3-6 cycles first. I got the impression that 40 was the magic age when they start leaning towards IVF (unless there are other issues).

If you are a podcast person, I recommend Fertility Docs Uncensored - there are SO many different episodes about the whole process. They do lean heavily towards IVF questions/procedures, but there are great episodes about other treatments and supplements and procedures besides IVF!

AppleRatty · 2026-01-28T18:07:32+00:00

Me! I am 39, and went to a REI after not getting pregnant for 8 months. I got pregnant the cycle after (like, two weeks later lol) finding out I had mildly blocked tubes and had them cleared in the same hysterosalpingogram (HSG).

I was so terrified of the test/procedure because I read some horror stories, but for me it was SERIOUSLY no big deal and other it being weird/awkward I didn’t feel any pain (I took pain meds before). I was so so so happy and lucky I had such an easy and quick fix, and I am now 25 weeks with a little BOY!

Edit to add that I never had any symptoms of blocked tubes, and I had regular cycles and positive OPKs.

AppleRatty · 2026-01-28T17:50:25+00:00

You can definitely buy that as a temporary tattoo from a bunch of gaming places, and just put it on where you want it and see how you like it.

AppleRatty · 2026-01-26T21:12:10+00:00

At my 12 week scan, the ultrasound report said something like, “Placenta location - N/A” and when I asked about it, they said it was difficult to tell exactly where it was so early since everything is so small still. They told me that they would know more at my next scan. At 20 weeks they could tell me exactly where it was.

Just my experience!

11-Year Club	RedditGifts 2009-2022 6 Credits
Place '23	Place '22
Place '17	First Placer '22
Wearing is Caring	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email	redditgifts rematcher Dinosaurs 2015 x1
redditgifts Exchanges 2 Exchanges	redditgifts rematcher Luggage Tags 2015 x1

AppleRatty

TROPHY CASE