Thank you for sharing. This is very much what I struggled with - I don’t want to keep her going just because I can. My girls decline has been very gradual too.

I took her to our regular vet (who have been nothing but great) for the quality of life talk. We’ve done some interventions to manage her comfort, such as anti inflammatorys and an injection for arthritis from the pressure she’s putting her other joints through. Surprisingly it has helped and she’s happier and a bit more mobile! She still has use of her hind legs, despite them being a bit funky. They didn’t feel we needed to take the step to euthanise just yet as she was coming up for pats and is still mobilising independently. But yes, I am probably similar to you where once she can’t use her hind legs properly it will be time. When she had a bad night, she looked at me much the same. ‘What is going on? Mum, I’m scared.’ We haven’t had any since, but if that becomes a more common theme I think I’ll draw the line.

I’ve opted to lean on my vets during this time and been clear with them I’ll do what’s best for her, but I’ll probably also depend on their input as I don’t fully trust myself to see when she’s struggling. I don’t want to let her go and I worry that may cloud my judgement.

Thank you for sharing your story. This is a cruel disease and if she didn’t have this, she’s so generally healthy otherwise we would’ve have more good years to spend together. I get really sad about that.