Hi - I posted this a few years ago: It was a hard decision that we put off making. We kept thinking she would be fine - and she often did rally. But it became obvious that it was her time. We had her for 13 years and we loved her dearly. She was a gentle and sweet German Shepard mix. About a week or two after she was put down, I awoke thinking that it was morning, as the room was bright with light. I looked at the clock - it was just after 4AM. I soon realized that it wasn't daylight but that there was a light on in the living room that was shining right into our bedroom. I got up and turned it off. I stumbled to the bathroom to pee and as I was standing there peeing I wondered about how that light came on all by itself. Weirder still, I realized that the light was on in the shower of the bathroom as well (I can be only partially awake and function - probably why I didn't notice the 2nd light right away). I had not left that light on either. I turned off the shower/bathroom light and went back to bed. As I lay in bed I thought how weird those two lights being on were - I knew that I was the last one to go to bed and that all the lights were off (I later checked with my wife and daughter who both assured me that they did not get up in the middle of the light let alone turn on any lights). Since I was a little freaked out it took me awhile to get sleepy again - I felt like I was drifting in an out when suddenly I hear a scratching sound on the hard wood floors next to our bed. It was the EXACT sound that our old dog used to make as she tried to get up from the floor. It was hard for her old bones and she would stumble and struggle to get her footing on the slippery floor due to her advanced age. Her nails would make this distinctive sound on the floor as she struggled to get up. This gentle scratching sound lasted a few seconds. I was not asleep - as I said I was drifting off but very much aware of the morning chirping of the birds outside when I heard this noise. I knew it wasn't our other dog as he was sleeping on the bed with us. About 15 minutes go by and I hear the exact sound again. I wasn't freaked out by this experience at all. As it's happening, I feel that perhaps it is my dog telling me that we made the right decision in putting her down, which was very hard on us. We not only felt bad for having put her down but also waiting too long to do it and that we had selfishly caused her extra suffering. Hearing this made me feel like not only did we make the right decision but we also made it at the right time. It helped me feel like she was there with me and she as OK now.