im not sure wether i believe it,i think clay would have lived longer had i done things differently and caught what he had earlier,maybe it would have killed him eventually but i could have got more time from him,im quite confident of that,but every situation is different,you done all you possibly could,he was ill anyway ,it could have went the same way no matter what,i mean he had some blood transfusions and all,i really dont think you could have done anymore.you and your vet done so much for rufus.i think some pets are born with some defects and us and a vet might be able to prolong their lives but its going to get them at some stage anyway,no matter how much treatment they have,its so hard to accept i know that,i just cant accept it,hope today is a little better for you,hugs to u xx

That is a tough question and I guess it all depends on your beliefs. Some say if you believe in predestination then you believe you have no free will, that it doesn't matter what you do the end result is the same. If you have free will, does that mean you have control of everything? What I do believe is that there are things outside of our control, whether or not that means "it was their time" is hard to say. Remember, doctors and veterinarians are not gods and can only 'control' what is within their power either from their skill or medications available. I wonder if they feel guilt when they can't fix everything.
Not sure if this is what you were asking.
Hope this weekend brings you some peace xoxo

Thank you both for your replies. I don't believe in strict predestination either, I think I said it before, that it's an easy way to get ourselves off the hook and escape responsibility. But I guess I'm struggling to accept the idea that there are quite a lot of things outside our control. Babyclay, I feel the same way, that Rufus would have lived longer if I had done things differently, but I'm finally allowing the possibility that our actions alone couldn't have caused things to end as they did... I would still give my life's blood to be able to go back in time and do things differently...

Yes, I do believe "it was their time". I also believe that our pets know when it is time to pass on, even if it means that we have to make that dreaded choice to put them to sleep.

My mom & dad's Mini Dachshund, Jenny, knew it was time for her to pass on and they knew it too. So, it was her time to go but my dad did things the old fashioned way which was shooting her once and she was gone. He did it when my mom & I left for a few hours.

They eventually got another Dachshund who became my mom's dog. Gretchen had health problems and in the end, she knew it was her time to pass on and so did my mom & dad. I took my mom to the vet to put Gretchen to sleep.

I wasn't with my rat terrier mix, Patches, when he died and unfortunately, he died alone at the vet's due to seizures & being paralyzed on one side of his body. I feel bad about not being with him when he passed on. He was in God's hands and God took him home to be with Him.

In March 1912, I had to make my hardest decision to put my 16-yr.-old Papillon, Jack Frost, to sleep. My older sister & I knew the time would eventually come for him to pass on. He had had seizures most of the night here at home and I stayed up most of the night with him, getting very little sleep when he finally slept a little. He was ready to pass on and I was ready to let him go. I've Prayed so much about not wanting to make that dreaded decision one of these days but for some reason, God had me make that decision. As much as I felt so bad about having to put Jack to sleep, I knew in my heart it was best for him but also for me. I'm still crying off & on to this day over him.

I'm still not through with dog deaths yet. My sister & I also have a 16-yr-old Papillon, Lara, whom we never know what to expect from her from one day to the next. She's borderline diabetes and she's not on any specific diet but we do feed her less dog food. We started her out with emptying a med capusul into her food about every other day or so. Once that was gone, we didn't get her anymore 'cause we can't afford her pills. We give her an occasional Metcam in her food at bedtime or an occasional 1/4 of a baby aspirin whenever we feel she needs it. We give her a little syrup or honey to help with her shaking which we think might be due to low blood sugar. Our vet told us to give it to Jack whenever he had a seizure 'cause the blood sugar is low then. When the time comes for Lara to pass on, we Hope & Pray for her to pass on in her sleep. Otherwise, we'll have to make that dreaded decision to put her to sleep. In the meantime, we're enjoying the time left that God is blessing us to be with her.

We still have 2 more dogs and Hope & Pray they live long lives.

I do believe that there is the right time for animals to pass on, just like humans. In the case of a pet getting hurt to where they've got broken legs or etc. from an accident or, cancerous tumors, then I feel that a pet should be put to sleep sooner. I can see the expense for those things and would rather spend the money to put it to sleep than to keep it living longer. To each their own about how they deal with their pets in such situations. All I know is that as much as I dread the waiting-game for when my old dog is ready to pass on, at least I know she'll be ready when the time comes and I'll be at peace with myself whether she passes in her sleep or I make the decision to put her to sleep.

Darlene

I just lost my sun conure after only 7 years old. They can live 25-30 years. I cant imagine it was her time. She died suddenly in her sleep. She showed no signs of illness. Even that night she was kissing nibbling preening grooming eating drinking etc as normal. I feel like i was robbed of many extra years. This just happened 11/4/13. I am riddled with depression anger guilt etc. I havent slept since then. I cant believe it was her time. :(

I know it sounds funny but I was so heartbroken after I lost Scout I hired a pet psychic who spoke to him on the other side. She said that my dad and a little girl with blonde hair greeted Scout on the other side and told him since he was brave he had to go rescue some kittens that were badly burned in a fire and they were trying to get back into their bodies, that Scout had to tell them not to go back into the bodies. I know it sounds crazy! But that would be interesting if its true. I was reading that pets who become close to humans in their life evolve on a higher level than other animals and are sent on special missions in the afterlife.

Well, everyone here thinks Im crazy now but my point is that I do believe in a higher power and that everything happens for a purpose even if it is unfair or seems uncomprehensible to us why this would happen. My Scout should have lived another decade at least and Im so devsastated but I do believe that God directs our comings and our goings (and animals too).

I love this Psalm of Ascents 121:8

I lift up my eyes to the mountains
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Here is part of the transcript the pet psychic sent to me now Im not saying I 100% believe in this or if she was just making it up, but she also said my dad was trying to talk to me and should she listen (he died in 2001) and then she told me some things which are private and I wont share here but they were very true and there was no way that she could have known that.



Oh my gosh mom I am so sorry. It dont know what got into me. There was a lot of fluttering that was going on up there but I dont know even now if they were real birds or imaginary birds. They were doing that bird dance where they hold eachothers talons and I went to go check it out but what was ahppening is when I got there there was all this rainbow air and the rainbow air looked like I could walk on it and so I did to get to them and then the strangest thing happened. I just kept walking on this rainbow air and then I heard someone calling me. It was a man and younger girl and they were calling me and I ran to them and the man picked me up and held me and kissed me and he told me I was going to be well taken care of and I felt like I knew him well and the little girl with blonde hair in braides on both sides of her head and and a white dress and they said that I am needed for a special assignment and I said what is hte assignment and htey said there there are kittens stuck in the inbetween worlds and I am brave I could go and get them and they were trying to get back to their bodies but their bodies where chared from a fire and their mom was trying to rescue them and lick them and I had to go in there and tell them that they had to come to me and then everyone was proud of me and then I sat with the little girl with blonde hair and she said get used to me. get used to this feeling and I settled into her and I started to feel like I was a cat that a child loved and then I started to feel more human and that I was gong to come back to my mom and dad.

Mom, there is no way you could have saved me because the angels where holding onto me and they are very quiet. Mom, do you know that I love you more than anything and I am working right now on being around children and feeling children energy and i just want you to know that everything is going to be ok. And I want you to know that Dad is really positive and he is going to give you a really good life and I we just want you to know that you are loved and your are responsible (in your life) and you are beautiful. I love how you would scratch my chin and how you would talk to me and cuddle with me. Know that I am cuddling with you at night.

crazy, huh?!

oh how i wish i had something like that to hold onto; that made me cry. I miss my parrot so much

Scout - your posts brought tears to my eyes. So beautiful, yet still so sad. I've considered contacting a pet psychic myself, but not sure I'm ready to hear what Lady would have to tell me... and worried it would bring me back to the dark place when I first lost Lady.

sorry for your loss,my clay was only 7 and i also feel robbed too,i mean i thought id get maybe 13 yrs with him,its the average lifespan for a dog.i miss him so much,nearly 4 months now and it was also a shock for me i thought he was getting better and coming home with me,hugs to you xx