Guilt, guilt guilt .......

swag72

swag72

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Sara
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This is a bit of ramble about dogs, so if you're not a doggie type person, then don't read on, you'll only get bored!!

On Saturday night, my parents 9 month old pup that we'd been looking after while they were away died. They returned on Sunday, they were sad, but didn't blame us and said that it would have happened anyway.

She was having her first season and the fact that she was lethargic and off her food kind of masked the issue that eventually led to her dying. We took her to the vet who said she had a UTI and gave her an antibiotic injection. That evening she got steadily worse, and we returned to the vets, where she went into a coma and later died of an enlarged pancreas. He said that it could have been the result of the drugs or the infection itself.

She was such a cute little thing, I am feeling so very guilty that for a couple of days she was probably in pain and discomfort and we did nothing about it, believing it to be her hormones.

I keep being told to focus on the 7 months fun she had with my parents and with our dog, and only remember the good bits. But I feel wracked with guilt that I let her down.

If only they could talk, she's probably still be here today :crying::crying:
 
Any dog lover will feel exactly like you do but you did the best you could it wasn't your fault.
 
What a sad thing to have happened. I don't think you should blame yourself. It sounds like you did everything right....so sorry.
 
How sad, unfortunately it is one of those things as heartbreaking as it is. We lost one of our pups, I know we did as much as we could have for him but I still think what if.
Don't beat yourself up though, mother nature works in odd ways. It would be so much easier if they could talk :(
 
Sara, the feeling of guilt is completely understandable. However much you do at the time, when looking back there is always the thought that you could and should have done more. The reality is that you did everything you could even though the result was an unhappy one.

As has been said, do not beat yourself up. You did all you could at the time. Just focus on the good times that while alive she had a good life and bought a lot of happiness.

Chin up
 
Very sad indeed, and the feeling of guilt will likely last a while I'm afraid - but I'll say don't beat yourself up over it anyway. You did everything you possibly could in the circumstances.

I do know exactly how you feel, same thing happened to my sister and I a number of years back with my mums horse while she was away :(
 
Cheers all - I've often wondered why people post these kind of things on forums and I just found out - I needed some form of objectivity so to speak.
 
These things happen Sara and not much anyone can do about it, the same thing may have happened had your parents been there :hug2:

I look after other peoples dogs quite a lot, it's a big worry, especially when I had one 14yo old GSD who couldn't go into kennels due to problems, I was lucky, nothing happened, I would have been devastated if it had though just like you
 
Sara, you did as much as you could have possibbly done, by going to the vets.
Don't beat yourself up about it.
 
Some owners wouldn't even be bothered to take the dog to the vets so what more could you have done? You did the right thing xxxxx
 
Dogs are stoical creatures and will often just put up with pain and discomfort that would have us in tears. Since they cannot talk you can only rely on what you see and if even a vet doesn't pick up on an issue you can't blame yourself.
It was the same with my dog before she died, symptoms missed or misinterpreted even by the vet meant that she probably suffered a bit more than she would have otherwise and like you I felt guilty for not seeing the problem for what it was, rational thinking doesn't stop that feeling but it does fade with time.
 
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