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DAMMIT...........Who left that onion there?
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Was anyone else bothered by the reporter interrupting the guy?

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:'(

Tags for this video have been changed from 'dog, man, ocean, swimming, arthritis, entropy' to 'dog, man, ocean, swimming, arthritis, hip dysplasia, sleep, john unger, schoep' - edited by xxovercastxx

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I applaud the lengths the guy will go to in helping his dog relax. But like with animals I've owned, night is when they seem to suffer the most. It really sucks when you try to wait for them to recover or hope meds will help and then they can't get up or support their own weight and you've got an animal you can't touch for fear of hurting it...who can't go to the bathroom un-aided. That just makes it so much worse when the time comes to put the animal down, when you misjudge or hope too much and it's all pain at the end.

Shame its so common in German Shepherds.

Look, I can clearly see the guy loves his dog, and seems to do anything to ease its pain. But seriously, he needs to fucking get his head out of his ass and have the dog put down. As far as I'm concerned, this is animal cruelty, and its all too common with owners who cant bear the thought of putting their dog out of its misery.

Dogs have a really high tolerance for pain, which means that they can be in a lot of pain without showing it. When they DO show it, like this poor old sap, it means they are in a WORLD of pain. Constantly.

Insofar as anything is supposed to be anything, I would say that dogs are definitely not supposed to live like that. Dogs are supposed to be able to run, jump and have fun, to use their healthly legs and not least their brains, to do searches and whatnot. Being in constant pain (save for a few hours in the water) and barely being able to walk, much less run, is no life for a dog.

Putting a dog down is hard. Really hard. I know, because I've done it. I love all dogs, and I love my own dogs to death and its the hardest shit ever. But it needs to be done. Its part of having a dog, its part of the responsibility: If you get a dog its your goddamn responsibility to feed it every day, to walk it every day, to play with it every day, and not least to end its misery when the dog cant do those things anymore.

I had a mixed breed dog Sheba,at thirteen she got breast cancer.Operation a success,gradually she got less mobile,I was prepared for her passing at any time after this.My former lover offered to help in her care when she was 17,trouble walking,but the vet said if her appetite was ok,she did not need to be put down.We made a cart out of an old baby buggy,she would roll around the yard with her front legs working.Sometimes we would carry her around to let her pee.She seemed very comfortable with this arrangement till at 19 and half she passed in her sleep.I deeply value the time spent with her as any one would, should with an aging and dependent relative.

I agree that a dog in this much pain should be mercifully put down, but I do understand how difficult it must be. Imagine having to make a decision to put down your 19 year old son or daughter. That's probably pretty close to how the guy feels about his dog, especially if he goes to this much trouble just to let it sleep.

He needs to let go. It's the best thing for the dog. I really doubt he could be oblivious to this.

I respectfully, yet strongly, disagree. I have also owned an elderly dog that was in constant pain. I feel that this dog wanted to live, regardless of what pain he was in. He limped, he struggled, yet he still did as much as he did, for as long as he could. I never saw one bit of evidence that the dog, himself, wanted to die before his time. I think it is a convenience to the owner, not the dog, to put it down before it dies naturally. It is hard to see your beloved pet in pain. I get that. That does not mean it would prefer to die.

>> ^BicycleRepairMan:

Look, I can clearly see the guy loves his dog, and seems to do anything to ease its pain. But seriously, he needs to fucking get his head out of his ass and have the dog put down. As far as I'm concerned, this is animal cruelty, and its all too common with owners who cant bear the thought of putting their dog out of its misery.
Dogs have a really high tolerance for pain, which means that they can be in a lot of pain without showing it. When they DO show it, like this poor old sap, it means they are in a WORLD of pain. Constantly.
Insofar as anything is supposed to be anything, I would say that dogs are definitely not supposed to live like that. Dogs are supposed to be able to run, jump and have fun, to use their healthly legs and not least their brains, to do searches and whatnot. Being in constant pain (save for a few hours in the water) and barely being able to walk, much less run, is no life for a dog.
Putting a dog down is hard. Really hard. I know, because I've done it. I love all dogs, and I love my own dogs to death and its the hardest shit ever. But it needs to be done. Its part of having a dog, its part of the responsibility: If you get a dog its your goddamn responsibility to feed it every day, to walk it every day, to play with it every day, and not least to end its misery when the dog cant do those things anymore.


I fully understand your point and respect the humanity (or doganity?...) However I would never be able to put any creature out of its misery unless it could communicate in some fashion how much pain its in. I don't see how we can make that decision unless we have the proof (in this case a dogs whimpers or whining) to make that choice. I would feel terrible if I could not guarantee that I made the right choice.

Even though he is taking such drastic steps to ease the animals pain we don't know how severe the situation actually is. The owner might simply be going above and beyond when taking his pooch out for these naps.

In my experience animals are good at showing when they've had enough and just want to die: they stop eating and they want to go somewhere hidden to lie down and die peacefully. If an older animal still has an appetite it's a good sign they want to keep going.

I don't know how many dogs you have had and if you've ever had more than one. As someone has stated, dogs know just as we do when our time has come. When I had to put my dog down from cancer a couple years back she has stopped eating. She laid in the same spot for hours. When she saw me I had to stop her from getting up. You know why? Because they love in a way we could never understand. She knew she had had enough but everyday without a cry or whimper would come and wake me up. The day I had her put down my other dogs had woken me up and went straight to her side and laid with her. We all knew it was the end and that was when I did the responsible thing. I held her until the very end and when she looked at me she finally knew it was ok to go.

You say this is animal cruelty? So would you put a family member down because you think they've had enough? You're older family members who have arthritis and don't get around so much should be put down right? Yes this is the same exact thing. You say this is animal cruelty. I say this is a loving family who is cherishing the time they have together until the end. How many owners would find a way to ease their dogs pain and sit in the water for extended periods of time to bring their dog relief? How many owners would go that extra mile because their dog is still fighting to live, still fighting to see you smile at them in the morning, still wanting for you to rub their head as you go to sleep?

As far as I'm concerned, this is love and we should all take a lesson.
>> ^BicycleRepairMan:

Look, I can clearly see the guy loves his dog, and seems to do anything to ease its pain. But seriously, he needs to fucking get his head out of his ass and have the dog put down. As far as I'm concerned, this is animal cruelty, and its all too common with owners who cant bear the thought of putting their dog out of its misery.
Dogs have a really high tolerance for pain, which means that they can be in a lot of pain without showing it. When they DO show it, like this poor old sap, it means they are in a WORLD of pain. Constantly.
Insofar as anything is supposed to be anything, I would say that dogs are definitely not supposed to live like that. Dogs are supposed to be able to run, jump and have fun, to use their healthly legs and not least their brains, to do searches and whatnot. Being in constant pain (save for a few hours in the water) and barely being able to walk, much less run, is no life for a dog.
Putting a dog down is hard. Really hard. I know, because I've done it. I love all dogs, and I love my own dogs to death and its the hardest shit ever. But it needs to be done. Its part of having a dog, its part of the responsibility: If you get a dog its your goddamn responsibility to feed it every day, to walk it every day, to play with it every day, and not least to end its misery when the dog cant do those things anymore.

"Imagine having to make a decision to put down your 19 year old son or daughter. That's probably pretty close to how the guy feels about his dog"

No. It. Is. Not.

As for the other responses, the "will to live/eat" argument, I call bullshit. Every living thing has survival instincts, thats why they exist in the first place. But dogs do not on a human level understand the connection between eating and surviving, they do not stop eating because they've "lost the will to live". That is us, humans, antropomorphising the dogs brain. They dont have that same cognitive future-predicting brain we do. They dont make that kind of connection. Whatever triggers the "i'm gonna stop eating and go die" behaviour is probably connected with dogs and wolves pack behaviour, which would be triggered because the dog "knows" that its would slow down the pack, and thus decides to leave. This would however not be knowledge, but evolved pack behaviour, and is unreliable to determine whether the dog has a worthy life. This behaviour could also be triggered in false alarm cases, such as hormones during or after mating seasons and so forth, one week later and the dog is happy as ever.

What is clear, is that this dog, in the video, cannot run anymore, it cannot fetch, search or do anything that stimulates its brain anymore. A dog thats being fed by an owner every day do not have the evolutionary history, nor the brains, to decide that this isnt a life worth living. Which is excactly were the dogs owners brain is supposed to come in: The dog eats because its hungry, it drinks because its thirsty. In more aspects than ever, its being artificially kept alive , as most dogs are most of their life, because they are domesticated and are thus useless hunters/scavengers, but they can still be happy and pain free, but in cases like this, it is literally being kept alive in pain, which is due to the owners emotional commitment.

And thats really all there is to it, if the living creature in front of you is in constant pain, constant agonizing pain, and you are keeping it alive on the basis of your personal feelings, you are hurting that animal. Every day. And those are sad, painful days for that animal. We do the same thing to some humans, even when they express their desire to die, which is a separate issue, but also sad, but atleast most humans can express such desires, and understand what it means to die and escape the pain, but dogs cant. Which is why we should make the hard decision and let them go, even if that hurts so, so much (again, yes I DO know, and yes I have had enough dogs in my life to know).

>> ^Stu:

I don't know how many dogs you have had and if you've ever had more than one. As someone has stated, dogs know just as we do when our time has come. When I had to put my dog down from cancer a couple years back she has stopped eating. She laid in the same spot for hours. When she saw me I had to stop her from getting up. You know why? Because they love in a way we could never understand. She knew she had had enough but everyday without a cry or whimper would come and wake me up. The day I had her put down my other dogs had woken me up and went straight to her side and laid with her. We all knew it was the end and that was when I did the responsible thing. I held her until the very end and when she looked at me she finally knew it was ok to go.
You say this is animal cruelty? So would you put a family member down because you think they've had enough? You're older family members who have arthritis and don't get around so much should be put down right? Yes this is the same exact thing. You say this is animal cruelty. I say this is a loving family who is cherishing the time they have together until the end. How many owners would find a way to ease their dogs pain and sit in the water for extended periods of time to bring their dog relief? How many owners would go that extra mile because their dog is still fighting to live, still fighting to see you smile at them in the morning, still wanting for you to rub their head as you go to sleep?
As far as I'm concerned, this is love and we should all take a lesson.
>> ^BicycleRepairMan:
Look, I can clearly see the guy loves his dog, and seems to do anything to ease its pain. But seriously, he needs to fucking get his head out of his ass and have the dog put down. As far as I'm concerned, this is animal cruelty, and its all too common with owners who cant bear the thought of putting their dog out of its misery.
Dogs have a really high tolerance for pain, which means that they can be in a lot of pain without showing it. When they DO show it, like this poor old sap, it means they are in a WORLD of pain. Constantly.
Insofar as anything is supposed to be anything, I would say that dogs are definitely not supposed to live like that. Dogs are supposed to be able to run, jump and have fun, to use their healthly legs and not least their brains, to do searches and whatnot. Being in constant pain (save for a few hours in the water) and barely being able to walk, much less run, is no life for a dog.
Putting a dog down is hard. Really hard. I know, because I've done it. I love all dogs, and I love my own dogs to death and its the hardest shit ever. But it needs to be done. Its part of having a dog, its part of the responsibility: If you get a dog its your goddamn responsibility to feed it every day, to walk it every day, to play with it every day, and not least to end its misery when the dog cant do those things anymore.




As stated in my first post, and clarified now: I am in now doubt that this owner, or you, loved your dog, and let me be clear, I can assure you I have loved my dogs the same ways. And perhaps cruelty is the wrong word, because it implies intent, but I stand by my claim because honestly a dog owner should be aware of what is going on, and when a creature suffers, and you know it suffers,(but you may never know excactly how much) and there is nothing else you can do to end its pain; End its pain.

"I think it is a convenience to the owner, not the dog, to put it down before it dies naturally."

With all due respect: Fuck you.

When you've actually taken on the responsibility of having a dog, and you've fed that dog for ten years, every day, walked that dog for ten years, every day, when you have played with that dog for ten fucking years , every fucking day, and you've come home to that dog for ten years, and that dogs shows you love every day for ten years, then don't even fucking talk to me about this shit. Fuck off. I'm sorry for the insults, but this hits too close to home for me.

You think putting the dog down is the easy way out?

Look at this fucking guy, spending hours in the water every day, because he can't bear to do the right thing. Everyone who's had a dog put down feels the same way. They'd do anything for another day in the water, for another look into that dogs eyes. To stroke its fur just one more time.

Do you think its easy coming home to no sounds, no tapping feets, to sleep with no snooring sounds from the dog, no wagging tail in the morning like you've had for ten years?

Oh , and add all that to "You've just killed your best friend"

Easy , right?

Fuck you.

Most recent dog that had to be put down was my parent's rescued German Shepard. He was losing his hair to something, having more trouble walking. His rear claws, a couple of them fell out. He could barely step up into the house on his own, a few inches off the ground.

This went on for a month with no improvement, but no noticeable deterioration...he kept losing hair. Vets wanted close to a grand to run tests on him to try to figure out what was happening to his skin after the first round of tests came up with nothing.

We thought it was a severe flea allergy at first, but it just kept spreading despite medications.

Got to where he couldn't get up on his own anymore, and this was a 100-120 pound dog with bad joints so you had to be really careful how you helped him. Eventually he started not going to the bathroom outside when they got him out, but he'd lay back down and pee all over himself.

He ate throughout this, he ate as much as he ever had when he was well. He responded well, acted like he wanted to do things but he just couldn't get up on his own.

Then he got to where he could barely walk once he got up, and he was put down after that started. Didn't sleep deeply or much throughout most of this. Vet was out of ideas, and this was almost two months of giving him a chance to recover if it was possible.

I felt that last week was irresponsible of my parents, my mother in particular, to continue on. Because despite him eating, he was noticeably worse and while he wasn't whining in pain he was panting all the time. The lengths they had to go to just to get him outside to use the bathroom was crazy, getting him back in was worse. And they had to try to plan it because it took both of them to do it.

I suspect he had some kind of cancer that was on his skin and internal, but the vets had no guesses as to what it was. But they advised that everything he came in contact with should be thrown out just in case it was infectious to other dogs or animals. I mean technically he could have recovered, but you're talking a thousand dollars in tests just to find out where to go next on a dog that was getting worse in a few months time. And was already near the typical lifespan of a well taken care of German Shepard, and he had heart worms due to previous owners and a bad diet for his first year of life...he was healthy enough but it plagued him through the years. Plus arthritic joints that had been getting steadily worse for him.

He was.......10 or 11, hard to be exact since he was a rescue. That was in Dec of 2011 a few days before christmas. It was either do it then or risk him getting even worse and having to go through the holidays with no places open.

Before that was a 18-19 year old cat. Whose kidneys were failing, some shots made it looked like she was recovering. But she got bad fast when she started getting bad again.

Both of those cases made the few extra days we got with them seem rather selfish after it was done, because both of them could barely sleep. Go to the bathroom under their own power, etc. And hindsight being 20/20 goes to that, but it was clear to me in both cases that at least a week ahead both of them were not going to make it. And plans should have been made so it wasn't a wake up in the morning, see the cat/dog is way worse than the day before and have to find an emergency vet or something because you waited until the weekend or it was too early in the morning to take them to the regular vet and they had to lay there for hours like that.

I miss them both, but.......that was selfishness to go to those extremes and kid ourselves that they weren't old for their breeds.


I mean maybe this guy's dog sleeps like a baby at night and it's a totally different case, but a 19 year old dog is a very old dog anyway you cut it. If it needs the water every day to function......when it gets cold out I hope that guy is prepared to do what's right for that dog.

I look at it as being no different than having an elderly parent who expressed their wishes to have no extreme measures taken to keep them alive after X many days 15 years ago. You will always have that doubt that they changed their mind in 15 years or that something could be done, but you also know what you agreed to do when they told you this. Once the reasonable options are exhausted, not doing what's best for them and/or within their wishes to prolong it "because maybe....." is selfish. Owning an animal is kind of like agreeing to do something like that, do your best and when it's time do what you agreed to. If vets are giving you multiple thousand dollar treatment options with low chances on an old animal, you're probably being a little hysterical and they don't want to kill that hope or are taking advantage of you.

And I say this as someone who despises people who mistreat animals, and let them breed uncontrollably and let them run stray around the neighborhoods getting hit by cars and such. They invoke suffering on animals by negligence and ignorance. You are as bad as them if you drag it out on your own pets after they've had a long long life compared to others of their breed. Try your best, and when the time comes...do what's right by them...not for you.

There are probably quite a number of people out there who wish they could be euthanized due a terminal illness or some kind of degenerative disease......it's not as heartless as it sounds but it hurts to think about.

2 more comments have been lost in the ether at this killed duplicate.

He passed away a few days ago. :~(

https://www.facebook.com/Schoep.and.John

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