When do you know it’s time to put a dog down?  Socks is a 16 year old Chihuahua.  He’s lived a good life and has provided us with a great deal of happiness and has been my faithful companion for all of his 16 years, but he’s clearly fading now, and we’re having a hard time with it.  We’re basically just trying to keep him comfortable and dealing with whatever we have to, but at what point do we throw in the towel?

Right now, he’s still up and walking around, aware of his surroundings, somewhat, but he’s no longer active.  He mostly sleeps and goes outside to relieve himself.  He can’t see very well, his eyes are foggy, and even putting food or anything else in front of him doesn’t effect him unless you bump him on the nose with it or tap him to let him know something’s there.
He can hear only very loud noises, not much else, and often acts as though he doesn’t recognize us when we walk into the room or come home.  Once we calm him he’s ok then, seeming to then recognize us.  He often walks around aimlessly and just stops and stares at nothing, standing there, like he’s trying to figure out what to do next, then returns to his bed or gets a drink of water.

Lately he’s been refusing to eat more often, sometimes going a few days without eating.  We try different foods–cooked hamburger and rice seems to work sometimes–but sometimes he just won’t eat.  He’s getting skinnier and skinnier each week.

Several times, lately, he has vomited up all of his meal, and then he doesn’t eat again for another day or two.  We don’t want him to suffer, but also don’t want to end his life prematurely.  It’s a very sad situation.  So, for now, we just wait and watch, keeping him as comfortable as possible, and just letting him live his life.  Hopefully, like most human beings, he would prefer to just go in his sleep, at home, and rest in peace.