My senior dog has multiple health issues. How do I assess his quality of life?

Question

Our dog has been diagnosed w/Addison's. He is 13+years old. He has a huge cyst on is head that drains all the time. He has a fatty tumor on his side. Drinks large amounts of water daily. His back legs fail him quite often. He is deaf & has cateracts. He also has a heart murmur & some bad teeth that need to be removed. He needs the teeth removed & surgery to remove the cyst which we can barely cover w/a 2 inch gauze patch. He is a Bicheon & has very little energy. What should we do? Pet's info: Dog | Bichon Frise | Male | neutered | 13 years and 3 months old | 24 lbs

Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS · Accepted Answer

I'm so sorry Max isn't doing well, and it sounds like to me you are asking if it's time to let him go. I work for a home euthanasia service, so I face this question all the time with my clients. It's very important to look at a dog's quality of life when making these decisions. I recommend making a list of five things Max loved to do, and if he's no longer doing at least two of them, then his quality of life has declined to a point where euthanasia should be considered. It would be a gift to let a dog go peacefully who has a bad quality of life, even though it would be very hard for you to do. I hope this helps, and if you have any further questions, please feel free to request a consult with me for more in depth help.

My senior dog has multiple health issues. How do I assess his quality of life?

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