Don't know the details, so only you can say if you did the right thing (presumably with help from a vet).
Unfortunately, this is the near inevitable downside of all the good stuff we have with our animals during their time with us.
If you have doubts about your decision, think on this. Most animals in the wild have hard, short lives with nasty, painful ends. I assume he didn't have that and was well cared for and loved. It certainly sounds like it. In taking a companion we have a duty to make the best decisions in the interest of the animal, not ourselves. If that's what you did, then you did exactly the right thing.
Aww sorry to hear that :( Been there a good few times myself and it's almost always awful.. and the doubts the questions the worry are inevitable... but.. you have to try to be gentle to yourself and understand that at the time you made the decision you believed it was the right thing to do and that you more than likely made that decision for your dogs sake.. you felt he was suffering, or would suffer, or that there was no cure...... so you did what you felt was right... for him...
I know this is hard right now.. .but I have learned that it's not the end that should preoccupy us.. it's their life.. the love, the memories the fun - and that was the point of his life.. the end is ultimately a few moments of awfullness... his life was way more important than his deathx
I'm sure you did the right thing, I have done it a few times and felt sad of course but also felt I did was the best for my pet and not let her suffer. After seeing people suffer in pain and dying a slow death I KNOW I was right.
You don't give details, but my guess is your dog had health problems which threatened to cause it great suffering, and you opted to give it a quiet peaceful release rather than make it go through that suffering.
That's never an easy decision for a pet guardian, especially if the suffering is a predicted likely outcome, not an immediate observable event.
Please have a little faith that you most likely made the "right" decision (i.e. whatever life your pet may have been denied would have been filled with suffering and unhappiness) and, because you were a good pet guardian, your dog lived a far better life than 99%+ of all dogs (most of whom live short brutish lives as feral scavengers).
That's similar to what happened with Harley (The Best Dog Ever). According to my ex-wife (who kept the dogs when we divorced), Harley repeatedly became confused and disoriented, and his episodes were becoming worse and more frequent. So, in consultation with Harley's excellent vet, she decided it was time for him to pass on.
Sometimes, MJ, you just have to do it. It's tough when they're not sick but a biting dog can bring much grief. We're going to be in this position with out dog shortly -- possibly very soon. We're not looking forward to it.
You did the right thing. He was getting worse you said about the biting. You would never get over it if he really hurt someone bad. You also don't know if he was living in pain everyday. Your vet would never have suggested putting him down if it wasn't necessary. Remember the good times and let time heal your heart. It's never easy I've been there.
That was the hardest decision you ever have to make as a pet owner and it is never easy! Dont second guess yourself know that for your fur baby you did the right thing!
OldSchoolTheSKOSlives 