A long goodbye

My sister's dog, Max, is in his final days.  He's had a slow and steady decline for the last year or so, and after a trip to the vet yesterday, I fear the end is near.  He's been in pain from his arthritis and multiple other health issues and has increasingly been more and more disoriented and ornery lately.

Can I just say that this is by far, the absolute hardest decision I've ever had to make in my life?!  I know it's the right thing to do to end their suffering and let them leave this world on a "good" day and not when they are so feeble and miserable that life is not worth living.  It just seems so unfair that we outlive our pets.  The only other pet I've had was my dog Tasha that I had as a child.  She lived a very long life and passed away when I was 20 and away at college.

Watching him get worse is heart-wrenching.

I have no idea how I am going to tell my kids.  I have no idea how I will react when he takes his last breath.  I'm waiting for my father come home from Qatar so he can be with me when we take him for his last walk.

I just hope he'll always know how loved he was and how much joy he brought into our lives.  Max was the dog we never asked for (we "inherited" him when Heather passed away), but he is the dog I will miss the most.