Do you have a pressing problem, annoying anxiety or community conundrum? Jasminda Featherlight, our resident roving Agony Aunt, is here to help. Jasminda will be responding to questions from our FOUR News Of The Area papers on a rotating basis. Send your concerns to Jasminda care of edit@mcnota.com.au and include your title, initials and suburb.

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Dear Jasminda,

I think my 17-year-old dog is telling me ‘it’s time’ but I don’t know how to let her go. How can I make this impossible decision?

Mrs LV, Medowie

Dear Mrs LV,

Dogs communicate in lots of subtle and not-so-subtle ways, as I’m sure you know. When they rip a hole in your new leather lounge, they are actually saying, “You know, I’m feeling a little bit disgruntled with the way you leave me at home all day, on my own, and you somehow think leaving the television going will make me think that you are still home. Well, I’m not quite that stupid.”

When they bring a furry and now unidentifiable creature to your doorstep, they are saying, “Sorry, for a moment there I actually thought I was a cat; I thought I was a feral cat, but now I remember I am a placid dog and I should just wait until 6.00pm when you serve me my kibble and mince.”

As dogs age, they slowly stop doing many of the things they used to do: making their own doggie doors in the flyscreen, jumping up on the legs of unsuspecting visitors, burying your old socks in the compost heap, salivating under the table as you try to enjoy dinner, and so on.
Instead, they take on mannerisms that match their age. They stare vacantly at open pastures, they sleep all day, they get stressed and start ‘sundowning’ at night, they lose their appetite, they hobble, they have more difficulty breathing and some even start slowly removing themselves from the family. With all these signs they are trying to say, “I still love you, but I’m really struggling, and if I could talk I would ask you to start considering whether I have the quality of life that I should have, or whether you are holding on for your benefit and not mine.”
Only you and your vet can make the ultimate decision, but I hope this has, in some small way, helped.

Carpe diem,
Jasminda