Play God? Not Me.

Dogs. I can't imagine my life without them. They're a blessing with their unconditional love and they only ask the same from us. The more time I spend with them the more important it is to me to be able to read them and their needs. My husband and I only rescue special-needs dogs -- those who are blind and/or deaf, diabetic, physically handicapped or challenged, puppy-mill dogs who have been abused and terrified most of their lives and who have endured grave illnesses.

Once you come to my home you get to live here as long as you want, if you have fur. Since my 'babies' aren't considered prime pups, they are often looked at as less than desirable. Our 15-year-old diabetic lhasa apso has seizures and is quite weak, but his spirit is so strong. He's given me no indication that he's ready to leave us yet, and we do everything in our power to make him comfortable and take care of his needs. Much of his life has been about adversity, the same as our other rescues. Yet recently someone told me I was cruel to keep him around, that he is suffering because he has seizures and since I have a choice as to what to do with him, I should 'put him out of his misery.'

Put this guy out of his misery?

I am not God. Nor will I play that role unless he speaks to me very clearly about not wanting to be here on earth any more. To determine that it's time to end a dog's life without his or her permission feels just plain wrong. In spite of physical pain they suffer, which we do our best to alleviate with remedies and massage, their zest for life and sharing love with us is so much more powerful than their desire to end a life that's so short anyway.

Seven months ago one of our dogs started going downhill and having seizures. We needed to increase his insulin and change some of the remedies we were giving him. Because it has meant that there are times I am not available to go places with friends, I have been told that I'm wasting my time, etc. I no longer spend much time speaking with that person. The life granted this little one is precious enough that I believe it is important to do what's possible to increase the quality of his life. With dietary changes, being a little more responsible about keeping the 12-hour span between insulin shots close to the 12-hour mark, and adding some choline to the diet, seizures have decreased and energy has increased. The tail is higher, the leg lifts now when he pees, which he couldn't do a couple of months ago, and his bark is the loudest when the food is being prepared. His blind and deaf sister, who used to bark loudly in the middle of the night, allowing us to get very little sleep, is also taking the choline and hasn't barked in the night for several weeks.

Play God? Not me.