Hi keely2009,
This is just my personal opinion, so take from what you will. My family and I are dealing with something similar, except that our old boy has cancer. People assume that when a dog gets older and starts slowing down, it's time to let them go. We would never even consider that for an elderly human family member. We would do anything we could to help including medication to make them more comfy, helping them physically get around etc. (well, most people would. But then you have the ones who stick their elderly in a home and forget them
) Why should it be any different when it comes to our fur family?
Our boy has arthritis and multiple surface tumors. The tumors are ulcerated. They don't hurt him, but it does require a lot of care. We clean them and put steroid cream on them twice a day. He is also on oral antibiotcs. For the arthritis, he's on Metacam once a day. He is also on Gabapentin and Tramadol twice a day, and occasionally, one more at bedtime. He doesn't play much anymore, but he's old. It doesn't mean his quality of life is gone, because it isn't. He still enjoys his treats. He gets excited to go for a car ride or a little walk just down the block (it's all he can handle these days). We have a 2 story home with a walkout basement. So when he needs to go out, there's no avoiding the stairs. Our vet gave us a great suggestion. You take 2cloth shopping bags, cut each one down both sides and slide one under his tummy in the pelvic area and the other under his chest and use the handles to help him up and down the stairs. Does it take extra effort? Sure it does. But we love him dearly and it's most definitely worth it.
We have very busy lives as well, but we make time for the boy who has always been there for us. Unconditional love goes both ways
Good luck
She doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain but I also don't want to push it until she is in pain and her quality of life is not as good and then I could of ended it before she went through this.
There are many options to help her through the harder years, and keep some of that quality of life, without considering euth.
This is a great website to help educate owners to know when it's time and also offers treatment and care options. Some people are willing to go the extra mile for their beloved furkids, others are not. It's really up to the individual.
http://www.veterinarypracticenews.co...-for-pets.aspx