Pancreatitis

Hi I have a question for Vets, I currently have my 13 year old patterdale terrier in the icu in UK vets She has been diagnosed with pancreatitis we are currently on day 3 They have said yesterday we need to think about end of life as she is still refusing to eat. Because of her age they won’t do a neck iv line for food intake due to having a heart murmur we tried last night a nose tube but she couldn’t tolerate it. She is now accepting syringe feeding and has improved some what today she still has diarrhoea the vets are wanting to put a time on how long we continue treating her (money is no issue so can and will continue so that isn’t a factor) When would you say enough is enough on trying to treat her when she’s just refusing food. She is alert and responsive as of today she walks around freely when going outside for her toilet breaks but does sleep constantly when in her kennel at the vets and doesn’t respond to anyone there only to us when we go see her. I don’t want to prolong the inevitable but I want to give her a fighting chance to at least try to recover if she can. We were called there this morning with the impression of putting her to sleep with what the vets said over the phone but when we got there she had made improvements which the vet has agreed but vets are still apprehensive about continuing treatment.   to add she has recently been diagnosed with Cushing and has not yet started treatment Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Hello and first, can i say how sorry I am that you are in this difficult place where there seems to be no right answer - to part with someone you love or to watch them being ill.  There is no magic point at which enough is enough; all cats are diferent and all families are different.  If I asked ten experienced cat owners, they would all draw the line in a different place and furthermore, it wouldn't feel 'right' to any of them; there is never a right time to part with someone you love.

In this case, it sounds as though your vets are working hard to keep your dog, your patterdale terrier, comfortable and it sounds frustrating and difficult that you had just reached a decision to let her go when she finally began to improve.   Good questions for your vet might be; what do you see as being the best case scenario for her from here?  And, if she were your dog, what would you be expecting, going forward, at this time?  Often, the vets involved in a case will disagree about when the right time is because we all have different ideas about this, and that is okay; people do.  Some objective thinkers find that it helps to use your gut instinct to assign a score - what per centage of her normal happiness is your dog at the moment?  What per centage would you like to say goodbye at?  -  The most important thing is that this decision is a personal one; any time that euthanasia is performed for reasons of severe illness, it is a decision that we could not make for humans and a kindness to prevent final suffering, not a stick to beat ourselves with over the timing.  I don't think people do instinctively 'know' as often as the media seem to suggest; there truly is never a good time to say goodbye.  It's a tough time and whatever your call, you will do the best you know with the information you have and you are the people who know your dog best.  If you type 'euthanasia' and 'put to sleep'  into the blog, you will find many veterinary authors writing about their ideas on this subject;  it's perfectly okay to follow the advice that resonates the most for you.  It's also important to be kind to yourself.  The word 'euthanasia' means 'good death'; wishing you and your dog all the best from here.