08/07/2025
Timing is key in these situations. Been there, done that, make mistakes. Just because your pet is eating and drinking does not mean they have quality of life. Ask your vet, a friend, people who do not live with your pet and will notice things you do not. Don't wait too long.
As an end-of-life veterinarian, I want to share something I call “glimmers” when it comes to thinking about quality of life in our pets.
These aren’t the hopeful kind of glimmers; instead, they're the kind you hang onto when you’re not ready to let go.
With my boy Mickey who had chronic kidney disease and was beginning to decline it started with: “But he’s still eating.”
Then a couple of months later: “He’s still eating, if I give him people food.”
And toward the end, it was: “Yeah, but he ate a bite of hotdog today!! "
Each shift in his appetite became the new normal. And, when it got down to a single bite of hotdog, that became a glimmer (I didn't know it at the time).
Glimmers are those tiny threads of normalcy we grab onto, trying to reassure ourselves that it’s "not time" yet. But sometimes, these can cloud our judgment and make us miss the bigger picture (it totally did for me, and I'm a vet).
Well, I'm starting to go down this road again with my gal, Lollie. At 16.5 years, things are changing quickly for her, and the roller coaster ride of "up and down days" is starting. With that, I am working to be more mindful of her glimmers; something I wasn't fully aware of when I went through end of life with the Mick-Dog some 20 years ago.
So if you, too, are in that place now, it can be helpful to ask yourself, "Am I seeing true quality of life? Or am I holding onto glimmers?"
Collected From Dog Tv
All credited respectful owners.
