Marietheres Reinke

Guest Author at Vegan4Dogs

In recent years, thanks to the dogs in my life, I have had the opportunity to engage particularly deeply with the topics of end-of-life care, dying, and euthanasia. My older dog, Lotti, was diagnosed with cancer in 2023, and what had been slowly looming over us for years suddenly loomed large and menacing. Her days were numbered. But as always, my dog Lotti wrote her own rules.

The tumor grew in such an unfavorable location that surgery—and thus a more precise pathological diagnosis—was not possible. At first, I struggled to explore every possible treatment. But when that wasn't getting me anywhere, I changed my approach and focused on her care and the time we had left together.

I became involved in hospice care early on, but looking back, I wish I had spoken up about it sooner and sought out the necessary support more actively from the very beginning. Hospice care focuses on ensuring the best possible final stage of life, and that involves a fair amount of effort. However, this approach also helps with the challenge of carefully weighing whether and when to make the decision to actively end an animal’s life. Hospice care is still in its infancy in veterinary medicine.

After her cancer diagnosis, Lott lived for about two more years. Months turned into weeks. And in the end, I was planning only a few days ahead. I was in close contact with her vet’s office and worked with them to carefully weigh all the options: My ethical standards regarding animals, the veterinary responsibility, but also our individual circumstances. 

In the end, I decided to have Lotti euthanized on one of her good days. Sure, she would have lived a few more days, but her pain was becoming increasingly difficult to manage and her body was growing increasingly unstable. I still believe it was the right decision not to let her die a natural death. In this case, that would have involved considerable suffering due to her physical condition.

Now, with some distance from that intense time, it has become clear to me just how much every day, every routine, every little moment was shaped by her care. All of that took an incredible amount of strength. But it was worth it to me.