TL;DR: 13f Tree Walker/Basset/Beagle mix with seizures, deafness and poor hips has been declining over the last year. Her boarding facility has declined to accept her any more due to this, quality of life assessment is tomorrow. What to expect from that assessment, and if it is her time how to help her brother (9m Tree Walker/Beagle) grieve.

Hello everyone,

My dog Rhea (Tree Walker Coonhound/Basset/Beagle mix, 13f, spayed, 65 pounds) has been slowly declining over the last year. Last year she started presenting with seizures. Our vet prescribed Levetiracetam in October 2022 after a bad one and we give her 1000 mg daily. She has not had a seizure since April of this year. She did have a spleen removal in February 2020 due to a 10 pound tumor choking it. She does have several fatty tumors present in her chest and stomach area, one external tumor that has not grown in size in the last year. She has gone deaf aside from when her brother barks, then she still participates in her 'no dog barks alone' rule. She has become incontinent and accidents in our house are almost a daily occurance. She will also poop in her bed when she is sleeping and then be surprised to see it happened, so she doesn't know that she is pooping.

The biggest complaint are her hips. It started with her back hips and with her sliding on hardwood floors, "penguin" walking. Our vet put her on daily Synoquin in October 2022 and then in the spring prescribed 75mg Deramaxx initially for as needed, however we have started to have to give her that daily to assist. She struggles to get up on her own, cannot climb into her chair without the assistance of a stool, and cannot go up the stairs on her own (she has fallen several times). The challenge with this is due to her deafness she has to see me or my husband at all times, otherwise she gets nervous and gets up. If she stands for longer than a couple of minutes, her hips begin to shake. I am noticing her front legs are now struggling too. This is not all day, but the majority of the day. Between 5-7pm she does walk around, she will jump from her chair and prance to the front when she sees activity in the street.

My biggest sign of declining is that she does not gobble food down like she used to. This has been declining over the last year since her major seizure in October 2022. She will eat, and she will eat from her brother's bowl if he doesn't tattle on her, but before when she would run to her bowl and gobble breakfast and dinner like a champ, now she eats when she feels like it, and never the entire serving (1 cup of dry food -- Hill's for Seniors).

We take our dogs to Camp Bow Wow for boarding and when I picked them up this morning after a vacation, the owner informed me that they can no longer take Rhea due how much she has declined. She was in pain this morning and whimpered when I lifted her into the car -- then she gave me 'the look'. She did settle in the car and just laid there enjoying the breeze. Of course we got home and she immediately pranced around and while she has drank a little water, has not eaten breakfast and is sleeping hard (common after Camp Bow Wow).

Long story short, I scheduled a quality of life assessment with our vet for tomorrow. What should I expect from that? What will they check, what questions will they ask? If they determine that her quality of life is poor, will they let me take her home and then schedule her euthanasia (my husband will want to be there with her, and we do want to make her last days with us even more special)? Also her brother, Titan (9m, a Tree Walker/Beagle mix, neutered, 70 lbs) will be devastated as they did bond over the last several years that we have had Rhea. If there are any tips to help him grieve that would be great.

I am sorry for the length and all the details, while this is my 4th dog in my life, this is the first one that truly is on my own (the other 3 were family dogs so my parents got to make the tough decision) and I want to do right by her. She had a rough first 5 years of life before my husband and I rescued her, and I have wanted nothing more for the last almost 8 years than to give her the life she truly deserves.

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