Debating about 15 year old bunny’s end journey

[Dudubunny]

Hi everyone,
I just registered here when I was looking online for answers. My 15 year old girl bunny Dudu has been generally declining in the past 1.5 years. Now she can’t control her hind legs much and this past several days she could only stand up for a while but can’t really move more than 2steps before falling sideways. She has lost 30% of her weight in the past 1.5 year because she became less and less interested in her pellets. We tried adding sunflower seeds several times a day and switching to young bunny pellets but it didn’t help her stop the weight loss trend. But otherwise she had been really healthy and active and like her normal self, eating lots of hay and loves veggies and pets etc. Anyway, nowadays she is on pain meds (matacam and another opioid?) still loves pets and gives kisses and somewhat interested in veggies and fruit but eating a lot less. I gave her critical care a few times a day and she nibbles on hay a little, not as before she would be nibbling on hay throughout the day. And she spends most of her time lying down and sleeping. And she has lost control of poop and pee so we try hard to keep her clean. Our vet says she is near her end and that when she is just lying all day we should consider euthanasia. Well, she is lying down all day but still enjoys our pets and gives kisses and eat a little when we offer. So I do not know what to do. Because we have an oversea trip coming up in 10 days. I will be there for a month and my husband will be home after 2 weeks. So I don’t know if we should put her to sleep before we leave or have a committed pet sitter tending her for 2 weeks (but what if she suddenly passes during that time?). I so wish to stay with her until the end but don’t want to risk not being here but now she seems still interested in life, I just don’t feel ready to put her down now.
Any suggestions? Thanks so much. She is my first real pet (other than chicks when I was a kid) and have been with me since grad school and have moved with us all over the country. I am not ready to let her go.

[Dface]

The hardest part of owning animals is letting them go when you dont want to.

You have given your bunny a loved life, and have cared for her diligently, but from what you have written, her quality of life right now is very poor. If she was mine, i would put her to sleep before I left, because I would not trust another person to care for her the way I would or for her to not be scared of a new human.

The decision to put a pet to sleep is often done with the aim to end suffering, or to prevent future inevitable suffering, which your bunny will face of left to continue.

Euthanasia is a kindness. Its a burden to those who have to make the decision, but you will get to say goodbye, and you wont risk not being there if something does go wrong.

It is an awful decision to have to make and im so so sorry that you’ll have to make a decision either way.

[jerseygirl]

This is a duplicate thread so I will lock this and refer people to this one: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/170719/Default.aspx#616575
@Dface, I will quote your reply and post it in the other thread.

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