How I made the best of my dog's last days
Being present and capable during Snoopy's last days were priceless
My dog died three months ago, and I’m still processing the grief.
Even though my wife and I had prepared ourselves as best we could (he was 16), our last month with him was a bizarre blur of sadness, pre-grief, and gratitude. When you love someone as much as we loved Snoopy, all you want to know is that you did everything you could to make their last days as good as possible.
I didn’t expect to love Snoopy. I had a history of meeting dogs that had already imprinted on their owners (he was raised by my wife), and I had no expectation of ever forming a meaningful relationship with him. To my surprise, he instantly loved me, and much to my wife’s dismay, he at times seemed to prefer my company to hers. It wasn’t long until I was 100% on board with taking him into our home and raising him as my own.
A very welcome expense
Show me your budget and I’ll show you what your priorities are.
Any dog owner that takes the job seriously will tell you that two things are always true:
Your dog quickly finds their way into the center of your world, and
They are expensive
Between his specialty dog food, five daily prescriptions, and frequent vet visits, Snoopy consistently was our third biggest monthly expense after mortgage and groceries. That monthly bill only went up as he got older, and it was the best money we could have spent.
His health took a sharp downward turn six months before he died, and for that period of time, my wife and I were obsessed with the Snoopy’s quality of life.
How much pain was he in? Is this medication making him nauseous? He didn’t eat that food he used to love, is something wrong? When all you have are questions, all you want are answers. My wife and I were fixtures at the vet, and the entire staff at the animal clinic knew Snoopy well.
As we discussed symptoms and treatments with the vet, I’m so glad we never had to limit our discussions because of money. We may have been in denial about how much time we had left with him, but we took pains to ensure our budget was flush with funds dedicated to whatever he might need.
Giving everything we could
Diverting our income to maximize Snoopy’s quality of life was never a sacrifice. It gave us a sense of control and agency to an aging process that we ultimately couldn’t do much about.
Snoopy showed up in our budget in two places:
He was listed in our Everyday expenses category group for things like food and medication.
He had a dedicated Rainy Day fund for unanticipated medical expenses and x-rays.
Maintaining these two funds each month allowed us to free ourselves from ever having to make a set of hard trade offs regarding his health and money.
As time went on the decisions grew heavier. The hardest one was also among the most expensive: Finding a home euthanasia service and scheduling his final day. Just listen that last sentence. Scheduling the end of his precious little life like it was an oil change for the car.
Navigating the options for burial vs. cremation and reviewing urn materials were among several hefty financial costs we had to wade through. We did much of this over the phone, and we couldn’t get through more than a couple of sentences without taking a few deep breaths to let the sobs come out.
The grief alone was enough to make this morbid minutia feel like an oppressive tax on our attention, sadistically siphoning away our final moments with Snoopy. Thank god we didn’t have to add financing or credit card math to the mix.
Doing right by your loved ones
Snoopy’s final day came and went. Not a day goes by where my wife and I don’t mention how much we miss our dog. When you're mourning, all you ever want to know is whether you could have done more. Getting the money part right has helped me cope with this whole ordeal.
Small side tangent. I have a neighbor who’s retired and fairly open about the struggle of living on a small fixed income. He has a dog about Snoopy’s age and talked with us during Snoopy’s final walk. He shared how he was planning to simply let “nature take its toll” when it was his dog’s time to go.
Reading between the lines, he can’t afford to give his dog comfort in its final days. Hearing this broke my heart, and made me uber grateful to be in a position to do right by Snoopy.
If you’ve got a loved one in your life that depends on you, I’d highly suggest putting your conscious at ease with the following tips:
Get clear on your priorities
In my case, the first step to ensuring we were the best dog owners we could be was giving Snoopy top billing in our budget. Keeping his categories full always came before just about anything else.
Know what they actually cost
We knew, with precision, just how much it cost every month to do right by Snoopy. Giving your dependent a dedicated Everyday Expense category is how you achieve this level of clarity.
Know what they could cost
Having a Rainy Day fund that we built and maintained over the years allowed us to explore every option the vet offered up. X-rays, observational overnight stays, and new medications were all treatments we were able to access because of our just-in-case funds.
Do nice things while you can
One of the best things we did was taking Snoopy to the beach. We planned a road trip from Chattanooga, TN to Ojai, CA and spent a month in sunny southern California. Snoopy had never seen the ocean before and he loved it. We made this happen by setting up and funding an Aspirational Savings category over the course of about a year.
The firm grasp on our finances that comes from being on the path to Financial Serenity is how we were able to be the dog owners we wanted to be.
I still miss Snoopy every day, and I can’t even imagine when we’ll be ready for another dog. Honestly it feels like never. Looking back however, I’m glad I got to make the most of the six wonderful years I got to spend with him, and I hope my experience will equip you with the tools and knowledge to do the same with your loved ones.
...so sorry for your loss brother...thanks for all this great advice...i very much dread the day(s)...