Hi Gittoh! You're absolutely right. Too many baths can't be good for Peanut, which I didn't even think about! We will be careful in not overdosing on baths here (not sarcastic), and thank you for your concern. This may answer many people's questions that I failed to answer before. Peanut is in incredible shape for a 16 year old. The vet told my mother Peanut was around 15 a year ago, but I'm thinking she might be a little younger. Peanut has no health problems, which is miraculous for a dog her age. Which is also why I think she'll be around for a while. She wears a diaper because she isn't potty trained and is too old to be, that's all. She really gets quite scared when I change her diaper though, I think one of her previous owners really gave it to her whenever she had an accident in the house. Sad :( She's also very skittish. As in, she'll bite or run or get really startled and scared if I try to so much as touch her. I don't want to turn her into a project dog but I am hoping she may get accustomed to us and living here, so that she can live her final days a bit more peacefully.

So you have a dog that wears a diaper, is NOT potty trained, bites when scared, gets scared when the diaper is changed, smells bad, doesn't integrate with the current pet, your husband is allergic, and your housing doesn't allow dogs. Although you think this is the right thing to do, you are an idiot for doing this. You do NOT have the proper environment for it. You are completely overhauling your life in order to accomadate one old dog. It is one thing to adjust your life to take care of a dog, but it is assinine to completely be beholden to changing diapers 5 times a day, bathing it constantly, etc just to keep it alive for another year or two. And what happens when your apartment place kicks you out for having a dog? Is this dog worth being homeless? For what? To give it another year of ******** in a bag attached to its ass.

If OP is willing to put in the time and work to give the dog a better environment that it may adapt to, that's her choice. Especially if she doesn't think it's right to euthanize an animal just because it has special needs. My kitty was very withdrawn, didn't like being petted by anyone but me, and chewed off the fur around her tail. She had a kitty version of PTSD and after some time and TLC is very much improved. Having someone that cares and puts in effort and maybe training could make a huge difference.

The dog is a fear biter. What will OP do when her guest gets bit and needs stitches? And I'm assuming you can have pets in your home... no landlord to evict you for having a pet in a "dogs not allowed" apartment complex? A landlord will only tolerate this situation until he gets one complaint from other tenants...

If 115 phrased that a little nicer, I think he has a valid point. It's commendable to care for an old dog, but it seems wholly impractical to not euthanize this dog, who is only with you because someone else couldn't care for it. Also consider that is could be making your husband upset, also being someone with mild dog allergies it has a fairly distinct effect on you. Good luck whatever you decide on!

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Here is the problem with what you say, the dog can't tell you what it wants. Yes the dog may be suffering and welcome death but the dog could also be suffering but still want to live as long as he possibly can. You are telling someone else to decide on another creatures behalf whether it wants to live or die. Think about it. Among humans there are plenty who get sick and decide they want to die early, more often than not though there are those who get sick and decide that they want to cherish every last second they can possibly get. They don't want to die until God rips the last breath from their lungs on his own. There is no reason to assume other animals can't have similar thoughts. So what you are saying to do could be a "Good" thing as you know it, or it could just plain be murder. No one wants to make that guess.

Dogs live in the here and now. They don't dwell on a happy puppyhood to compensate for current pain and stiffness. They concentrate on what they feel now. So yes, a dog can't talk, but they also could live in day to day pain and ailments and that's all they know before they die.

My thoughts exactly =)

@Vivimage And you know this from the vast amount of time you've spent inside a dogs mind? To say they don't dwell in the past at all would be a complete lie to anyone who has ever actually paid attention. If they didn't dwell in the least then they wouldn't mope around the house for days on end when the person they really like leaves for a bit. They would just allow themselves to be distracted by that game of fetch the sitter is trying to engage them in. They wouldn't leap for joy when an owner returns after having been gone for a year because they wouldn't remember that person well enough to care. Dogs have memories just like you, and they obviously use them.

my dog clearly still remebers the abuse he received before he came to us. that was about 10 years ago now, I know he still remembers because occasionally when I raise my hand to put my hair behind my ears or something he flinches like he's about to get hit. it makes my want to cry everytime. when he first came to us we had to train him to walk around the house because all he knew was the corner of the kitchen or the garden. he remembered that's all he was allowed to do. now he pretty much owns the house!

That's very nice of you to say ^.^ and yes I'm afraid I'll be needing all the luck I can get! My mother has always been on the immature, stubborn, and inconsiderate side. So no matter how harsh this is of me to say, I am quite grateful I didn't get those genes!

I can't possibly tell you how refreshing it is to finally come across someone else with such strong anti-specieist views as myself. Dogs have the same rights we do! What you wouldn't do to a human, don't do to any other living being either.