Hi there! I’m so sorry to hear about your loss and your current circumstances. I’m going through this situation currently, so I thought I’d chime in too.

My 14 year old shih tzu was recently hospitalized because he woke up one morning and couldn’t walk. Thankfully he came back okay, but his quality of life is starting to diminish (he was diagnosed with a heart murmur, hypertension, low blood sugar, & osteoporosis). Pretty soon after he got home, I sat my family down and had that tough conversation with them. Not everyone was on board immediately, but it was worthwhile to at least have them thinking about it. It took a little bit, but they’ve slowly started to come to terms with the idea.

Keep in mind, your family may not come around right away. Just give them a little time to sit and process everything. You can start the conversation off by stating your concerns/observations, “Hey so I’ve been noticing lately that Cherie isn’t doing too great. I think it’s getting to a point where we should discuss the possibility of putting her down”. Emphasize that you love her, and that you don’t want to prolong her suffering. Again, your parents might shut you down, but just give them time and do your best to not take any negative reactions personally. You may also have to be the one in your family to start researching details on the process/ have a plan in place for when the time comes.

Something my therapist said to me was that I’d probably feel more guilt if I were to prolong my dog’s suffering, than if I put him down. For humans, fighting through pain and rigorous treatment is worth it to spend more cognizant time with loved ones. Dogs arguably don’t understand the trade-off of staying alive longer if they are in pain, especially if their mental state has deteriorated. Wishing you the best of luck with the situation! I hope it works out for you.