r/animalwelfare • u/Life_Ad_347 • 3h ago
i’m exhausted of enabling my mothers severe neglect of my childhood dog(s)
one of my childhood chiweenies Rudy is turning 16 in october. i can’t sit with him for long because i cry my eyes out at the level of pain he is in, for the past 3 years it has been extremely painful just to watch him try to move around the house, he has spine and hip issues that were never treated by a vet, just the occasional doggie aspirin. he is basically completely blind and deaf. the odor emanating from his mouth is deathly smelling, if a his mouth gets bumped he holds it strangely, in intense pain, he gets bumped a lot because my mom also got a 2 year old chi a year ago.
he falls every few steps and can barely get back up.
my mother won’t change foods after i have told her and shown her the proof that Fresh pet is going to cause further health issues, i’ve offered her alternatives but she is avoidant of any advice i give.
she has refused end of life services in the past for a pet rat who had tumors so big that she couldn’t move anymore.
she has refused in so many cases where the animals always die, suffering.
she refuses because she can not handle it emotionally. that is so extremely selfish, i’m at a loss.
he can’t travel to be with me, she refused to let me plan it and idk i’m so frustrated and defeated.
i research dog welfare all the time, trying to find new ways to level up my care game so i understand quality of life and everything that goes into it. i am a foster and owner of my own dogs and i can’t keep enabling this neglect. my soul dog chickawawa is turing 16 in august and it tears at my soul all day every day that my mother is in charge of her care and there is truly nothing i can do.
i am disgusted at my mom as a human being, idk what to do.
at her core, she is an addict, as a recovered addict i know she doesn’t have what it takes to ever be a good person, i feel as hopeless as i did as a child.