@D.F.B, our pets don't speak our language so we make assumptions about what they are trying to tell us. The wagging tail when we show them a treat or standing by the door to be let out to do their business are pretty easy to read. Their request to end their pain and suffering is almost always an unfamiliar message. We have helped enough of our pets to get to the Rainbow Bridge to at least suspect that's the message they are sending.
Our Pug, Ellie, was having trouble swallowing, with horrible coughing episodes so the vet prescribed pills she refused to take. They had to go down whole so we wrapped the pills in her favorite food. She got real good at eating the wrapper and spitting the pill out the side of her mouth so we resorted to jamming the pills down her throat with an index finger. When her condition got worse, we took her to the vet on Monday, December 22, 2019 and told them we could no longer torture her so please end her suffering. We wanted to be with her at the end so we were surprised the vet said she was fine and sent us home with Ellie, hacking and coughing.
I got up early four days later (Boxing Day) and Ellie was in the kitchen lying a foot or so from her food and water bowls. Apparently she passed (alone) some time late Christmas night. That's a betrayal we'll never forget.
Faych went downhill so quickly that there was some concern if we'd get him home before the vet made the house call. I didn't want him to pass at the vet clinic, I wanted him home, in his favorite spot and as comfortable as possible with his people around him. So it breaks my heart to read the way it played out for you. We put so much trust into those who care for our companions, but they are human, and so are you. We don't always get it right, but hearts were in the right place.
@D.F.B, we went three years without a buddy when our Bichon passed. When we decided it was time, we went to our local no-kill shelter and Liane asked to see their Bichon Frise rescues. They had none so I turned to leave and almost tripped over the cage containing the cutest Pug I had ever seen. We asked to take her home and they wanted to know if this was our first dog. When we said no, they asked for the name of our vet. They called the vet's office and asked what kind of pet owners we were. The woman started laughing and we asked what the vet's receptionist said that was so funny. She told us the receptionist said: "When I die, I hope I am reincarnated as their dog." While this is going on, another patron asked how much they wanted for the Pug. Apparently $200 was too much so there was no altercation and Miss Ellie came home with us. Her full name is Eleanor Roosevelt Heine. One of us saw a resemblance...
After we took Ellie to the vet to be cremateed, we lasted two months before heading back to the shelter. The first visit, I handed Liane a tiny, bird-like Yorkie but she was afraid we would step on it and go through another horror show. On the way out a mutt with a "Pug Mix" on the cage started barking at Liane. We were too upset to make a decision and went home. Loneliness and misery sent us back to the shelter a week later and that "Pug Mix" started going crazy, barking and jumping around at the sight of Liane. It growled at me. The sign on the cage explained that the mutt was a Puerto Rican Sato, the common street dog of the island. The shelter had rescued a few hundred dogs from the island, which had been devastated by hurricanes a few years before. The dog had already been named Jasmine, had her shots, neutering and a chip. Jasmine was apparently flown first class from Puerto Rico to Florida because they wanted $550 for her. Before I could say a word, Liane pulled a wad of cash out of her purse and handed it over. They must have had our name in the computer because it was a no questions asked transaction.
My Kardia Mobile app indicated my Atrial Fibrilation had returned and because it was my third major episode, I spent a day in the hospital getting a Cardio Ablation. They cut the left Femoral artery and insert a hose full of tools and cameras up into the heart and zap or freeze the nerves causing the rapid contractions. When I returned home the next day, the news had a story about a mystery disease that was killing people. It was the start of the COVID-19 fiasco. Jasmine and Liane were relaxing on the couch, watching Animal Planet when I walked into the master bedroom. It appeared Jasmine had some Rhodesian Ridgeback in her background and she mistook me for a lion. We suspect Jasmine was targeted by big fat men when she lived on the beaches and streets of Puerto Rico and I looked like one of them. I have slowly won her over a bit by showing up with a Mini Milk Bone or Charlie Bear treat every time I get near her. She still barks when I walk into the master bedroom but now her tail is wagging.
When I first started at the nursery back in the early 2000's, they had a rottweiler guard dog. During the day, they would have him out back away from customers...................and the workers as well. After close, he was free to roam the property. He was massive and most certainly an imposing figure, perfect guard dog then. I was so shy and so timid that naturally I was frightened of this dog, but also frightened of the reaction the other works I'd get when he would bark at me when I had to walk past him. Being the newbie, he naturally barked at me as he saw me as an intruder.
Over time, he barked at me less and less. I then began feeding and talking to him, I eventually got a few pats in. So, while Butch initially found me a threat, he accepted me and began to love me like the rest. I will admit though, even in the later years I was still intimidated by him.
That right side also flows into the height adjuster block (fig.21)..............in silver. 
