When I was younger, we had a dog. He got old, and developed a tumor in his spine, which led to paralysis. It started slowly. At first he just dragged his back foot along the ground. We thought he'd just hurt is foot at some point, and decided to monitor it. But the paralysis got worse. It went up his leg, and then spread to his other foot and leg. Although he seemed happy enough, he couldn't walk, and when he did move, he dragged himself around. But mainly he was carried everywhere. Because of his age and the cost of the test to see if it would be worth operating, the decision was made to put him down. My parents organised the fateful day with the vet. My mum had decided she wanted to bury him in yard, and plant a tree or shrub there. So the day before our dog was due to be put down, dad went outside to dig a hole. It was a sunny day, so our dog laid out there too.

Our dog watched his own grave get dug.

Sorry for your loss. Losing a pet is like losing a family member.