Big hugs to you. You know when it is the right time, but it is such a tough decision to make. Good for you for making the hardest choice you can with a pet.

Amazing how they can see you through so much of your life, so many changes. That's how my rottie was. She'd been with me longer than my husband, my child, seen me through bad boyfriends and good, law school and countless jobs. That was a very difficult time when I had to put her down, but I just knew when I came home the day before that it was the right time. I've got her ashes in a box on the shelf right behind me with her collar on it.