Wanted to update yesterday but the computer was occupied the entire night.
Me and my dad made the decision to wait until my mom could see her again and say goodbye. So, yesterday I picked my mom up from the hospital, came home and said goodbye to Jinx, and called up the local animal hospital. Went in... they originally said I couldn't stay with her, but then the vet asked me if I was sure I didn't want to stay (and I told him they said I couldn't)... so they had to go in the back and chat about whether I could or could not stay. They ended up saying they'd do it the old fashioned way, so that I could stay (which I thought was nice of them), where they'd give her a shot in her stomach to put her "under," and then once she was "out," they'd find a vein then and give her the final injection. Well, they gave her the shot in the stomach and handed her to me... and she just fell asleep and passed. They took her in the back to get the doctor to see if she had a heartbeat, but the shot to put her under was enough, they never had to give her the other injection. It ended up being $47 for the procedure, I thought that was reasonable. I decided to get a little clay pawprint thing that the vet offered with her name and some hearts. The vet tech said the pawprints turned out really nice, so I can't wait until it's ready to pick up (I asked her to do the two front paws). We'll put that on top of our stack of runs, where the ashes and fur clippings of some other chins that have passed are.
Today... feels weird. In the past when we've put down chins, they were always obviously near the end, not eating, just laying around, no energy, but with Jinx... she was moving around, still eating, still chipper... at the vet's she kept wanting to run back into her carrier, wanting to go home, which made it harder for me. But she's at peace now, and that's what matters.
I brought her body home and put it in the cage with her cagemate for a few minutes so she could understand (as best she could) that Jinx was gone. I don't know if we're going to bury her or what, as the ground is a rock with over a foot of snow right now, but we'll see.
Thanks everyone who helped me with this situation and the final decision. I think this forum is great, for all the help that can be offered in a situation like this, where the vet would do whatever necessary to save her life, yet sometimes it's not worth that, and there needs to be people to tell you there experiences and to tell you if it's worth going through all of that. So I thank you all.
