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I couldn't do that personally unless I had no other option to stop my pet's suffering.
Our experience with euthanasia by injection for our sweet chocolate lab was very peaceful. She fought lymphoma for 6 months and suddenly went down hill and we had to make that awful decision. We lost it on the drive to the vet, especially when we turned down the short road leading to the vet's office. We regained our composure and took her in. She did not seem overly stressed, actually she seemed to be comforting us. It was almost like she knew her doctor was going to take the pain away. She loved her vet and the wonderful vet technician at the office. She always got excited when I took her there. My wife and I were relatively calm because I didn't want our girl to be stressed. We sat with her for a while in the exam room talking to her, kissing her and stroking her while the vet prepped. He came in and calmly explained everything that was going to happen. We kept talking to her and stroking her until she left us. The vet left us with her to pay our respects and we wept and said our goodbyes. The vet and vet technician talked to us with tears in their eyes and had many kind words for us and our sweet girl afterwards. We went home and cried together for the rest of the day. The whole experience was very peaceful, she was ready and we knew we had done the right thing. Yet our pain was still so intense.
Euthanasia by injection is much more humane. I can't even imagine otherwise. I guess people find ways to rationalize their behavior, whatever it is.
Sometimes this is not an option. I once had to put down a cat of mine that had been hit and badly injured by a car.
We lived out of town, no vet to come to the house, and no one around to take us to the vet, as I do not drive.
I had two options, wait for hours for someone to show up to take us to the vet, or watch my poor cat suffer horribly in pain until he died on his own.
I chose to end his suffering as soon as possible.
What would you have done?
Euthanasia by injection is much more humane. I can't even imagine otherwise. I guess people find ways to rationalize their behavior, whatever it is.
"much more" ? How so?
Needles can hurt and medications can burn as they go in... plus the visit to the vet can be unsettling. How is that more humane then a nice natural walk in the woods and an immediate severing of any pain transmitters and immediate going to sleep?
The OP method is much more humane (may not be fun, but is humane).
When your mother, spouse or child gets terminally ill--do you take them in the woods and eliminate "the problem"? I think we've evolved more as a society than this. Some people haven't however.I think pets deserve the same care--to be treated by a professional with dignity at the end. If there is no hope for recovery, the pet is euthanized. Whatever way you justify your behavior is your own head trip. We all have to live with our actions and decisions made.
These discussions go nowhere;you do what you think is "right" and other people do what they think is right.
Last edited by Nanny Goat; 01-09-2009 at 07:32 AM..
You have to have a tremendous amount of courage to do this. Just reading this thread and the following posts reduced me to tears. I remembered the beloved pets that I was forced to take to the vet to be put out of their misery. It broke my heart.
There is no doubt in my mind that they "knew" what was happening when we made the trip to the vet. They were unusually vocal and agitated compared to previous visits. The fear in their eyes broke me. I will always remember it. I would have preferred to have found another way to end their suffering but at the time didn't know how.
Here's my two cents: The only experience I've had with injection Euthanasia at the vet was positive for me. My 18 year old sick, arthritic cat needed to be put down. I could tell she was in pain. She was very calm at the vet, she liked the coldness of the table because she didn't want to be held and she curled up on it in her 'happy' postion. It was like she knew she was there so she wouldn't be in pain anymore. The vet and vet tech. were really sympathetic and kind. Of course I was crying hysterically and they were very comforting. The cat did not seem to be in any pain or discomfort and it was fast. I stayed with her and held her while they did the injection. I'm still heartbroken and miss her.
It's not an easy decision to put a beloved pet down or how you go about doing it.
Now, I make sure they have had a great meal, and are quiet and as happy as is possible, usually laying in my arms or in their favorite lounging and observation point overlooking the garden, and then I instantly put them down.
This is the part of this post that disturbs me the most. Since when is a dying animal up for a great meal?
That sounds very fine, in theory, but how can you deal with the blood and the gore and the heartbreak? It really sounds horrible; you shoot your own pets. I could never do it.
After reading the other responses: I don't think there's anything humane about it, and I don't think you're courageous. I think you enjoy killing. This is the 21st Century, not the 18th century, the "Wild West," etc.
What's the next step? People?
His original post was very well written and though provoking Its not theory and its not lots of blood/gore... Get outside of the major metro areas and you might be suprised how common such a humane practice is - Also, a very well placed shot from a .22 places a neat hole with just a trickle of blood... its not like you shot someone with a major caliber gun and get the major impact shown on tv... its very humane. Not fun, but humane.
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