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A relative is sitting and watching her 12 year old dog die. She is posting "last pictures" and latest signs on Facebook. Things like labored breathing, leaking heart, wait and see, on her way out, etc.
It's not like they don't have the money to put the dog to sleep. They have taken her to the vet several times, tried lots of meds, etc. But she seems hell bent on this dog dieing in her arms. For the life of me I don't understand. And I know it is Sunday but this has been going on for weeks. And she says "she's on her way out" and other indications she knows the dog is near death.
Why wouldn't any devoted pet lover take advantage of the possibility to end their pet's suffering.
As long as the Dog NOT Suffering Why put him to sleep! Its HER thats suffering... Its hard watching some one ... even a pet die.
I agree.
I tried killing a rat that was stuck to a glue trap down the street and I could not do it. The squeals coming from that thing was too much for me.
I know that putting a pet to sleep is not the same as whacking a rat with a stick, but the thought of something living, and then all of a sudden it's life-force is gone forever is a difficult thing.
Some people have their pet/family members for years, and letting go is extremely difficult. The money is usually the last of people's worries.
Another thing to consider is that some people don't believe in putting things to sleep. Just like some people don't believe in Euthanasia, some believe that pets should go when they are ready and that the most we can do is make their last moments more bearable.
I am hoping that I would have the courage if my pets are suffering, but I just don't know.
people with an old grandpa or a kid dying with Cancer don't just say, okay he is suffering too much, just gas grandpa (I know it is illegal).
I highly doubt that if Euthanasia was legal, very many people would be gung-ho about gassing their relatives, even though it would mean their suffering would end.
I know that most of us would choose to go the humane route, but just like others have said, it is a difficult decision. Some of us don't hesitate a bit, but many of us do. I respect people either way...it isn't a decision any of us want to make and I don't criticize anyone based on which route they choose. I dread the day that I have to face that with my current animals.
Years ago I delayed putting a very old and much-loved dog to sleep. My vet even tried telling me it was time, but I didn't hear him. Later, after I finally did, I realised that I had been selfish and cowardly and neglectful....this dog was not happy for about six months before I finally let her go; and it was really unfair of me to allow that to happen to her.
I vowed I would not do that again, and I haven't. I believe that some people get a saviour/I am so compssionate complex (evidenced by feeling the need to post an ailing animal's slow death of facebook...that is cruel, gross and self-serving IMO) so they allow it to happen while soliciting sympathy and attention.
It is only difficult because many of us owners are sometimes squeamish; we wopuld rather watch an animal suffer a long death rather than put OURSELVES through discomfort.
Some people choose to employ the same action that they do with terminally ill relatives...basically, hospice care...making the pet as comfortable as possible until they go.
There have also been posts on here about people who had every reason to believe the end was near for a pet, vets thought so, too, and the pet pulled through. Nobody wants to make the wrong decision and end a life prematurely.
I don't put my animals to sleep for the same reason that we don't allow sick and suffering humans to sleep. Why is it okay for animals but unthinkable for a suffering human? Granted, if they are in some kind of horrible accident, then okay. But, otherwise, I try to let things take their natural course.
It is not for me to decide when it is time for an animal to go; that is wholly the animal's/God's decision (and, yes, I do think they decide). Dying is sometimes a slow process but many times a necessary one: it's preparation, IMHO.
And one can argue either way that it is selfish to euth as well as to not euth a pet. But one thing I don't do is pass judgement
There have also been posts on here about people who had every reason to believe the end was near for a pet, vets thought so, too, and the pet pulled through. Nobody wants to make the wrong decision and end a life prematurely.
yeah, a car ran over a dog in my hood, the vet declared it too far gone to be saved (looked like it was about to be separated in two), our neighbor bathed its wounds, got another vet to stitch it up and give it something for the pain, and in a couple of weeks the dog was good as new.....until it got into some rat poison and was so weak it could not eat and the neighbor force fed it until it regained the strength to eat again.
That dog nearly died twice in its first few months of life, but ended up living for more than 12 years.
I don't put my animals to sleep for the same reason that we don't allow sick and suffering humans to sleep. Why is it okay for animals but unthinkable for a suffering human? Granted, if they are in some kind of horrible accident, then okay. But, otherwise, I try to let things take their natural course.
It is not for me to decide when it is time for an animal to go; that is wholly the animal's/God's decision (and, yes, I do think they decide). Dying is sometimes a slow process but many times a necessary one: it's preparation, IMHO.
And one can argue either way that it is selfish to euth as well as to not euth a pet. But one thing I don't do is pass judgement
I have seen people bring in a dog to be put to sleep because the dog always stole things from the counter and the woman lived in an apartment so she could not keep it outside.
I also saw another who brought in a dog to be put to sleep because the dog kept peeing inside the house.
I have no problems with people deciding to end the suffering of their animals, but a lot of times people just don't want to deal with the inconvenience a pet may pose.
finally, not all old pets suffer a long death. I know a few people who had 20 year old cats just go to bed and never wake up. Or Dogs whose only old age malady was being blind. But my great grandma was blind for years, and I was not tempted to end her suffering at all. She was blind but still a hoot
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