not being contraversial but why do we put dogs to sleep?

[AllergicToNutters]

My heart aches for those dog/cat owners in this position and for the pets who have got to that point that they need to be euthanised, but why do we not let nature takes its course? I'm not suggesting we should, but I am genuinely unsure as to why we make that decision for them.

They do die of natural causes. I too am watching a parent die in utterly undignified circumstances which would never be afforded to a domesticated animal. With domesticated animals, you can no longer say, In the wild...., because the animals are not wild. I have had long conversations with my mum's doctors about getting people put down. They don't because they are afraid of abusing people. Yet we as humans are so good at it.

It's not horrid in itself though, it's awful because your pet dies, but not as a way to do it.

The dog I mentioned earlier in the thread, I took him to the vets, she looked at his leg we decided to do it then and there, they fed him treats and made a fuss of him - while he was asking for more treats they gave him an injection which he didn't even notice and he carried on wagging his tail and getting stroked for a minute then he just lay down and went to sleep, then he was just gone.

Short of going in his sleep, I can't think of a pleasanter way for him to die.

tabulahrasa - that has made me cry. And I didn't even know your dog . A lovely ending though for your beautiful boy.

tabula, that does sound wonderfully peaceful. Heartbreaking for you, though x

I would have answered that question with a resounding 'to prevent suffering' until recently. My last rat was dying - she went the same way as all the others, started to lose balance and the use of one side of her body. She carried on for a week, still eating and moving around in a wobbly way. After a while she fell unconscious, and stayed that way until she died. She was calm and peaceful , we kept her clean and stroked her just in case she sensed us. All my others I've taken to the vet at this stage but it's not a very pleasant process - the vet has to inject them in the heart so they need an anaesthetic first. I was never allowed to be with them when that happened. Taking a living animal in, having them taken away and then brought back stiff and dead is dreadful.

When I was agonising over the decision DH said that he wondered why when an animal is sick we instantly assume they need to be killed quicker I can see his point I suppose. know rats are not dogs, and I guess it depends on the illness, but I don't know anymore if it always the only thing to do.

I do miss her

Having held patients in agony in my arms as they died, and having held several dogs and a rabbit while they had their last jab I can tell you which one I'd prefer.

Our rabbit got Myxy, so rather than let him suffer he was PTS and the vet kindly gave him it intramuscularly rather than intravenously as he'd have to shave him first and he didn't want to stress the old boy an more. He gave him the jab & we sat in the spring sunshine & I cuddled him in the open air his little nose wiffling as it always did outside and gradually he slipped away totally peacefully.

I would always recommend it, it is very sad but the last loving thing you can do for your pet and in its own way can be beautiful and an honour to say goodbye after the love they have shown you.

My dog passed away last year she was ill for 1 day then died during the night Some animals are so poorly and in such pain the dont understand what is happening to them , we are currently nursing an elderly cat each day she is doing ok but when the time comes and we think she is suffering to much then we will have her put down , of course i dont want to do it , would be much better for everybody if she passed away on her own , Euthanasia is a humane way to end suffering and pain , not all have a lovely gentile death of passing away in their sleep ,

I wish Huamans could have that option,

Allergic, if it makes you feel any less anguished/anxious about making this choice, I think very often the choice is made for you and at the point at which you make it, the way forward seems very clear. When my lovely cat had a stroke a couple of years ago (we found her hidden away in the kitchen, calling out ) we rushed her to the vet and I knew it was an incurable condition. If you'd asked me before she had the stroke (she had an ongoing kidney problem) about whether I'd choose to have her put down, I'd have felt torn and anguished - when do you make that decision? But that morning, I was totally driven to have her suffering ended as soon as possible. It was a choice that made itself, there was nothing else any decent person could have done. And that's been a comfort to me since then.

My darling girl was PTS when a tumour in her spine caused the spinal cord to collapse causing paralysis. She was in pain and scared. It happened very quickly within hours but euthanasia was the only kind option allowing me to remember the companion she was not the pain she was now in.

I still cry 10 months on and wasn't a decision I wanted to make

We've had 2 dogs put down, we lost our old bitch when she had a stroke one day in the garden, it was horrible to watch her staggering around, not responding to us and hardly able to walk. My mum and dad took her to the vet (I was about 16 at the time) who said that she could improve but it would certainly happen again and she wouldn't be the same dog. They felt, and the vet agreed it would be kinder to put her down then than to struggle through life until she had another stroke. It broke my heart when they came back without her. Out other dog was put down last year, he could barely walk, had a bad heart and it took him a long time to get up if he was laying down. My mum and dad set a date and he was taken into the vets to be put down that morning. Although still heartbreaking, it was easier to know when he was going to go, we spoilt him rotten and made absolutely sure he knew how much we all loved him.

On the other hand, my nan's dog had diabetes and arthritis and was incontinent, but she couldn't bear to have her pts. My nan came downstairs one morning to find the dog having a fit at the bottom of the stairs, after which she died. That, for me, would be horrific, and if it was my choice I would have my dog pts before it got to that point to spare her that end

hopes Hound of Poe passes in sleep and I don't have to call it<

but it is a kindness if the dog is going slowly. dogs can't talk so it is really hard to know adequate pain relief in some breeds, I would hate to think dog was in pain all the time.