My dog is pretty tight lipped about the subject.

“Do animals agree to commit euthanasia when they are taken as pets?”

Like, when I adopted my dog did we make an agreement that she would put me down if I got old and sick? Or is there an understanding that I would put her down if she got too sick?

@chyna What, no advance care directive?

No one loves domesticated cats (Felis domesticus) more than I do. They depend on me for their care and we have mutual respect and love.

Three times I have had to euthanize my very elderly cats who had terminal illnesses. One 16 year old cat was howling in constant pain from brain cancer. I bought another cat 5 months of life by having an eye moved. Then he suddenly went blind in the other and stopped eating food and started eating his own cat litter (he was 18 years old). The third cat was 16 years old and started pooping blood and mucus. Spent a couple thousand bucks to keep her alive confined to one room as she couldn’t control her pooping and she stopped using the littler box. Twice a day I would clean up after her and force feed her (according to the veterinarian’s instructions). I had to give her baths to clean the feces and blood from her hind quarters. At the end she just looked at me with her sunken eyes as if to say, “Why are you doing this to me?” Suddenly I felt like a monster. I was keeping her alive for my sake not hers.

In each case I thought to myself, would I like to go on living if I was suffering so with no hope for recovery?

I am the one in charge. The cats depends on me to make the tough decisions. Veterinarians have a selfish interest in keeping a suffering cat alive with endless expensive tests and procedures. For each cat I’ve had to tell the veterinarian “It’s time to end this now.”

Cats have the right to be treated humanely. That’s it. Cats have no other rights. I’m the one in charge and have to make the tough decisions concerning their health and welfare.

To do what you suggest, animals would have to have the ability to reason, which they don’t.

I made an agreement with myself, to make the best decisions for each pet I’ve ever had. In some cases, that means making really tough choices.

As I have no insurance, I have to make tough decisions for myself too.

Same as @MrGrimm888. It’s more cruel (imo) to allow a helpless animal to suffer than to put them down. It takes about one minute after injection for them to peacefully lay down and stop breathing.

I’m not going to lie, I waited a little too long with one of my dogs for selfish reasons, and when I saw he was just sitting on the couch, drugged up on pain meds and no quality of life, I knew it was time. Nothing shows your love for an animal more than helping them not be in terrible anguish or pain.

@MrGrimm888 So sorry for your loss.

I don’t know that they understand the concept of death, or even life, so no. They don’t even get to consent to being our pets…well, wait. Except for Dakota. She had a forever home but she was NOT happy there and she demanded that Rick take her home with him. Her owner said,“OK,” that was that. .

@KNOWITALL . I took Wanda to the Veterinary Emergency Hospital I used to work at. They give an injection of propofol first, which put her to sleep. I sang to her one last time, and then they gave the euthasol. It’s as peaceful as such things can be.

I’ve cried like 50 times a day since that last Tuesday. She was all I had in this world. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Despite my crushing loss of my baby girl, it was the right thing to do. She had lost 20% of her mass in a week. The day I finally took her, she lacked the strength to hold her head up. And the look she had been giving me that week said “it’s time.”

Years ago, when I worked there, there was a 17 year old dog that literally walked into a campfire. It had major burns over most of it’s body. Even her eyelids were burnt off. The owner wanted us to do what we could. We tried to stabilize her before we went into surgery. She lived about 4 hours, I assume in indescribable agony. She died on the OR table multiple times, and we brought her back over and over again. Then we finally couldn’t revive her.
This begs another question. Do we have the right to make them suffer like that?...

Sometimes, all there is to do, is reflect on what’s been done…

@MrGrimm888 You are a sweetie, that was so nice to sing her song. Always here for a talk if you need it.

As far as the campfire, if it was me, I wouldn’t have even tried at that point, but I understand some people hold on longer. I learned my lesson with my old boy, but I kinda held on too long at least twice, so I get it rips your heart out.

Everyone in the family told me for weeks it was time to let Toby go. Finally, I had to agree, when he fell down in a seizure and howled for 20 minutes before passing out. I’m sure he would have if he could.
P. s. My MIL prepared a DNR and was mad at her daughter when she authorized a pacemaker after one episode. MIL lived several more years after that. The night she died, she came to me in a dream and said “Tell Bobby I’m going home with Dad tonight.”