Pet Euthanasia?

[citizenthom]

Why not just keep it somewhere else thats safe?

My wife won't allow it. And her concerns are reasonable. Snakes are skilled escape artists and have been known to get out of even locked cages; and they will try to eat just about anything that looks tasty and is up to three times their diameter. If I have children under the age of three (which I intend to in the next few years) or another animal (which I do), nowhere is safe to keep a full-grown snake. The risk of incident is extremely low but not worth it.

 

[citizenthom]

They also don't stab you in the back, lie to you, or betray you the way a human person can. Take care of them, and treat them well, and you will have their devotion until the day they (or you) die.

You've clearly never owned a cat. Or dog. Or rabbit. Or snake. Or fish. Or hermit crab.

 

[Chrysostoma]

And to that I would add, my kitten stabs me in the feet when I move my feet under the covers. Strangely, I've begun systematically locking him out of the bedroom every night.

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[Tiberius]

A squirt bottle of water will do the trick.

 

[Chrysostoma]

A squirt bottle of water will do the trick.

I haven't the fortitude to lie in wait for him in the dark these days he's busy alternately stalking and snuggling with his adopted littermate all night long all over the house



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[FreeSpirit74]

You've clearly never owned a cat. Or dog. Or rabbit. Or snake. Or fish. Or hermit crab.

No, but we pet-sit for 3 different dogs when I was growing up, and all of them became very attached to me, my oldest brother's first dog in particular. I can remember one time, my mom and I went to the camp where my brother worked during the summer, that dog literally never left my side the whole time I was there. Normally, he was very social, had to be saying a doggy-style hello to someone, getting attention, but we were Siamese twins those 2 days. Slept in the tent with me at night, and let anyone know who was walking by that there was a dog in that tent, so stay away! When it was time to leave, this dog, I kid you not, lay down in back of the front wheel of the car, and if my mother started to back up, she would have run over him. My brother finally had to physically remove him so he could leave, because he wasn't obeying verbal commands to "come here".

It doesn't hurt that I fostered that kind of bond through being the one who took care of him when he was staying with us, which wasn't all that frequent, taking him for long walks, letting him sleep on my bed (imagine a late-teens girl trying to share a twin-sized bed with a dog the size of a Black Lab!).

 

[mpok1519]

My wife won't allow it. And her concerns are reasonable. Snakes are skilled escape artists and have been known to get out of even locked cages; and they will try to eat just about anything that looks tasty and is up to three times their diameter. If I have children under the age of three (which I intend to in the next few years) or another animal (which I do), nowhere is safe to keep a full-grown snake. The risk of incident is extremely low but not worth it.

After I wrote the post I immediately thought "Duh Mikey, he probably has other pets or children at home."

 

[Paulos23]

Going through this myself. They vet and I have a disagreement on if I should put my cat to sleep. She thinks I should go through every treatment for him. I think he is in enough pain to put him down. She will still do it, just thinks there is hope. Having gone through this with another cat, I know it needs to be done now.

Still, it is a hard thing to do. But as a step-uncle of mine said once: "You have to be willing to shoot your own dog." It is part of being a pet owner. Just be thankful you can end the pain sooner.

 

[keith99]

Going through this myself. They vet and I have a disagreement on if I should put my cat to sleep. She thinks I should go through every treatment for him. I think he is in enough pain to put him down. She will still do it, just thinks there is hope. Having gone through this with another cat, I know it needs to be done now.

Still, it is a hard thing to do. But as a step-uncle of mine said once: "You have to be willing to shoot your own dog." It is part of being a pet owner. Just be thankful you can end the pain sooner.

I'm so happy to have a vet who has a much more reasonable view.

We had 2 dogs, Both 105 Lbs when grown. The first Wheatley a Belgian Sheepdog. We still have him, over 17 years old now. The Second Joey a Presa Canario. Joey was a powerful dog (not that Wheatley was not strong). Joey was a free spirit, wandering free and happy. In fact I'm pretty sure the events that ended up with us having him started with him getting out and getting lost.

A carefree, happy dog. One who was strong enough to take care of anything.

Then he had a tumor. Abotu $3000 and a spleenectomy later it all came down to the biopsy. It was cancer.

We could have spent a few thousand more on chemo and doubled his life expectancy, from 3 good months to 6 crappy months.

Eventually we had Joey put down Likely a blood clot came loose. In a few hours he went from seeming fine to unable to move, each breath harder than the last.

At least I had an easy decision. I'm hoping Wheatley goes as fast. He is still a happy dog, but he husts a lot of the time. Sooner or later I may have a very hard decision to make.

 

[Paulos23]

I'm so happy to have a vet who has a much more reasonable view.

We had 2 dogs, Both 105 Lbs when grown. The first Wheatley a Belgian Sheepdog. We still have him, over 17 years old now. The Second Joey a Presa Canario. Joey was a powerful dog (not that Wheatley was not strong). Joey was a free spirit, wandering free and happy. In fact I'm pretty sure the events that ended up with us having him started with him getting out and getting lost.

A carefree, happy dog. One who was strong enough to take care of anything.

Then he had a tumor. Abotu $3000 and a spleenectomy later it all came down to the biopsy. It was cancer.

We could have spent a few thousand more on chemo and doubled his life expectancy, from 3 good months to 6 crappy months.

Eventually we had Joey put down Likely a blood clot came loose. In a few hours he went from seeming fine to unable to move, each breath harder than the last.

At least I had an easy decision. I'm hoping Wheatley goes as fast. He is still a happy dog, but he husts a lot of the time. Sooner or later I may have a very hard decision to make.

Sorry to hear that, glad it was an easy decision to make. With all the new medicines they have now for pets you can keep them alive for a long time. But sometimes those extra days are going to be filled with pain.

Looking at my cat now, he is fading fast, not wanting to move. Makes it easier now.

 

[keith99]

Sorry to hear that, glad it was an easy decision to make. With all the new medicines they have now for pets you can keep them alive for a long time. But sometimes those extra days are going to be filled with pain.

Looking at my cat now, he is fading fast, not wanting to move. Makes it easier now.

For Joey the decision was twice easy. He was a strong freerunning dog He would not be happy just being slowed and not able to run up the hill behind our house. Possible pain was a secondary consideration. I only saw him admit to pain twice. That did not include post-operative pain, he did not seem to have any. My big problem then was not letting him be so active he would pull out the staples. He was up and running the next morning.