Poll of the Day > Pet owners, would you ever put down your pet?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Got a call from my grandma and apparently her and my aunt decided to put down my old cat Socks (his back feet were all white) because they took him to the vet and found out he was diabetic.

My roommate put down his dog about a year ago but that I agreed with that since she was so old she could hardly stand and keep pissing wherever she laid, it was gross. My buddy though, he still had a few years in him, he was just "inconvenient" so they threw him out like trash. Sheesh.

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Wow that is a shitty reason to put down an animal.
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I've had to do it more than once and it is absolutely devastating. In all cases it was because of terminal illness, suffering, and very low odds of survival. I would never end a pet's life for any other reason. There are plenty of people who will adopt an animal with issues.
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Llamachama posted...

Wow that is a shitty reason to put down an animal.

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I had a dog that we had to be put down I can't remember what for now, but she had cataracts and couldn't walk and a multitude of other health issues, also a cat who had a bloodclot and lost control of his back legs and was slowly dying

Both cases were to end suffering, obviously
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darcandkharg31 posted...

Llamachama posted...

Wow that is a shitty reason to put down an animal.

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Had to put my dog down earlier this year when he suffered from DKA

He was 13 and the vet said they might be able to treat him but that at his age it would be very difficult and that he might not recover. He was a great dog and it seemed wrong to put him through that just for my own selfishness of not wanting him to go, so I said my goodbyes to him, thanked him, and stayed with him so he wasnt alone at the end.

I think it would be great if cats and dogs had similar lifespans to humans, but thats just not reality
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Ya, we had to put down our lovely pug 'cuz her digestion was like 70% cancer...

It sucks.
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I actually put down a diabetic cat on Saturday. He was a brittle diabetic and his sugar fluctuated wildly. 530 blood sugar? Here's 4 units. Oh shit, now it is 60. Give him 3 units the next day if it was at 500, he stays in the 400's. He was 15, so it was not as if he was a kitten. But after losing 4 pounds and one could tell he was "sick," it was time. It was sad, but his time had come.

His dad is still alive and well. 17 years old and 24 lbs. He's been like a tank that can't be stopped.

I haven't had to do it (my cat died a "natural" death and my dog even though he is getting old is still perfectly healthy) but if I did it would be because I want to end the poor animal's suffering, not because they are inconvenient. If I don't want a pet anymore there are plenty of adoption agencies that can take them.
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G) I already have.



Dreaming_King posted...

My roommate put down his dog about a year ago but that I agreed with that since she was so old she could hardly stand and keep pissing wherever she laid, it was gross.

This is basically why I put my dog down. She couldn't walk at all, and basically just pissed and shit herself and then laid in it (and got it all over herself) because she couldn't even drag herself out of her bed to go to the bathroom.

Even then I felt terrible about it because it felt like it kind of wasn't right to put her down unless she was actually in pain (and she didn't seem to be), but her overall quality of life was so bad at that point it didn't really seem fair to not put her down, either..

If I ever get to the point where I can't stand up and just shit and piss all over myself, I'd want someone to just put a pillow over my head too.

It damn near broke me, honestly. I actually had a harder time fighting back tears than I did when I literally watched my father die in the hospital.
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Our baby girl Siren was really sick, she couldn't eat, or keep anything down if she did. We brought her to the vets, they kept her for 2 weeks, then sent her to a specialist. They said her kidneys were bad and a bunch of other stuff and that she needed surgery.

We had already spent $3000 on her and didn't think the surgery was something she was going to want to live with afterwards, so we took her home. We gave her love and care and after a week of that, she got better and started to eat again.

I always say now that if your pet isn't in obvious pain/agony etc, don't just put it to sleep because a vet says it's sick. Just give your pet love and attention and a chance to get better.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

It damn near broke me, honestly. I actually had a harder time fighting back tears than I did when I literally watched my father die in the hospital.

I still haven't experienced the death of a human I really cared about, but with one exception I can't imagine it being worse than putting down a cat. They're so pure and sweet and innocent and loving. And you can't explain to them that you love them and you're sorry. One of my cats was terrified when we had her euthanized a few years ago and I still haven't really recovered from that.
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Had to have my Golden put to sleep at age 12. Cancer pressing on the pericardium, pain, trouble breathing, toward the end all she would eat was pizza. She stayed game, tail wagging, until she was too weak to stand. The veterinarian came to our home, tranquilized her to doggy Nirvana.

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had to put down two pets. one with a tumor growing out of her jaw that required a $3000 operation, but only a 10-20% chance of surviving because of her age. made the choice to go forward putting her down. 13 years old tho, she lived a good life, otherwise if she was considerably younger id probably go through with the operation.

the other was my cat, Zep who was an orange tabby i had for 10 years before he got colon cancer. this one really gut me as i had to watch his health decline over a year from one of the most loving, easy going and expressive animals iv ever seen in my life just deteriorate into a scared shell that couldnt make it to the litter box and didnt want to be around anyone by the end. this was 4 years ago and i still get choked up thinking about him. tried everything outside of a low probability operation, but his health by that time was so far deteriorated he had a low chance of surviving. made the call to put him to sleep and i ended up actually watching the life leave his eyes at the time. im still pretty fucking up over it.

Our cat Bob had a lung tumor(? Can't remember the exact thing) And we put him down so he wouldn't suffer

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inconvenient? what a fucking scumbag
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Yes and I did do when my cat got a mouth ulcer as nothing could be done by the time we caught it. We have him 15+ years.
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There comes a point where it's a mercy kill. I've had one cat, the cat I grew up with have kidney failure and had to be put down.

I had a second cat, a wild stray that took a liking to my family that ended up with feline lukemia and we put him down because he was suffering.

It's never an easy call to make, but when you're looking at 40k to maybe extend a pet's life by months while it's in pain the entire time, it's time to make the call.
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I had to put down a few pets at the ranch a few times. Rather it was them being attacked by wild animals or sickness.
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I've had to put down some of my pets near the end of their lives. They were very old and suffering. The vets said that nothing else could be done. It was still painful.
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Yes. Animals are not capable of rationalizing away their pain and they have little to no control over it. It is not love to force someone to endure unnecessary suffering to spare your own feelings.

That said, I once had a cat that family members of mine had euthanized because she had severe behavioral problems, but was young and seemingly otherwise healthy. She was MY cat and I DID NOT consent to it. I still get extremely angry whenever I think about it.
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I had a dachshund that became paralyzed. I was ready to take care of him as a disabled dog but the injury was so high it affected his breathing. That was the only pet I had put down by a vet. My husband shot my horse when it fell and broke his pelvis. I was not there when he did.
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We had to put down horses, most recently a male named Rockey. Very upsetting. My dad accidentally put down my cat by running him over with a pickup. He had a hard time getting around anyway, which is how he got run over.
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I have. She was completely blind and all she did was eat sleep and piss. Couldnt even hold it anymore. She was shriviling up real bad too despite eating.

I have to say making an appointment to put your dog down sucks. Cause you start counting down the days you have left with them. Pro was I let her eat a huge steak and chocolate ice cream as her last meal.
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Fierce_Deity_08 posted...

He had a hard time getting around anyway, which is how he got run over.

holy shit that made me laugh even though it's sad.
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Yes, of course, and I wish I did. I made my dog's last few months absolutely miserable because I was so concerned with keeping him as healthy as possible when no matter what I tried, his quality of life was awful. He went completely blind and couldn't find his own way around the house, he was having seizures left and right and losing control of his bowels, he was scratching/biting himself to the point he'd be a bloody mess, and he wasn't eating.

I know a few posters here that when it got to that point, they gave their pup one last good meal like bacon or something and I wish I did that and gave him the last moments he deserved.

Pretty much anyone with common sense would get it done when it's time, but I was an idiot.

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i felt as if id betrayed my best friend when I had to through no fault of her own take her to the vet to be put to sleep because she had stopped eating and couldnt walk.
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