This is for anyone who thinks less of someone for putting down a cat or dog. My grandfather was a vet. I grew up around animals -- dogs, cats, farm animals. It is never an easy decision to put a pet out of its misery. We just had our lovely black cat of 15 plus years put down today. We had him treated for a urinary tract infection and he was still peeing and pooping outside the box. He started to hide. He could not jump up on the bed as well as he used to. He was in pain, if for no other reason, arthritis in his back legs and spine. My husband is disabled and was very distraught over his special bed buddy having to be put down, but he made the ultimate decision. My husband and I could no longer clean up after our aged cat. The vet said that our "Junior" was in pain. For the one person who commented something to the effect that when one gets old (a person) I hope he gets put down, I just wish someone would do that for me. We treat our animals, our pets, many times more humanely than we do people. My grandfather would have been the first to say that Junior is hurting, his quality of life is not as good as it has been. Would you want him to continue to suffer? This is what the vet told us today. It is never easy, but as people, as the so-called image of God, we have a responsibility to animals to relieve them of suffering. Junior had bladder problems, and possible liver failure and for a 15-plus year cat, he lived a good life. Can we or should we judge those who are faced with this decision? For anyone who is facing this issue, please assess the quality of life of your pet. Does he enjoy the same things he used to do? Has his litter box or potty habits changed? Does he eat, drink, and play ( at least a little)? When you go to work and come back home, is your beloved pet in the same spot as when you left in the morning? If so, you may want a vet's impartial opinion. I only hope I have someone who will make such a decision for me when the time comes. We are all God's creatures and deserve the best that life can offer and that includes a painless and humane exit to our respective heavens. I only hope I meet all my pets when its my time to check out.

That argument for cropping really doesn't make a lot of sense, especially when one considers that the German Shepherd Dog's original purpose was herding. Many dogs whose original purpose is/was guarding, such as the mastiffs and livestock proctection dogs, have longer ears that flop over. Ears may be cropped so that they would not be torn in a fight with a predator, but a cropped ear is not part of the breed standard. People crop ears because they like the way it looks, period. Back in "the day", an natural Dobe or Dane just couldn't compete with cropped dogs - it wasn't the look judges wanted. There has been a movement away from this in recent years and I'd be happy to see all natural ears in the rings. Tail docking is something I'm on the fence about. There's a argument that hunting dogs such as the German Short-haired Pointer and Cocker Spaniel have docked tails to prevent injury and matting. This does have some merit; however, why then do the English Pointer and the Setters have natural tails?? It's just as hard to remove burrs from a Setter or Retriever's tail as it is to remove them from a Spaniel. I hunt and actually find that the natural tail makes the dog easier to spot in tall brush and the short hair of either Pointer makes matting a non-issue. I'm on the fence because long, thin, whippy tails are easy to injure. I realize this is a poor example, since the standard doesn't call for docking, but my Dane has two lumps of scar tissue near the tip of her tail that routinely break open because she beats her tail off walls, fences, etc. I pad the end of the tail with socks to protect it while it heals, but i would understand why someone owning a dog with such a tail would elect to dock. Again, though, docking for this reason is done on a individual as-needed basis and not routinely as a breed standard and so would be supported by the AVMA. The AVMA position statement does not mention dewclaws. I do remove dewclaws on my dogs. I'm well aware that foxes and wolves ahve dewclaws and are subject to the same potention for injury (the usual arguement against dewclaw removal)I've had too many rip them off and prefer to have it done as a routine matter rather than as an emergency procedure. The AVMA position statement was issued in November 2008 and states "The AVMA opposes ear cropping and tail docking of dogs when done solely for cosmetic purposes. The AVMA encourages the elimination of ear cropping and tail docking from breed standards." The CEO of the AVMA went a little further and stated ""For many years the AVMA has acknowledged that ear cropping and tail docking of dogs for cosmetic purposes are not medically indicated nor of benefit to our canine patients. If it can be responsibly demonstrated that the purpose of performing the procedure is to protect the health and welfare of the dog, then of course the association would support the appropriate surgery." Thus far, the AKC has responded with "We recognize ear cropping and tail docking, as prescribed in certain breed standards, are acceptable practices integral to defining and preserving breed character, enhancing good health, and preventing injuries. These breed characteristics are procedures performed to insure the safety of dogs that on a daily basis perform heroic roles with Homeland Security, serve in the U.S. Military and at Police Departments protecting tens of thousands of communities throughout our nation as well as competing in the field. Mislabeling these procedures as "cosmetic" is a severe mischaracterization that connotes a lack of respect and knowledge of history and the function of purebred dogs. Breed standards are established and maintained by AKC Parent Clubs (each of the 158 AKC registered breeds is stewarded by a breed-specific Parent Club) keeping foremost in mind the welfare of the breed and the function it was bred to perform." Breed clubs continue to argue.

I too am sorry that you are once again approaching this point with another friend. My dog passed away at home 6 years ago. I anguished over the decision for the day or two when I realized she was leaving (she went rather quickly). Even a few hours before she passed away, she was trying to rally (at that point she was still taking herself outside to potty and eating a little too), I figured if we took her to the vet, she would fight to rally and I wasn't sure I would be able to go through with it. We struggled with the decision and in the end allowed her to lie on her own bed until she left. It did get a little difficult for the hour or two before she passed (which was in the middle of the night, so no help available at that point). Had we had access to someone who would have come to the house and done it, we might have, but I don't know because she was such a trooper, fighting until the end. I have second guessed this many times over the years, but in the end feel like we did the best we could with what we had at the time. The cat I lost last year was also a fighter. But things were slower with her and she got to the point that her circulatory system had begun to break down and her hind leg was immensely swollen over just one night. That was the final sign I needed. Despite being like that, she was still running out into the sunshine each time I opened the back door- up until about 2 hours before I took her to the vet. I took her because I was terrified as to what might happen next, and knew her time was already so limited. Her brother who died 4 years ago, had cancer. He just gave up one day a few days after his diagnosis. Once he gave up, I just couldn't make him go on like that. My vet has said when they stop eating, it is generally a good sign that it is time. He was having lots of problems with bloating and dehydration. He couldn't have been comfortable. I'll share what I've shared a number of times and it was about the first time we had a dog euthanized. It was an absolutely awful experience. No sedative, the vet just stuck the dog and she dropped where she was standing. She was watching me at the time. It was not the peaceful passing that I'd heard about from friends over the years. It was haunting and totally unexpected- I was just so unprepared for the process. In the vet assisted losses since then, I've always asked up front if they animal will be sedated beforehand. I would walk out the door and find another vet if one ever said they would not sedate the animal first. My current vet was shocked that a vet would do that, but I have heard it is not that uncommon. With my last two kitties, both were very well sedated, and then the vet did not give the final shot until I indicated I was comfortable and ready-- both those passings were so peaceful that I have no regrets. Our vet is also very supportive and understanding in this process, they never rush anyone to hurry to give the shot, or to finish up with their deceased animal's body and leave. I have been in there on occasion when someone can't bring themselves to leave the body and so the vet will bog down, working out of the other available exam rooms- but NEVER pressuring the person to leave. I love that about them. I have to agree that you will know when the time comes what to do. You won't let your friend suffer, even if that means making a tough decision one way or the other. (((HUGS)))

You have my sympathy. Once we had 4 Abyssinian cats, whose 12 kittens made nights miserable by running around on top of us and biting our toes. It was like having a herd of tiny wild horses in the room. The remedy was to tire them out before bed. We would drag strings for them to chase around the apartment till they could hardly run any more. Irishdancersgram: "when they get older, they'll probably settle down...." Hah! Yes, that is what usually happens, but for the past few months, our 16-year old, who does sleep for much of the day, has taken to wandering around and practically howling for hours and hours during the night. He is healthy, but too old to be interested in playing, so we can't tire him out. While he cries in that loud, demanding Siamesey way (though he is not Siamese), he is leaping from the bed to the window to other furniture and back again, or running heavily right up my body to look at my face and go "purrup" in that endearing inquisitive way cats have. He is worse in warm weather and at the time of the full moon, and I wonder if there are skunks, other cats, or possums in the back yard, so he is dying to go out there. The most I will let him do at night is look out the window. By around 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, he is ready to settle down. We are wondering if he is getting a bit senile because he never used to give us so much trouble at night. To my relief, the colder weather now seems to impel him to get under the covers and stay there. No trouble last night.