Since man first became cave dwellers he has looked to the animal world for kinship. Most animals were pursued in the struggle for food, clothing and survival but, as time passed, dogs were sought out for companionship.
Over the centuries this companionship has grown into a full blown ‘best friends’ relationship, sometimes to the point of obsession. Many unfortunate pets, not just dogs and cats but horses and other domestic animals, are ignored and even abused, forced to live outside with no shelter in the harshest of the winter months.
Other much loved pets are abused in a different way ‘killed with kindness’ is a phrase that comes to mind. These are the pampered pets that are overfed, overindulged and under exercised to the point of heart and joint problems. I have met many people who swear that their pet is really fussy and ‘will only eat chicken or salmon’. This is nonsense, an animal doesn’t have the choice to decide what it will eat however, if given the choice between chicken or dog chow, most animals will opt for the human food.
We, as owners, bear the responsibility to look after our pet in the best way possible even though we really want to give them treats, especially when looking into those big, sad eyes.
A pet’s total health is in our hands and sometimes we have to make the terrible decision to put a suffering animal out of its pain. Euthanasia is the official word but to ease our own pain, we say put to sleep. Having made this awful decision many times over in my lifetime, I know what a heart wrenching choice this is.
Our local vet is a wonderfully caring man and he allows us to cuddle our pet as the lethal injection is given. Watching the light go from a beloved pet’s eyes is terribly sad, but also a relief to be at the end of watching him suffer while standing helplessly by.
How much easier to think about the end of our own lives if we knew that we could call upon the doctor to give us that same swift transition, to whatever lies ahead. No more watching our loved ones suffer pain and the terrible indignities that come with final hospitalization, just a painless loving act as we say goodbye.
It really seems odd that we can grant a peaceful passing to our four legged friends but have no choice to end our own suffering without breaking the law. Maybe, in the future, we will be given the right to choose and we too can have a peaceful passing to our eternal sleep.