[vthompson]

Whenever I was growing up, I stayed with my grandparents as much as I could. When my grandmother decided that we were having chicken for dinner it was my job to go to the barn and pick one out.
Like Ron described, I used a hatchet on the neck of the chicken. It was over real quick with that method.

[Pat/Rick]

Owning animals comes with the understanding that at some time we must put an animal down. Doesn't make it any easier, just a fact of owning livestock. A butchering cone for poultry is probably the easiest wayto dispatch fowl.

[Unswydd]

Okay, I've been following this thread and now I'm wondering what would I do if Jake, my 10 year old Sheltie, my camping/hiking partner were to get mortally wounded and I had to "put him down". I live semi-rural and there is a pretty busy street out in front and I occasionally catch him wandering slowly across the street to visit the neighbor dogs. He doesn't hear or see really well. I usually keep him on a long lead but sometimes I let him off. I had to go get him today and really reprimand him which really hurts me and him. He's a great sulker but I had to do it.
But.....what if.....funds are so low.....I just don't know how I'd do it.....My neighbor across the street probably has guns plenty.......should I ask him to do it.....should I do it myself......could I ever live with myself if I did it......

[rslt]

There is a massive difference between an animal that is your companion or one that is more of a utility (like a chook).
I'm not a hunter and the chicken I put down was the first animal that I have killed, but I don't have a problem with it when done for the right reasons, I see it as part of nature and in my case it was more humane than watching an animal die over 4 or 5 days.
Yours is a real tough question and if the time is close for your dog you will have to give it some serious thought.
I think making it as quick as possible is one of the most important things and when its done it needs to be a fatal blow (not two or three hits/shots), there is nothing wrong with getting someone else to do it (maybe someone with experience) as it can help preserve the good memories you already have.
These are my limited experience opinions and I hope you don't have to go through it for a while.
Good luck with it.

[Celticwarrior]

Originally Posted by Unswydd

Okay, I've been following this thread and now I'm wondering what would I do if Jake, my 10 year old Sheltie, my camping/hiking partner were to get mortally wounded and I had to "put him down". I live semi-rural and there is a pretty busy street out in front and I occasionally catch him wandering slowly across the street to visit the neighbor dogs. He doesn't hear or see really well. I usually keep him on a long lead but sometimes I let him off. I had to go get him today and really reprimand him which really hurts me and him. He's a great sulker but I had to do it.
But.....what if.....funds are so low.....I just don't know how I'd do it.....My neighbor across the street probably has guns plenty.......should I ask him to do it.....should I do it myself......could I ever live with myself if I did it......

Ever read Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men"? The old man, when he allows the other men who are mad at his old incontinent dog for peeing on the floor, to take it out back and shoot it, rather than doing it himself, goes through the same dilemma. He hates the thought of killing his long-time friend, but his cowardice at doing what needed to be done means that his dog is cruelly treated as it is dragged outside, is frightened and alone when it dies, and the old man is tortured by that knowledge. He tells George that he should have been the one pulling the trigger, making his dog as happy as he could, knowing it was loved, and everything would be ok, before taking it's life, not scared with a stranger pointing a shotgun at it's head.

It is what makes George do what he does at the end of the story, in fact. Lenny was always very happy thinking about his rabbits.

Facing death, especially when we are the instrument of that death, is a hard thing. It is something we avoid at all costs, and when faced with it, we find ways to sterilize it, distance ourselves from it, and rationalize it. We are fragile when it comes to thinking about the mortality of things close to us. Friends, family, pets. Farm animals have the advantage of being bred for that purpose, but even they (as this thread illustrates) can be difficult to deal with at the end. It is what makes us moral and shows we have empathy, even with animals in our care. However, if it is a choice between a poor quality of life, with pain and suffering ahead for the animal, and a quick death with little or no pain and the knowledge that you are with them and they know you are doing what is best for them, then that should be easy. Sad, but easy. You do what is right for them, not for you. Selfish people would keep an animal in pain but alive, because they don't want to face the reality of the situation. A true animal lover would take care of the animal, including putting it down, if that is what was needed.

I think you would do what is right for Jake should that occur, Unswydd. Hopefully that won't be for a LONG LONG time, of course.

[cowgirlup]

Originally Posted by Celticwarrior

We are fragile when it comes to thinking about the mortality of things close to us. Friends, family, pets. Farm animals have the advantage of being bred for that purpose, but even they (as this thread illustrates) can be difficult to deal with at the end. It is what makes us moral and shows we have empathy, even with animals in our care. However, if it is a choice between a poor quality of life, with pain and suffering ahead for the animal, and a quick death with little or no pain and the knowledge that you are with them and they know you are doing what is best for them, then that should be easy. Sad, but easy. You do what is right for them, not for you. Selfish people would keep an animal in pain but alive, because they don't want to face the reality of the situation. A true animal lover would take care of the animal, including putting it down, if that is what was needed.

Well said!

It's a difficult thing whether you are taking the pet to the vet or putting them down yourself. You will know if it has to be done and you'll find the strength to do one last act of kindness for you animal friend.

Northwet mentioned something called Heiffer Calm in the thread about her puppy getting poisoned. It's been on my list of things to look into in case I need to put donw one of the cats. Tempest is diabetic. So there is a real chance that if I can't get vetsuiln or her kidneys shut down that I will have to do this.

My mom's husband put down their dog a couple of years ago. It was in bad shape and not going to get better. Mom was horrified that he took it out back and shot it while she wasn't home. At first I wondered how he could just do that but the outcome is the same. And the dog was at home. In it's yard. Still that would be very hard to do simply because in my mind I shoot dinner and enemies. Not faithful companions.
But I'd do some reasearch online to get some ideas. Something that would just make them go to sleep and not wake up is ideal IMO.

[Celticwarrior]

Heavy doses of barbiturates are used by vets to end a pet's life. It is a serum called Euthanol, and is more heavily restricted than any other drug available to veternarians and most regular doctors. It will stop the heart and lung function within seconds of injection. Their systems are depressed to the point of non-existance, and because they are insensate, they don't feel pain or the suffocating sense of their lungs freezing or their heart stopping. It is like being completely paralyzed, and drifting into unconsciousness all at once. It is not available in any way, shape or form to the general public, for obvious reasons.

In the real world, if you had a medical background and knew what you were doing with injections, you could probably use insulin to put the animal into a coma and death (hypoglycemia), you could cause a massive fatal heart attack with an air embolysm (anything over 50 cc in humans, less for small animals), or you could finds an opiate (like heroin or morphine) and give a large injection, effectively doing the same thing the Euthanol does. None of these is a great option, and they have a risk of causing a lot of discomfort, pain or suffering if done wrong. There are a lot of ways to end an animal's life, but I think decapitation or a broken neck for smaller creatures like chickens and birds, or a well-placed large caliber bullet in the skull for larger ones, like livestock or pets, is probably the safest, most humane, and most effective, without a lot of chances of something going horribly wrong.

Originally Posted by cowgirlup

Well said!

It's a difficult thing whether you are taking the pet to the vet or putting them down yourself. You will know if it has to be done and you'll find the strength to do one last act of kindness for you animal friend.

Northwet mentioned something called Heiffer Calm in the thread about her puppy getting poisoned. It's been on my list of things to look into in case I need to put donw one of the cats. Tempest is diabetic. So there is a real chance that if I can't get vetsuiln or her kidneys shut down that I will have to do this.

My mom's husband put down their dog a couple of years ago. It was in bad shape and not going to get better. Mom was horrified that he took it out back and shot it while she wasn't home. At first I wondered how he could just do that but the outcome is the same. And the dog was at home. In it's yard. Still that would be very hard to do simply because in my mind I shoot dinner and enemies. Not faithful companions.
But I'd do some reasearch online to get some ideas. Something that would just make them go to sleep and not wake up is ideal IMO.

[Unswydd]

Thanks CW and Cowgirl.........This puts me more at ease with the situation. I just now had to go get him again. Grabbing him by the scruff of the neck doesn't seem to be working so he will stay on the lead from here on out. I cannot take the chance again. He had very little problem all summer staying in his own area which is huge I might add but he likes to watch the road and the dogs across the street.
His day is coming soon, so I won't rush it along....He has been with me for a long time and is a rescue.
I would rather do as Cowgirl says, let him go to sleep but I doubt if that will be the case....more like what CW says....large caliber to the head. But he will be in my arms either case.
Okay this is morbid so early in the morning. Think I'll let this one rest now.
LOL

[rslt]

If its getting too much then I won't carry on, just wanted to say that 'in your arms' is the best thing you could do.
Talk it out on the forum if we can help.

[Unswydd]

Originally Posted by rslt

If its getting too much then I won't carry on, just wanted to say that 'in your arms' is the best thing you could do.
Talk it out on the forum if we can help.

Thanks rslt, Yes, I agree. I will most certainly be right on the boards when his day comes. I just hope I'm not to drunk. I haven't had a drink in almost 9 years but when his day comes I will most likely have a good row!