Re:Palliative sedation, an end-of-life practice that is lega...
by pdonis on Sunday July 08, 2018 @04:51PM
(#17486132)
As wpietri said, it isn't about you. It's about them.
It's actually harder in some ways with pets because they can't talk and tell you detailed preferences for how they want to go when it's their time. All you have is the general guideline that, if their condition can't be treated and they are going to have to die, you want to minimize their suffering. I've had to do it with four cats, and we have two dogs now whose time will come eventually. It's not easy, but it's not like you have a choice; you made the choice when you took them into your life in the first place.
And don't forget that making the choice to let them into your life adds a lot more to your life than whatever the pain of having to put them to sleep takes away. Our two dogs are both rescues; we have given them many years of happy life (and many more to come) that they would otherwise not have had at all. And they have given us a lot of happiness in return. That will always be there whatever comes.
It's actually harder in some ways with pets because they can't talk and tell you detailed preferences for how they want to go when it's their time. All you have is the general guideline that, if their condition can't be treated and they are going to have to die, you want to minimize their suffering. I've had to do it with four cats, and we have two dogs now whose time will come eventually. It's not easy, but it's not like you have a choice; you made the choice when you took them into your life in the first place.
And don't forget that making the choice to let them into your life adds a lot more to your life than whatever the pain of having to put them to sleep takes away. Our two dogs are both rescues; we have given them many years of happy life (and many more to come) that they would otherwise not have had at all. And they have given us a lot of happiness in return. That will always be there whatever comes.