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Putting pets to sleep

Dogs Don't Have Souls, Do They?

I remember bringing you home. You were so small and cuddly with your tiny paws and soft fur.

You bounced around the room with eyes flashing and ears flopping. Once in a while, you'd let out a little yelp just to let me know this was your territory.

Making a mess of the house and chewing on everything in sight became a passion, and when I scolded you, you just put your head down and looked up at me with those innocent eyes, as if to say, "I'm sorry, but I'll do it again as soon as you're not watching."

As you got older, you protected me by looking out the window and barking at everyone who walked by.

When I had a tough day at work, you would be waiting for me with your tail wagging just to say, "Welcome home. I missed you." You never had a bad day, and I could always count on you to be there for me.

When I sat down to read the paper and watch TV, you would hop on my lap, looking for attention. You never asked for anything more than for me to pat your head so you could go to sleep with your head over my leg.

As you got older, you moved around more slowly. Then, one day, old age finally took its toll, and you couldn't stand on those wobbly legs anymore. I knelt down and patted you lying there, trying to make you young again. You just looked up at me as if to say you were old and tired and that after all these years of not asking for anything, you had to ask me for one last favor. With tears in my eyes, I drove you one last time to the vet. One last time, you were lying next to me.

For some strange reason, you were able to stand up in the animal hospital, perhaps it was your sense of pride.

As the vet led you away, you stopped for an instant, turned your head and looked at me as if to say, "Thank you for taking care of me."

I thought, "No... thank you for taking care of me."

- Chuck Wells
 
Had my cat put down in 2007. He had the feline equivalent of aids. He was living with my mum at the time and had done so for 6 years as for 5 of those years I'd lived in either a college or a place where you couldn't have pets. My mum was only 2 hours away and she called me to say that the vet had said that it would be best to put the cat down but I was unable to go up on that day and convinced her to not do it until the next day when I could get up to the town she lives in, which was incredible selfish of me as my cat was not able to eat any more but I wanted to see my cat again before it was done. So I went up and we took my cat to the vet and she administered the stuff and I have to admit I did tear up as I'd had the cat since 1996. We took him home and my mum had him wrapped in a towel since I was driving and it was heartbreaking as he just looked like he was sleeping.

Anyway, we dug up a grave and buried him in the backyard. Not sure how old he was as he was a stray we adopted after our previous cat went missing. He looked a lot like our old cat and the people who found him (they were the boarding masters of my school) thought he was our missing cat. He wasn't but we took him anyway and no one ever claimed him. He was a very well tempered cat and was really friendly. He was pretty awesome.

Two months later my mums red setter also passed away, she was about 12 years old.

Last night my brother's pet rat passed away. He had been noticeable sick since the weekend and was around 20 months old, so he was old for a pet rat. I'd got him out of his cage at midnight as I watched Eureka and noticed that he was panting fairly rapidly and he was weak, struggling to walk, etc. About an hour and a half later he passed away. So our household is once about petless and this rat was the second of a pair my brother had, the first passing away in March.
 
Dogs Don't Have Souls, Do They?

I remember bringing you home. You were so small and cuddly with your tiny paws and soft fur.

You bounced around the room with eyes flashing and ears flopping. Once in a while, you'd let out a little yelp just to let me know this was your territory.

Making a mess of the house and chewing on everything in sight became a passion, and when I scolded you, you just put your head down and looked up at me with those innocent eyes, as if to say, "I'm sorry, but I'll do it again as soon as you're not watching."

As you got older, you protected me by looking out the window and barking at everyone who walked by.

When I had a tough day at work, you would be waiting for me with your tail wagging just to say, "Welcome home. I missed you." You never had a bad day, and I could always count on you to be there for me.

When I sat down to read the paper and watch TV, you would hop on my lap, looking for attention. You never asked for anything more than for me to pat your head so you could go to sleep with your head over my leg.

As you got older, you moved around more slowly. Then, one day, old age finally took its toll, and you couldn't stand on those wobbly legs anymore. I knelt down and patted you lying there, trying to make you young again. You just looked up at me as if to say you were old and tired and that after all these years of not asking for anything, you had to ask me for one last favor. With tears in my eyes, I drove you one last time to the vet. One last time, you were lying next to me.

For some strange reason, you were able to stand up in the animal hospital, perhaps it was your sense of pride.

As the vet led you away, you stopped for an instant, turned your head and looked at me as if to say, "Thank you for taking care of me."

I thought, "No... thank you for taking care of me."

- Chuck Wells
I've never read that before. Its good.
 
Incidentally - why do we say we "put them to sleep"? Is it to shelter innocent ears and minds from an ugly truth? Why not simply say "kill" or "euthanize"?

At that point, you're an emotional wreck anyway. I'll take anything to lessen the blow at that point, even if it's just some euphemism.
 
Thanks for the support, guys and gals. It means a lot to me.

It's weird to walk around in the house without him being there... Takes some getting used to.
 
Dogs Don't Have Souls, Do They?

I remember bringing you home. You were so small and cuddly with your tiny paws and soft fur.

You bounced around the room with eyes flashing and ears flopping. Once in a while, you'd let out a little yelp just to let me know this was your territory.

Making a mess of the house and chewing on everything in sight became a passion, and when I scolded you, you just put your head down and looked up at me with those innocent eyes, as if to say, "I'm sorry, but I'll do it again as soon as you're not watching."

As you got older, you protected me by looking out the window and barking at everyone who walked by.

When I had a tough day at work, you would be waiting for me with your tail wagging just to say, "Welcome home. I missed you." You never had a bad day, and I could always count on you to be there for me.

When I sat down to read the paper and watch TV, you would hop on my lap, looking for attention. You never asked for anything more than for me to pat your head so you could go to sleep with your head over my leg.

As you got older, you moved around more slowly. Then, one day, old age finally took its toll, and you couldn't stand on those wobbly legs anymore. I knelt down and patted you lying there, trying to make you young again. You just looked up at me as if to say you were old and tired and that after all these years of not asking for anything, you had to ask me for one last favor. With tears in my eyes, I drove you one last time to the vet. One last time, you were lying next to me.

For some strange reason, you were able to stand up in the animal hospital, perhaps it was your sense of pride.

As the vet led you away, you stopped for an instant, turned your head and looked at me as if to say, "Thank you for taking care of me."

I thought, "No... thank you for taking care of me."

- Chuck Wells

I now have tears. Thank you for sharing this, what sums up how I have felt as a pet owner.
 
Thanks for the support, guys and gals. It means a lot to me.

It's weird to walk around in the house without him being there... Takes some getting used to.

And you will. I've lost far too many pets; each one hurt when they died. You will move past this; you're a good guy, Addie. :)
 
My dog is the perfect size for squeezing up next to when I take a nap. Life sized teddy bear basically. My wife doesn't appreciate those comments but its true!

I know this is supposed to be a thread about losing pets, but that's just another reason why it's so hard when they're gone.
 
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