I am facing - not at this exact moment but within the coming year - the horrible decision of putting my dog Atticus to sleep. Aside from a gradual loss of eyesight, back leg movement and hearing, her hind legs are atrophying to the point of her dragging one leg behind, drawing blood yet not feeling the abrasion.
My honest question - i've thought of this in years past and still ruminate over it: Why do we put dogs to sleep? In other words, why don't we let them die "naturally" as we do with humans? I've heard the "putting them out of their misery" theory but if that holds true, then what of prolonged, misery-soaked human lives? If, supposedly, we are all created as equals, why is it okay to prolong one type of life but not another? Or alternatively, why are we put in the god-like position of choosing to end one life but not another? How can we condemn Euthenasing humans when we routinely "put down" animals whose only crimes, sometimes, are being homeless or unclaimed?
Yes, this seems like the rambling of a grief-stricken, dog person. Yes, I am grief stricken and my heart bleeds. But the horrible decision I am eventually supposed to make pushes me towards an honest quest for discussion and answers..Input?
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