People Shooting Their Pets

[peace]

Here in redneck country, it's not unheard of for people to put an old, sick, or injured dog "out of his misery" with a gunshot.

This is not done out of emergency, but often simply because the owner does not want to "mess with" driving the dog to the vet or paying for euthanasia.

My question is, is this actually legal?

[CatLadyVT]

My BF's uncle has been known to shoot dogs and cats because he got sick of them. I'm glad I've never met him. I would hope it wouldn't be legal, even if the animal is ill. But I wouldn't be surprised if there is no law prohibiting it in some areas.

[Treehugger267]

We live in "redneck" country too and it's done around here. I will never understand how someone can look into the face of something that has loved them and shoot it. I don't know if it's legal or not. Animals are concidered property and so it probably is.

[SuperChicken]

I'm out here in redneck-land & also know of many people who have shot their companion animals to euthanize them. As far as I know, there is no law about the shooting of an pet, only laws regarding the use of the gun involved.

While I could not do this to one of my companion animals, I have shot wounded "roadkill" animals on the side of the road which otherwise would lay there & die an agonizing death. I have cried each time, but knew I did the right thing.

I am almost 2 hours from the nearest ER vet, so in some emergency cases, I can see where shooting a creature might be the most humane option. But it shouldn't be used simply to avoid a euthanasia charge.

On the other hand, I have a customer who shot her 23 year old cat because the local vet wants $295 to euthanize a cat. She could not afford this & the vets here are all about $$ and not animal welfare. That ain't right either, though it doesn't justify another wrong.

[jenna]

I've heard about it (and seen it) happening around here in some areas but I'm not sure if it's legal.

[Life2k]

You have got to understand the way a backwoodsman thinks. If a dog has been lethally wounded by a wild animal and has no chance to live, the man will shoot them right on the spot to save them pain, because they love the dog, and they will cry while they do it. Compare it to "giving Mercy" on the battlefield to a fellow soldier. I married into a back woods family. My BILs still think like this. They would also ask a friend to help them end their life if they were suffering a painful terminal illness.

[Skylark]

If you're a long way from a vet, and transporting the animal there would mean a lot more pain, I can understand pulling out the rifle. Is it wrong? I dunno. I know it isn't right to keep an animal alive, no painkillers or anything, because a vet might be able to extend his/her life by a week.

[Music Girl]

Pets are considered property, having no rights of their own aside from the right not to be physically abused (and even that is debatable, because around here tied to a tree and neglected isn't considered abuse, but I think it is.) A quick death isn't considered abuse. You can walk into any vet office and demand that a healthy pet be put to sleep just because it peed on your rug. They have to abide by your wishes. They can't even hide them in the back and then adopt them out to a good home, no matter how sweet or friendly the animal is - that is against the law (isn't that stupid?) If this is legal (and it is) I can't imagine why a gunshot wouldn't be, as long as there aren't discharge of firearms laws in your area that would prohibit it. You're the owner, after all, which means you can do whatever you want with "it."

My dogs hit the lottery when I fell in love with them. I think of my Cracker or Sloppy or James tied to a tree, ignored and sad, and it really bugs me out. It could have easily happened, because my gentle babies (like all animals) had no say so in their fate. My doggies share my life and I love them with all my heart.

[4EverGrounded]

We had to do this once. We had a dog that was 17 and in poor health. He had a surgery a couple of years before that we were sure would do him in, but the little guy bounced back, much to our amazement. However, his good fortune was short-lived when he snagged his back leg nail on the carpet and tore his leg out of the socket (I think that's what happened - I didn't see it and neither did my husband). That leg was deformed anyway but we had never realised how bad it had gotten until it went out. So there we were with a dog CRYING in pain and no emergency vet to go to. By strange coincidence, my SIL called and my husband (with tears of his own) explained what was happening. She told him to bring him to their house and "they would take care of everything". We took him there (WORST drive of my life) and he was "taken care of" before we got to the freeway that brought us back home (my poor husband was so wracked with emotion that we couldn't even stay - he just put the dog into my BIL's hands then got back into the car and we left). One shot put him down and they buried him in the part of their yard where they bury all the pets that had gone on before. My husband and I cried like cranky children the rest of that night and into parts of the next day. :cry:

I had a point to all that, but I'm crying too hard to get there right now... :cry:

[Music Girl]

I am so, so sorry for that awful experience, Grounded.
I can't imagine how hard that must have been for everyone involved.

On the other hand, what a fortunate dog to have lived to be 17 and loved so dearly. Far too many doggies never have a life so full and good as your baby did.

[DieselAmy]

Would be nice if pet owners could purchase in-home euthanasia kits. You even have to be careful about euthanasia at some places; I once took a rabbit to an ER vet after his extended illness required euthanasia on Christmas night. They did it by heart stick, which is awfully traumatic, and then complicated the accuracy of the necropsy. Now I ask about the euthanasia procedure and demand that my own (compassionate) vet makes an ER call to her clinic to euthanize my pets if necessary rather than go to an ER that won't be compassionate.

As for legality of shooting pets, it would depend on local laws. If local animal control regulations construe it as abuse, you might have something.

[bluesand]

Think if a vet is able to make a dying pet comfortable in its dying days I would prefer it go out that way than euthanasia . We dont knock of humans because they are dying (I think there might be one Scandinavian country that does). Why should pets be any different

[cheekywhiskers]

You can walk into any vet office and demand that a healthy pet be put to sleep just because it peed on your rug. They have to abide by your wishes. They can't even hide them in the back and then adopt them out to a good home, no matter how sweet or friendly the animal is - that is against the law (isn't that stupid?)

Vets are NOT required to perform any service they do not wish to perform (except basic energency care, for wich the owner MUST pay). However, if they say they will perform the service, then they have bound themselves to do so. I have seen vets refuse to do "convienience" euthanasias, but will usually offer to take the animal to adopt out or refer the person to a humane society. In practice I do try to evaluate the adoptability of the animal before refusing to euthanize.

I was giving in vet school a diagram from the humane society of proper location for emergencey gunshot euthanasia for various species. If done properly, it is quick and relatively painless (just looks bad to the survivor).

I have seen animal euthanized with a cardiac stick, but find an intraperitoneal (space around the gut) or intrapleural (space around lungs) easier and less painfull (they just take longer, but it's anesthetic- the animal looses conscience first, then vital functions stop). Those are my second choice to IV injection. Gunshot is my last choice for a humane euthanasia.

Bluesand: when you see an animal suffering to the end and know there is nothing else that can be done, it is the best choice to make. There's no one to pay for the type of hospice care that humans receive and often no one to do it. When you work in the vet field you will see cases that you know there is no alternative. For instance, a dog that seizured constantly for 24 hours strait unless full anesthetized, the alternative were to pay about $700 dollars a day for drugs alone (more for hospitalization) in hopes that he would eventually stop or let him seizure and cause so sever brain damage that he might still die or not able to walk, eat or play ever again. What about a quadraplegic animal (herniated disc, wobblers, trauma, tumors)?

[havocjohn]

Think if a vet is able to make a dying pet comfortable in its dying days I would prefer it go out that way than euthanasia . We dont knock of humans because they are dying (I think there might be one Scandinavian country that does). Why should pets be any different
actually the question should be why do we find it inhumane to drag out a suffering animals life yet not allow suffering humans to die with some dignity?

[havocjohn]

Here in redneck country, it's not unheard of for people to put an old, sick, or injured dog "out of his misery" with a gunshot.

This is not done out of emergency, but often simply because the owner does not want to "mess with" driving the dog to the vet or paying for euthanasia.

My question is, is this actually legal?
It would depend on the gun laws in the area I would think. Why should it not be legal? If your dog is suffering why should you have to drive it to a vet and pay to have some stranger end his/her life?

30 yrs in most areas of the US that would not even be a question, people would have thought you were nuts for taking the pet to a vet to put it out of it's suffering.

[havocjohn]

Pets are considered property, having no rights of their own aside from the right not to be physically abused (and even that is debatable, because around here tied to a tree and neglected isn't considered abuse, but I think it is.) A quick death isn't considered abuse. You can walk into any vet office and demand that a healthy pet be put to sleep just because it peed on your rug. They have to abide by your wishes. They can't even hide them in the back and then adopt them out to a good home, no matter how sweet or friendly the animal is - that is against the law (isn't that stupid?) If this is legal (and it is) I can't imagine why a gunshot wouldn't be, as long as there aren't discharge of firearms laws in your area that would prohibit it. You're the owner, after all, which means you can do whatever you want with "it."

My dogs hit the lottery when I fell in love with them. I think of my Cracker or Sloppy or James tied to a tree, ignored and sad, and it really bugs me out. It could have easily happened, because my gentle babies (like all animals) had no say so in their fate. My doggies share my life and I love them with all my heart.

just because someone puts down their pet themselves doesn't mean they don't love them. For an example Havoc hates the vet, why in his last minutes of his life would I want to take him to a place I know he hates to have some stranger he doesn't like give him a shot?

Basically what I get out of this is it is about the owners inability to do what is a very hard thing to do and use their supposed love of said animal to pass the buck off on someone else.

As Life2K touched on it could be a different mindset too, IMO love involves more than just the good times, and passing the difficult tasks off on someone else is not what I would call love. My .02

[bluesand]

Bluesand: What about a quadraplegic animal (herniated disc, wobblers, trauma, tumors)?

Well what about them , we don't put humans down for the same reasons .Its (cost) a consideration that should have be taken into with ownership of the pet .

While they are nice and cuddly and healthy they are o/k , but they get sick , put them down ? come on . Then we just go and get another one to forful our fantasy of ownership . If you cant see them through to the end you shouldn't have them .

[SuperChicken]

Well what about them , we don't put humans down for the same reasons .Its (cost) a consideration that should have be taken into with ownership of the pet .

While they are nice and cuddly and healthy they are o/k , but they get sick , put them down ? come on . Then we just go and get another one to forful our fantasy of ownership . If you cant see them through to the end you shouldn't have them .

Putting an animal down to end its suffering is not the same as euthanasia because one does not want to pay for treatment, or because one does not want to care for a sick animal.

Ending a companion animal's irreversible suffering is the kindest gift we can give to them sometimes. No animal wants to live in agony, wants to be in constant pain, etc.

Frankly, the human race would be better off if the same were legally allowed for humans. If I were very old, being ravaged by cancer, in constant pain, had lost all motor control, and had zero quality of life or dignity, damn right I'd want to be euthanized.

[Bof]

IMO love involves more than just the good times, and passing the difficult tasks off on someone else is not what I would call love. My .02

How judgemental.
Holding one of my animals as it's being given an injection to end its life by the vet certainly does not indicate that I don't love the animal.
One of my dogs for example, would be quite comfortable being given an injection by the vet, because it's a regular routine procedure.
If I find an unviable joey in the pouch of a dead marsupial I'm supposed to cut its throat with a razor blade. I wouldn't.

[havocjohn]

How judgemental.
Holding one of my animals as it's being given an injection to end its life by the vet certainly does not indicate that I don't love the animal.
One of my dogs for example, would be quite comfortable being given an injection by the vet, because it's a regular routine procedure.
If I find an unviable joey in the pouch of a dead marsupial I'm supposed to cut its throat with a razor blade. I don't.
no more so than posts directed at those that have put their pets out of their misery themselves.

Well goody for you, did you bring it home and raise it yourself too? Or did you just leave it to suffer and die unprotected by it's mother?

[Wolfie]

Had I known how things were going to end when my last dog died, I'd rather it have been done at home. He hated the vet yet I drug him to 2 different clinics his last night/morning (the er and then regular clinic) thinking they could save him. He ended up dying in his least favorite place in the world.

Then again, I know several people who will shoot dogs just because they're tired of it, or it peed on the floor, or they had an unplanned littler of puppies so they kill the puppies. Yes, I live in redneck land too and I have a bunch of rednecks for relatives. That's totally different than shooting your pet to end its suffering.

I will kill myself should I ever get so sick or injured that life is no fun anymore. My animals deserve the same dignity.

[Cissy]

that's how some of my parents' dogs have been put down *shrug* I couldn't do it, but I don't necessarily think it's wrong.

[Bof]

no more so than posts directed at those that have put their pets out of their misery themselves.

Well goody for you, did you bring it home and raise it yourself too? Or did you just leave it to suffer and die unprotected by it's mother?

Your failure to understand what I said may or may not have been deliberate but see my post #2:
http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=71774&highlight=possums

[Music Girl]

Cheeky - I guess the vet I worked for was just a butthead. He never gave people the adoption option, even for really nice dogs and cats that the families had just gotten tired of. When I pressed him about the issue he just said, "They are my customers and I have to do what they ask me to." I guess it was just his cop out to make alot of money on the euthanasia. He was pretty greedy. He wouldn't see animals (even suffering ones) unless the owners ponied up a ton of money up front. A dog could be bleeding to death and if they didn't have money on hand, he'd let the animal die in the parking lot. The man was loaded. A little charity now and then wouldn't have hurt him any....

And.....Havoc evidently misunderstood my original post. I don't judge people who take their animals euthanasia into their own hands. I just think ANY type of euthanasia should be a last resort, humanely handled, and carefully thought through (if time allows) with the animal's best interests at heart.

I have been present at many an animal's vet euthanasia and believe that being held in the owners arms, loved, and stroked and talked to as they are quietly put to sleep with a needle is a more peaceful and pleasant for the animals to go than a bullet to the head would be.

My granddad shot his beloved cat when he got really sick. Vets didn't seem a viable option to him, a farmer in the country, and that's just "what you did" back then. I know he loved that cat, and he cried afterward and grieved for a long time. I wouldn't dare judge someone for doing what my own dear granddad did, because I know he was a wonderful person who loved his cat the best he knew how.

I just know I certainly wouldn't shoot my dogs, if there were any other options available. The thought of my doggies sweet, trusting eyes looking into the barrel of a gun is horrible. My lab, Cracker, would probably try to eat the gun. He eats everything.

[Wolfie]

Yeah, I could never shoot my dogs myself. For one thing I've never fired a gun and would likely screw it up. But I don't judge those who do euthanize themselves, if they're doing it because the animal is suffering and can't be helped.

One of my friends was a vet tech for a long time and when it was time for her dog, she took the stuff home and did it herself. That's no different than a well-placed bullet.