Who makes the decision to put a dog "down"?

I am sorry to hear of your loss. My dogs are my kids so if anyone made the decision without even calling me I would be livid. I understand they are your family, however, there is the courtesy of at least calling you even while they were on their way to put him down. That is a very hard decison and never should be made for you by anyone else. If the dog had passed away while there that is another story. I am soo sorry for this added stress on top of a loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

We had such a delima several months ago. The dog was my grandson's who is in the Army and the dog was living with his mother. She called me then she hooked up a 3 way with him and we discussed it and then he made the final decision. Their only delima was that the vet was in the city and we live on a farm in the country where the dog had originally joined the family so they weren't sure that the vet would put her down and allow them to bring her out to the farm to be buried. Sure enough it was no problem. Then when grandson go leave he was able to come out and visit her grave where we had moved a tree to that he had given me several years ago as a seedling. My brother had left his dog with my parents when he was first married and went on vacation. She had a stroke and they had her put to sleep and had the vet dispose of the body. In his case he was relieved to not have to deal with it as he was too emotionally attached and accepted it as a natural progression. Between my husband and I it is alway me that gets it done and informs him after the fact as it is easier to deal with decisions on my own than to hash them over with him.

I would think it was your decision, have they not use of phones or cellphones? Just curious why they would make the decision without your consent. Ric

As the rightful owner of the dog, you should have been the one to be consulted about putting the dog down. It would have only taken a few minutes for your parents to call you and inform you of the dog's condition and asked if you concur with the decision to put the dog to sleep. They were treating you like a child when they took all the decision making processes out of your hands. The dog was your companion and the decisions should have been yours!

I say it should have been your choice, as you were the owner. My mom just put down her white shepherd in april, and didn't even tell me about it. I found out 2 days later when I stopped by and didn't see the dog. I was really pissed that she didn't tell me. He was about 15 years old and we had him since he was a puppy, so he was like another family member, and it really hurt me that she didn't call.

My first dog, besides my rough collie, he was a german shepherd mixed with smooth collie. He never did anything wrong in his life. His name was Duke. Well in 1997, at the age of 16, he jumped down from two steps off the porch and actually broke his back part of his spinal cord and one of his back legs. He was paralyzed and nothing could fix it. We had to put him down because we didn't want him to suffer. He was my dog, and when even though I was young, I knew it was better for him. He would of actually lived longer if he never broke his spine.

I'm very sorry for your loss. When you say your parents were "watching" the dog for you do you mean that indicates it was a short term thing and you told them you expected to take the dog back within a reasonable amount of time. Since you said she was 13 and you had her for 10 years before your parents took her in, I take it to mean that they have been caring for the dog for the last 3 years. I assume they have been also paying for her food and medical bills during that time. Since the dog was already old and having health problems when you gave her to your parents, it is safe to assume that they would be taking care of the dog for the rest of it's life. That to me is the meaning of pet ownership. If that is the case then, really, you gave ownership of the dog to them when the baby was born. I'm sorry that this situation has strained your relationship with your parents, but I'm sure they felt they were dong the best thing for Polar Bear, and probably did not want to upset you, so put off telling you.

Hi friend, I am so sorry for your loss. I have always had dogs in my life. This should have been a joint decision for all of you and most of all, you should have been allowed time to say good bye to Polar Bear. Well I hope she wasn't in too much pain. If so, she is out of pain now and in a better place. Good luck. Cheryl P.S. Congratulations on your baby.

This is a hard one to answer because I don't know all of the facts, like did something really bad happen to him and it was an emergancy? Then I could see it in this situation. Otherwise they should have talked to you about putting your dog to sleep. How long have they had him? Were they taking full care of buying the food, paying for the vet and such? If so, maybe they thought it was better for Polar Bear. I know that you are sad and upset with them, and they should have called you, but neither of them wanted or didn't even know what to say to you. Don't let this come between you and your parents. It was probly not easy for them to put him to sleep either.

I'm going to ask my daughter about this one. The vet may have done something illegal by putting the animal down without your knowledge. Unless you gave the dog to your parents straight out they had no business taking that position and even then they shouldn't have.

This was your decision 100%. They needed to consult with you to give you a chance to say good by at the very least. Was there ever any discussion on the subject? Did your parencts believe they were doing you a favor? Is it possible they thought you wanted them to do it but couldn't bring yourself to ask? You have every right to be hurt and angry but do talk to them. Confront them about taking this action. They need to respect your boundries. You are no longer a child and make your own decsions. You don't want them making arbitray decsions about your child if they have her at their house. Of course I'm not saying they will hurt the baby but they may act against your wishes (dietary, bed time, sweets, etc). You need to talk to them and require they see you as an adult who has every right to make descions on her own.

How awful! You didn't say the reason they gave for puttng Polar Bear down. It should have been your decision. I have two dogs that have been with me since they were born & I consider them family. But it was done; uugghh! I don't know what I would do if that were to happen to one of my dogs!I'm very sorry for your loss. I'm glad you have your baby to focus on.

Well, I think the fact that it was YOUR dog, and that they had agreed to watch YOUR dog would mean that they should have called you when the idea of euthanization had even come into the picture. That, and they should have considered what you wanted to do after the process. Some people like to bury their dogs, and some people like to either keep or scatter the ashes. They willingly took your dog, so they should have given you the power to make the decisions.

Michelle, I'm SO sorry for your loss. It definitely should have been solely YOUR decision, or you should have been consulted with so you could agree or disagree. If you had disagreed, would they have not done it? The only reason I guess they didn't call right away was because they were dealing with their own grief? It sucks, but what's done is done, and there's no undoing this one. Forgive and move on?

Your parents stepped way out of their bounds, here. It was your dog and it was your decision to make. If they thought you had given them the dog that would be different. Or, if you were leaving the dog in their care indefinitely, that might be different. But, it was your dog and it was your decision. They are way out of line!!

It should have been your decision. I'm thinking they were just trying to save you the pain of making that decision though. I am sorry for your loss. I know they get to be a member of your family and you become so attached to them. I have a 15 y/o fiest (rat terrier) that has gone blind and has terrible skin allergies that aren't responding to treatment. I have been considering that it may be the best thing to do but the decision is hard to make. I have had her since she was just a few months old.

It was your decision to make, not that of your parents. I would be very upset if I were in your situation. I am sorry to hear about your dog.

I would be so upset if that happened to me. I think your parents waaay overstepped their bounds. The only thing i guess you can be grateful for is the fact that you didnt have to make the decision about the dog and didnt have to undergo the trauma of making that decision. They might have thought they were doing you a favor but it wasnt right.

I'm sorry about the loss of your dog. I think what your parents did was very wrong. I understand their concerns, but they should not have done this without at least consulting you about it. It is hard to make the decision I know. I have a black/tan shepherd that is only 7, but he has health issues and I'm concerned enough to wonder if it will soon be time to have him put down also.

i'd say the owner. owner!!! i had this experience of my parents sending my dog to the farm and i didn't know about it til i got home and my doggy was gone. it was sad. tsk. so, i say it should be the owner!! :p