How do you justify euthanizing a healthy dog?

When I worked in the vets, we faced this most days, she could always ask the owner if they were interested in re homing it, its cheaper too for them (the amount of times this actually worked was unbelievable - but great) Unfortunately she just has to get use to it, it is heart breaking to see this happening when so many others do everything to keep their pets alive even when its kinder to put the animal down. Dad use to check my car to see what new animal I had brought home from work to save it from being put down, (he wasn't impressed more times than not)- and was even more annoyed when I brought home puppys that were refused by its mother after a c-section, for 3 hourly feeds.

That drives me bonkers as well. Fortunately, there are a lot of caring people out there who run rescue groups for that very reason. In the future, I would encourage your daughter to try to contact breed specific rescue groups who may take the dogs. I hate to see a dog put down because their owners are too lazy or irresponsible to take care of them. Even if they can't take care of them anymore, they don't even make the effort to find them a good home, instead, they drop them off to your daughter, and hope for the best. Shame on those people.

I agree with your daughter that it is truly cruel to the animal and very selfish that these families have to put any healthy, friendly and sweet dog down for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, she works in that type of career, and this is probably the worst thing for her to see on a daily or weekly basis. My suggestion for you to do is to tell her that maybe she would do better if she worked where in a kennel type environment or maybe in a no-kill shelter. She could even work in a place that watched dogs and/or cats or maybe even doing some pet-sitting. Lots of people do this for a living and make excellent money. Hope some of these suggestions help her out.

I dont think there is anything you can say or do to make her understand this, i know its the way it is, but i think i would get upset too. I really love animals and i don't hear about them being treated badly. Maybe if it really bothers her that much she could try to get a grant and she could set up a humain society or shelter where these unwanted animals could be adopted from. she could even work with juvinille detention centers to have the kids care for some of the animals, i watched a show about this and it realy helped teach the kids that were on the wrong path that people and animals can depend on them and that they need to be responsible for their actions and really gives them the feeling of mutual unconditional love where they may not have ever felt this before.

The lives of our pets are in our hands. That is true. But I believe that a better option will be putting the dog for adoption. There are a lot out there who are dog lovers. They even buy their puppies for a considerable sum. Some dog owners though do not entertain this idea and there's nothing more that we can do about that. We'll just have to accept the fact that since it is their prerogative, let them be held responsible for their actions. You are right, we cannot save them all and so your daughter will have to accept this as a reality in life she will have to live with.

Its better to put a dog down, peacefully than to drop it off in the middle of the road somewhere. Sometimes people cannot keep animals for whatever reason - the animal centers are crowded and often will not accept animals. It's life. I'm sorry your daughter did not understand where you are coming from, maybe when she has kids she'll understand a little more. My parents have a dog - horrible horrible dog, very mean, growls, bites, barks, snarls, attacks.. When she's at the vet she's as nice and calm as can be. Maybe this dog acted different at home.

In my opinion, there is no justification for euthanizing a healthy dog. I feel that healthy dogs should still be given a chance to live and should be given to a shelter who can find the dog a new home and new owners. It is sad that people have their pets put to rest even though they are healthy. Pit bulls can be very wonderful animals and the reason you hear bad things about them is because they owners trained them to attack. I would feel the same way as your daughter. To me the only good reason for putting a pet or animal down is that if they are ill and are not able to get well.

This doesn`t seem rite does it but people when they undertake to have a cute little puppy that one day it will grow up .Kids loose interest real quickly with pets and it saddens me to think og them being put to sleep because they have had enough of then .I work for a wildlife rescue service and am so sad to even have an injured animal put to sleep there should be laws put in place for those people who do this to animals .Its just too easy to pass it onto the vet or vet nurse to euthanaise an animal they should do what we do with our animals and that is to be there and hold the animal while it is euthanaised .Then they might just think twice about choosing the rite pet next time

I really don't have any good advice to give to your daughter because I agree with her and I would be equally as upset. I agreewith the other comment that stated euthanizing a healthy animal is murder. I have also met dogs that were considered not friendly that were perfectly fine with more mature and considerate children who were accustomed to dogs. The poor dog probably could have done very well with an experienced Pitt owner.

I had a next door neighbor once who got a 4 month old puppy, who would have been a lap dog when full grown, euthanized because it wasn't "kid friendly." The dog was just a puppy, and was just playing with the kids because it was never taught how to behave! It was a sweet dog, it just needed to know what was okay and what was not. I feel like sometimes people don't realize there are other options. I understand having to get rid of a dog, but see no reason for killing a healthy animal. Even most dogs with "behavioral problems" aren't really bad animals, it's just the owners who don't know how to handle the dogs! I think that people should have to take a test before being able to own a dog, but that is just my oppinion! LOL

I'm not really for having an animal put down just because it isn't kid friendly or they just don't want it anymore. That is what animal shelters are for. I have a look at local animal shelter websites every now and again and you often see them saying things like 'not recommended for families with young kids' or 'would work well in an older family.' I think other people should have the chance of giving that an a home and love. Most (if not all) of the animal shelters actually don't put the animal straight up for adoption and actually watch them to see if there could be any possible health or personality traits that would make them unsuitable for rehoming. The only time I really believe in euthanising an animal is when they are sick and there is no chance of them getting better or when they have done an unprovoked attack on a person. Here, when someone gets mauled by an animal the local council collects the dog and destroys it. Whole heartedly support that. Some kids should just not be around dogs. Our dog is fine with most kids, actually likes them being over, as they run around crazy with her in the backyard. However, one of our relatives kids (3-4 years old) insists on trying to poke it in the eye, pulling it's tail or picking it up. Needless to say our little dog gives the kid a little nip, never having broken its skin but just enough for the kid to go 'ouch" and leave her alone, if only for a couple of minutes. It doesn't bother the mother in the slightest, but as far as I'm concerned this kid either 1. should not be around animals or 2. should be taught how to treat and respect them. If they actually got a dog in the house and then got rid of it for 'not being kid friendly' I'd have to think more like 'kid not animal friendly.'

thats' so cruel! nobody has the right to kill anyone or anything for simple reasons, especially if there are other options you can choose to save a life. T_T

I would be upset as well. I don't understand why these people don't bring them to the animal shelter instead, unless it's really vicious with no chance of rehabilitation. But if that was the case with that pit bull, you'd think the dog wouldn't be all friendly and sweet with everyone at the vet's. Sure, if it was a choice between the dog and the kids, I'd choose the kids, but there should be a better way to deal with it than just having the pet put down. At least at the shelter, they'd have a chance of being adopted. Too many people don't take their pet ownership responsibilities seriously enough. Dogs in particular require training. It's not right to just get rid of them because they aren't convenient to the owner. If there's a real problem, there are solutions that don't involve putting the pet to sleep, unless, again, it's vicious and cannot be rehabilitated, or is sick and cannot be treated. One of my cats was once getting bladder infections all the time and ruined two futon mattresses. We finally figured out that there was an inflamed spot in her bladder (after a $284 ultrasound). Some people told me that would have put her to sleep if she was ruining furniture like that and all. I said that she was sick, it wasn't like she was doing it to annoy me, and it's my responsibility as her owner to make sure she gets treated when she is sick. Now she is fine and never pees on the furniture. What a horrible waste it would have been to put her down when she was capable of regaining a good quality of life, not to mention the fact that I'd miss her horribly.

You can't get it through to her because it's WRONG! Only illness, extreme old age, or attacking behavior justifies these killings. This is just one aspect of the sickening trend in our society to regard everything as disposable, from paper cups to children and old people, or the homeless. Life is sacred - ALL life, not just ignorant humans! Rather than try to talk her out of a most moral and correct perspective, perhaps you can find a way to help her find and organize like minded people in your area and form a rescue group. There are many grants to apply for, from PetSmart and some major food manufacturers. She can also lobby her employer to refuse to euthanize healthy animals without documentary proof that every other avenue has been exhausted, or charge double to kill them. The extra fee could be dedicated to the rescue effort. If I think of others, I'll post them, but please, Hockeygal, stop trying to change her way of thinking. We who rescue desperately need every single person like your girl we can get! Help her turn her anger to action. Thank God for her, and I hope this helps. Peace!

i think when she comes home all upset is the least of your problems with your daughter its if she comes home and is not upset over having to put an animal down that you start worrying about. sometimes life is cruel and its a hard way to find out that there are people out there that have little or no feelings towards animals. hope she just never looses her faith as there are people out there that care for their animals no matter what. look at my dog she is so affectionate its unreal but believe me when i say a she's the dumbest dog i've ever come across but since she does the one job i want her to do great she's a keeper. besides she's starting to look like me getting fatter and fatter lol. but the best watch dog you'll ever find. you can feed her all you want play with her do anything you like but she will still bark at you when you come near house. that include wife and myself lol. so she will never see a needle less its her yearly rabies shot with porvirious...

DISTURBING EUTHANIZATION FACTS 6-8 million cats and dogs entering shelters each year Sadly, only 1/2 makes it out alive as the other 1/2 is destroyed. 3-4 million cats and dogs are "euthanized" per year. There is a real ethical question underlying your post. I think veterinarians should instinctively resist such requests. In practice, veterinarians regularly have owners sign over ownership of unwanted pets to them. The veterinarian must try to convince the person to keep the dog, or with the assistance of the local humane society or kennel club, help her to find a suitable home for it. They then hopefully find new homes for them. In the case, where the person insists and don’t want to comply with the solution or change their mind, they would have to have the dog euthanized somewhere else. 99% of dogs can continue to enjoy life with another owner and, therefore, should at least be given a chance. Carrying out such euthanasia is not only morally questionable vis 'a vis the animal, but is extremely erosive to a veterinarian's morale and psychological well-being. Indeed, it has been found that the recurrent demand for convenience euthanasia is probably the most demoralizing and psychologically damaging feature of companion animal practice. Thus, I tend to believe that both the veterinarian's obligation to the animal and the veterinarian's obligation to self tends to trump his or her obligation to the client requesting convenience euthanasia (how this general maxim plays out will of course vary from case to case).

Well here in Canada they would go to the Humane Society first and they would try to adopt them out. But in the case of a pitbull I don't think there are any second chances. I know there are some that are great dogs but if it almost bites or attacks once chances are it could happen again. I know we have a Rottie and they get a bum rap too from time to time but he really is a big baby. So you have to judge it on a dog to dog basis. Unfortunately her job isn't going to get any easier and this is just something she is going to have to face. She can't save them all. If you look in the local classifieds there are tons and I mean tons of cats and dogs available. I just wish people would not let their pets reproduce. That's all we need more animals that have no homes.

I'd say. UNLESS the dog does something to show its dangerous, all dogs are fine. No matter the breed. Sometimes its a bad rept that messes stuff up. Yes put the dog in a home that will have a chance. DONT kill it if without a better reason then being kid friendly!

Dogs may sometimes get too annoying and you definitely just want to kick them off their butts but I certainly won't agree euthanizing them. Maybe you're right saying that dogs aren't the one whose not friendly.. maybe it's them whose not dog-friendly. Im a dog lover myself. We have a German Sheperd, a Labrador Retriever, and a Rottweiller. We always make sure that they're all properly feed and groomed. Though they're just dogs still they possess their own rights. Dogs are adorable. If you show them love and care they'll give it back double to you.

Then have her work in Zoo or somewhere else then. If it upsets her that might have effects on her emotional health in the future. Just a thought