How do I justify killing my old friend to myself?
Mercy killing or euthanasia is a medical process applied to seriously sick or very old & ailing dogs (or any other living entity) to kill the sick animal painlessly to relieve it from its sufferings.
Choice of mercy killing in an effort to relieve a very old or seriously ill dog from pain is very agonizing decision for a dog lover. Often the memories of beautiful fun-filled days of being happily together disturb the owner and mind rejects letting-the-old-pal-go as an option.
But certain health conditions are never to be receded and with all our well wishes and sincere efforts of veterinary experts effectively we can only extend the number of pain filled days of the hapless dog’s life.
When it becomes clear that there is no chance for the dog, living life without enormous and never-to-be-relieved pain and discomfort, it is time to ask a simple question to ourselves: are we in our desire to keep our memories alive and in our effort to avoid taking a not-so-pleasant decision doing disservice to our dear old fellow.
If the inner self says ‘yes’ it is time to seriously think of applying euthanasia no matter how hard you find keeping your tears in check.