Personally I could never do anything like that, not because I disagree with the idea, but because I would be so incredibly sad about it.

Vet bills suck, but we've always left it to the professionals. I know people who have "put their pets down" on their own by overdosing & using carbon monoxide from a car (never by gunshot - I think that's terrible - especially if your aim was even slightly off). I think the bottom line is if your pet is suffering and it's beyond treatable (or affordable) it isn't fair to them to try to keep them around. This makes me sad just thinking about it...*hugs my kittens*.

Personally, I wouldn't be able to shoot my own pet. It'd be too hard. Maybe I could in the example mentioned earlier, where they've been hit by a car and are dying, and it's a matter of ending it now or watching them slowly suffer to death. But otherwise, I'd let the vet do it.

I don't have a problem with others handling it this way, though, not just with pets but with livestock as well. It's instantaneous and thus painless, you don't have to transport to the vet (and back, if you plan to bury them yourself), it's less expensive.... Living way out in the country you may not even have a vet nearby the house, and if the animal is suffering you want to end things as soon as possible.

I would only put the animal down in cases of serious suffering, though, of course. If there's another treatment and I can afford it, I would try that first. I've had to put down two dogs in my life and it's never fun.

Personally, I wouldn't be able to shoot my own pet. It'd be too hard. Maybe I could in the example mentioned earlier, where they've been hit by a car and are dying, and it's a matter of ending it now or watching them slowly suffer to death. But otherwise, I'd let the vet do it.

 

I don't have a problem with others handling it this way, though, not just with pets but with livestock as well. It's instantaneous and thus painless, you don't have to transport to the vet (and back, if you plan to bury them yourself), it's less expensive.... Living way out in the country you may not even have a vet nearby the house, and if the animal is suffering you want to end things as soon as possible.

 

I would only put the animal down in cases of serious suffering, though, of course. If there's another treatment and I can afford it, I would try that first. I've had to put down two dogs in my life and it's never fun.

 

True that. My previous two dogs had to be PTS. Traumatic enough having a vet give them an injection, can't imagine shooting them. Though it may have been easier on my BC, her last moments were ... stressful to say the least. I can definitely see cases where it would make sense to go that route, I just don't know if I'd have been able to do it.

To willingly load your gun, point it at the dog's head and pull the trigger... I just couldn't do it. And I would never forgive any family member who did it to my dog either. 

The thing about spending the money to put your pet down is that you absolutely will not do it until you know the pet is suffering. With a gun, well, you might be sure, you might not. The vet should know if the dog is in pain, or on the other hand maybe she is in pain but it's due to something that can be fixed. 

And I like it when my animals are free from bullet wounds when I bury them, thank you very much.