Anyone who grew up around livestock knows shooting stray dogs chasing animals in the field is kind of a normal part of the gig. Dogs go down just like coyotes - often a bang flop and some thrashing. One especially large furry one was broadside and took a 130 gr 270 a bit above the heart - it spun around three times throwing large amounts of blood everywhere and collapsed. Had that been my Sparky, it would be a hard image to pack around, even if it were needed.
I grew up without a lot of extra money - like many people we didn’t go hungry, but we often ate out of the pantry the week before mom’s payday. Times are much better and paying for a vet isn’t a huge burden. We recently had a dear old dog put down - she was deaf, nearly blind, pissed everywhere - I watched her have a seizure Friday night - there was no doubt her time had come. I stayed up all night with her, hoping it was a one time deal, but knowing it probably wasn’t and it wasn’t.
Even in a big town, anything after 5:00pm Friday and you have to go to an emergency vet - $450 - we can afford it, but what the hell do people on a tight budget do? I googled what amount of oxi it takes to kill a dog - drug heads have been feeling no pain overdosing, you would think it would be a sensible option. Well, our dog wouldn’t even eat a little cheese or lunch meat, so pills weren’t an option. I’m probably in a file somewhere as a dog abuser since google sells information on who searches for what.
For anyone with a pet, figure out what you’ll do, with who, before you need it. The corporate emergency room is ridiculous and they do everything possible to drag it on and add extra costs.
