Mans best friend - shooting vs euthanasia

[KurtR]

@KurtR

maybe so but a dog, no matter how fond of it I am/was never fed my family for a whole year. And when you say you don’t give a shit, that’s very telling.

You need a better dog. Freezer is full of ducks and geese that will last the year that my dog brought back to me. I have never lost a big game animal in 30 years of shooting them so that’s pretty telling……

 

[fngTony]

@LoggerDan @KurtR move along from your disagreements

 

[BFR]

Ultimate hunting dog,……………………………….hunts for someplace to hide as soon as she see the gun,LOL.

 

[Rich M]

A lot of unnecessary drama on here lately. Don't be a that guy-- think before you post or you'll have plenty of time to reflect on during time out.

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It is interesting tho’, aint it?

Half of these guys are tough mtn men, hunting is all they got. ‘Cept their dogs, i guess.

Ya never know what folks are like. Bunch of tender hearts. There is hope for the future.

 

[Customweld]

Really?? It is NOT even comparable. That deer or elk hasn't been with you for 16 years, hasn't seen you go through tough or happy times, hasn't saved your life, hasn't been your wingman, hasn't been a permanent seat ornament..........I could go on and on. As others have said, each to their own.
And yes, I've seen plenty of close botched shots and the potential for one is certainly greater with passion and emotion involved.
I, for one am certainly glad for vets that come out to your place to put them at peace. And my vets all cry right alongside me.

Let's see some happy faces!
Beans and Franks, Taz and Stella.

RandyView attachment 523167View attachment 523168


View attachment 523169

Here you go Randy, this is Abby and Blue

 

[Crghss]

Many years ago I took my Irish setter out and put him down. We was sick and in pain, it was time.

I had the choice of going to the vet or taking him to field. We’d taken him to the vet to get diagnosed, they needed to stick and prod him. He didn’t like it, was anxious, probably scared. Sitting there with strangers. When we’d get home I’d let him run, happy as all get out he’d fly around with his tongue hanging out. Unbelievably happy, endlessly jumping up and down. It just seemed to me his last moments should be in those fields, where we spent so much time together hunting pheasant and woodcocks during season and enjoying the outdoors out of season.

I finally needed to make the appointment with the vet. In my mind I knew I couldn‘t do it. I just would not be able to, how could I. The night before the appointment I decided to have one more good run with him. Took him out to the fields let him run till he couldn’t. We’d always sit in a high corner overlooking the fields after a hard day hunting. He sat down beside me to rest like we always did. I stopped his suffering.

I was shocked how seamless it was, how at peace with it I’d been. While I was extremely sad it just seemed the way it should be. The hardest part was digging the hole to bury him.

No easy way to go about it, guess there’s no right or wrong way either.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Here you go Randy, this is Abby and Blue

Precious.

Randy

 

[mt100gr.]

Precious.

Randy

 

[CRJR45]

Buddy , my buddy .

 

[JoshOR]

I had this same debate with myself a few months ago. For a minute I was sure I was going to do it myself, take him on a last walk. I didn’t do it. If it went well, 1 bullet, that moment would be fused in my head as my last minutes with him, and death isn’t always quiet. If it went bad, and took more than 1, I’d feel like shit. We called a a vet who came to our house, gave him a sedative followed by a lethal dose of whatever. My wife and I sat with him, his head in our hands, and he went to sleep. We buried him in the yard. Worth every penny of the $175. Good luck with your decision.

 

[TheTone]

Zero percent chance I could put my own dog unless we where somewhere getting to the vet just wasn’t an option

Are those in favor of doing it themselves also planning to skip any hospital stays or already got a dnr filled out for themselves?

 

[JoMa]

I've done it both ways with various animals over the years. It is never easy whichever approach one takes.

Also, using a vet does not always result in a peaceful experience. I had a vet absolutely botch euthanizing a horse a couple years ago. He was a young, inexperienced guy. I felt terrible for both him and the animal.

 

[tony]

I've seen death and destruction my whole life as part of my job. Last thing I could ever do was put one in my dogs head. Guy can afford a $3000.00 rifle and not a few hundred to have it done humanly?
Whats next? Hey mom we are going to save thousands on hospice and just put a .45 in the back of your head when your ready.

Hell, I had our 20 year old cat cremated and got her a small headstone when she passed.

 

[Mikeray]

I think if you can do it yourself that is best. I wish if I was suffering and my days were numbered, that my best friend could come over and sneak one behind my ear.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I'm having a hard time even typing this so didn't read any replies. I'm sure you've gotten some good thoughts already. I had to put my Trigger down about a year ago, yellow lab. I've had and seen plenty of great amazing dogs, Trigger wasn't highly trained but she just understood what the goal was and what we were doing and that's hard to put a value on. She ran a burglar out of the house late one night too. My vote is let them have as many rotisserie chickens as they can eat and have the vet come to the house and be there with them for comfort when it's time. Damn these onions I'm cutting are a motherfucker.

 

[DmrbigEshotT]

This is your best friend you are talking about here in theory. How do you want your last moments with your best friend to go down? Do you want to end with an act of extreme violence? I've put down a few sheep in my day and strange stuff happens with bullets to the head sometimes. You don't want that to happen to your best friend.

We have a local vet here that will come to our house with an injection, they will do everything while the dog is surrounded by the people who love him and who he loves more than anything. It costs a few hundred bucks for this service.

I pulled the trigger on one of my pets when I was younger, it didn’t go as planned, and I thought about the horrible experience nearly everyday for a couple years in a row.

Take that for what it’s worth.


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[ThorM465]

Zero percent chance I could put my own dog unless we where somewhere getting to the vet just wasn’t an option

Are those in favor of doing it themselves also planning to skip any hospital stays or already got a dnr filled out for themselves?

My Wife is under strict orders to put a bullet in between my ears once I'm no longer an asset to the family, but a hinderance. If she lets me get to the point that I'm drooling on myself we've got problems.

 

[4rcgoat]

I had two different dogs when I was a kid. Me and my Dad went and shot the dogs when it was time. It wasn't traumatic, it was a lesson in responsibility. Never seemed like that big of a deal. We also had a butcher shop and I've seen probably tens of thousands of animals take a bullet and never once was the result anything other than instantly dropping. Same with shooting countless coyotes, fox, coons, etc in traps.

Dog threads are always interesting to me. The personification of animals and watching hunters play into it is especially something that always intrigues me as that's what's driving the anti-hunting narrative. It's why we have the laws discussed in this thread where people are not allowed to shoot of their own dog, even in the instance where it's more humane than waiting for a vet. I worked with a wildlife vet for a few years. Watched him put a lot of animals down with drugs. He always said that dogs are just wolves/coyotes that were dumb enough to be caught and trained. His view was that it was more messed up to shoot a smart wild animal than a less smart domestic one. Not sure I agree, but I always thought that was an interesting take. That a wolf in a trap that everyone on here would cheer the shooting of is as much or more aware than a dog; personal attachment and relationship aside. I have a pretty black heart from life experience that includes actually having to bury a child, which makes it extremely hard for me to relate to any of this. Do what fits you I suppose. I personally can't get past simply viewing a dog as just another animal.

The personification of animals is what's driving the anti hunting narrative!!??? Seriously! That's a hell of a stretch

 

[ThorM465]

They say there are 3 types of dogs. The goofball (ol' Zeus on the left), the schizophrenic (squirrel in a dogs body), and the reincarnated Ancient Egyptian god. Gunny on the right was the latter. I couldn't have asked or dreamed of a better dog. If you talked tom him, you'd swore you were talking to a human with the way he'd make eye contact and respond to you.

 

[t_carlson]

When I was five I watched my old man pick up his best friend (an old Boxer) and carry him off to the back 40 to end his suffering. I still remember the sound of the pistol being fired. It was in that moment that I learned what it means to be a man. It's doing the right thing no matter how hard it is.

Was there a reason a vet couldn’t do it?

I guess the only way I could see it being the hallmark of “a man” is if it was an emergency and the owner really didn’t want to kill the dog himself but had to because of the circumstances.

If the decision was whether to DIY OTC euthanize your pet or take it to the vet, then what it really sounds like is a decision about money.