Pet Euthanasia - How Right Or Wrong Is It?

I spent the past 7.5 months taking care of my dog that was incapacitated until he took his last breath about two weeks ago. I suffered along with him throughout his illness and there was not a day that went by that I didn't ask myself if keeping him alive was the right thing to do. I am a Buddhist and religion forbids me to kill, though I have no qualms swatting mosquitoes since insects are not "whole souls" unlike dogs.

Religion aside, it was beyond me killing him as I had taken care of him since he was only three weeks old and had to be bottle fed. Friends were all telling me to "put him to sleep" and that he was suffering but I couldn't do it.

As the primary care giver, it was very tough on me too. Despite having done all that I have for my dog, I still felt that I haven't done enough. I could have gotten him a pet wheelchair if not for his advanced age at 14+ years when this happened and besides losing his mobility, he also lost his sense of balance. I grew a lot older these past 7.5 month but in the end, I am glad that I didn't succumb to the temptation to end it all with just one shot. Actually, religion forbids me even thinking of putting an end to life but I was thinking if that was a better option than allowing my dog to waste away in pain with his body riddled with pressure sores.

Having spent the past couple of days reading up on pet euthanasia on the web, I believe that there is no wrong or right in a pet owner's decision to opt in or out of mercy killing. I am lucky that I work from home and could stay by my dog's side 24 hours a day, so much so that I only stepped out of the house once during the entire time he was bedridden but not everyone could do that with school, work or life to live.

To me, it is wrong to put a pet to sleep because of old age but if the pet is very sick or diseased and medicine could no longer help, I really do wonder. It's every pet owner's nightmare and I hope that no pet lover has to go through what I did.

Gus, the World’s Ugliest Dog

I first read about the death of the World's ugliest Dog, Gus, a week or two ago and did not get the chance to blog about it. Truly, Gus was an ugly dog but I think that it's pretty unfair to have him participate in contests like "World's Ugliest Dog" since he lost his leg to skin tumor and lost an eye in a cat fight. Gus was embattled and shouldn't be termed "ugly".

Occasionally, I do see this programme on TV though I am not sure what programme it is called or on what channel it is being broadcast, but I think that in future, organizers of "The World's Ugliest Dog" should only accept natural born ugly dogs and not dogs that have been disfigured because of illnesses or diseases.

Gus, may you rest in peace.

Source: Here

Yoda the 4-Eared Cat

Once in awhile, I come across pictures of mutated animals that make me go, "WTF?" The miniature horse is fine, the piglet with monkey face is not. This cat, Yoda is not too bad!

Meet Yoda, the four-eared cat. Isn't he cute? He has been adopted by Valerie and Ted Rock of Chicago, Illinois, who found him in a bar being made fun of a group of drinkers.

Yoda has become an international animal celebrity, appearing in talk shows and print media. He is said to be completely normal except for the ears. Eerie!

Source: That's Weird