When is it time to put a good pet down?

Dogs at shelter

One of the hardest decisions a pet owner has to make is when and if to put an animal down.  It can be a difficult time for both the animal and the owner, so what are some of the guidelines to be used if an animal has to be euthanized?

Much of the decision has to do with the quality of life a pet has or doesn't have as the motivating factor for deciding whether or not to put a pet to sleep.  Some of the reasons for doing so include having a terminal illness, being in constant pain, not able to recover quality of life even with medications and whether or not the emotional consequences are too devastating to allow the owner to continue to sustain the life of a pet.


When a pet is "going downhill" then the owner sometimes has to face that hard decision, according to the rank and file of pet owners.  Still one of the reasons for having these discussions and forums is to allow the question to be asked and to receive support from others who have lost a pet and had to make the same difficult decisions.

The elderly significantly benefit from having a pet.  The problem is that when an individual becomes too infirm to care for a pet, then there is the challenge of finding a suitable home for the beloved animal.  Furthermore the elderly person, who has depended upon the companionship of a pet, often has to be aided through the grieving process of having to give up an animal.

For whatever reason one has to make the hard choice of giving up a pet, either through euthanizing or through being unable to care for an animal, the fact is the choice is never easy.  And the conditions for making those decisions are often not enough in and of themselves to assuage the real grief of the loss.