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Canines are living longer these days and often times old age means suffering.
The reality is people put down their dogs every day and for good reason.
While it’s not pleasant to talk about, many owners search for a painless method in order to help their beloved dogs leave this world.
Some are against euthanizing, but it is certainly an option.
Put Down Your Dog Down Humanely (Professionally)
It is affordable, usually under $100, to have an animal euthanized.
Pentobarbital is the drug most commonly used by vets to put dogs to sleep.
It’s a painless and quick death.
Want to do it yourself?
It is not recommended unless you really know what you’re doing! It could easily not go as planned and, as a result, your dog could seriously suffer.
Legal Issue: Local laws should also be considered because they sometimes mandate certain methods for euthanasia.
Is Killing My Dog Legal?
It is generally within the law to mercy kill your dog. Lawmakers understand it’s a compassionate thing to do to end continued irreversible suffering.
But shockingly, people kill animals for the wrong reasons which is most definitely illegal! Murder of a dog is clearly much different than euthanasia which goes without saying.
Back on topic, nobody likes to be in such a sad situation. It is quite common for owners to put off putting down their precious pet.
What should you do about an old unhealthy dog?
Is Shooting Appropriate?
Your goal is to kill your dog in the most painless way possible.
It is not as simple as taking your failing furry friend behind the shed and shooting them in the head or chest with your shotgun.
Folks in rural areas they may do this all the time, but sometimes it backfires (no pun intended). The dog may survive due to an unfavorable bullet path angle.
Again, we don’t recommend that you shoot a canine unless you have a captive bolt pistol.
Best Euthanasia Methods
There are many ways shelters go about putting dogs to sleep, from all sorts of medications to Nitrous oxide to Carbon monoxide (banned in some states) to decompression chambers.
It is widely agreed that the kindest, safest, most reliable way to put down a dog is with a sodium pentobarbital injection.
This seizure medication works quickly, in 1 or 2 minutes. It shuts down the brain and heart functions.
Sleeping pills, on the other hand, are a terrible idea. A terminally ill dog or not, they will likely suffer even more!
Please! Go to a vet or shelter to have it done the right way. It’s really not expensive.
The Bottom Line
You can mercy kill your dog, but have a professional do it the right way. They carry out animal euthanasia using humane and safe techniques.
After all, you want your dog to be put down without complications.
It can’t be stressed enough:
Do not take it upon yourself to shoot or poison a pet as a way to end their suffering.
My brother’s Dachshund was recently diagnosed with cancer. The vet wanted to put her down that day due to the severity and amount of pain. My sister-in-law told her she couldn’t do that without letting my brother say goodbye. My brother thought she wasn’t bad enough yet. I’m having to take care of her while he’s at work. Every labored breathe she takes, her not being able to eat or drink and the fact she can barely move is killing me inside.
He finally decided today that he wasn’t going to do the right thing. When we called the vet back we asked how much more it would cost to put her to sleep. It had just cost $365 for her prior visit which was only 5 days ago. They said it would cost another $225 if we buried her at home and didn’t have her cremated. We asked if they could let us make a couple payments because he gets paid every 2 weeks and the answer was no.
Does anyone know a humane way to do this at home? Between the 3 of us we are prescribed different medications for diabetes, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure and pain medications. Plus both my brother and his wife are prescribed Xanax and I take Valium for anxiety. What should we do? We can not stand seeing her suffer as much as she is suffering.
Do not use any medications. Surely your family can come up with the 225 dollars to have this done the right way. Start a Go Fund Me page if necessary.
Shoot the dog.
Use a 12-gauge, 00 Buckshot or a slug in the head. Do it from point blank and after a walk in the woods of course.
But a shotgun makes them a bloody mess. Come on, man, nobody uses a shotgun. Handgun or a rifle, shot in back of head or chest, a second to finish them off.
Thanks for the advice, but my dog is already dead!
I am so sorry for your loss. I hope you can get better soon.