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Discussion » Questions » Animals (Pets/ Domesticated) » Is it ethical to have your pet put to sleep when you die?
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Is it ethical to have your pet put to sleep when you die?

I recently learned that someone I know planned to have their dog euthanized when he passed. He thought that was better than having the dog go to a shelter. I can't fathom doing that. It seems very wrong to me. I understand the premise- to ensure the pet doesn't have a bad life, but at the same time, the dog was healthy and very adoptable. 

What say ye... is it ethical to put your pet to sleep when you die or should you make other arrangements/ allow the dog to go to a shelter?

Posted - December 8, 2018
Tags : None

Responses


  • 5808
    Whoa
    not good 
    no way...
    Just make some other arrangements.
    Every life is precious
    and needs to live it's life completely.
      December 8, 2018 3:21 PM MST
    4

  • 22891
    i think its wrong to do that, the person should arrange for sonneone to take their dog after they die instead of killing it
      December 8, 2018 3:29 PM MST
    2

  • 7280
    I can't imagine ever personally being comfortable with such a decision---and after knowing the story of Bush's service dog and seeing that dog at the casket, I can't imagine being comfortable with someone thinking that to be a reasonable plan.

    Incidentally, this is the second question you've asked recently where you have posed an "ethical" issue.  I have answered both, but have avoided the word ethical in my answer.  That's because we occasionally use ethics, values, and morals interchangeably.

    Here's a site you may enjoy reading:   https://managementhelp.org/blogs/business-ethics/2012/01/02/what-are-values-morals-and-ethics/

    The Definitions in Action — Sample Story: “The Bully”

    If all of that is a little too philosophical, we also created this vignette to explain the terms in a more down-to-earth way. We call it:

    You are a kid in the schoolyard. You see a bully. He thinks he is the “top dog.” That is fine. That perception is a relative value. But when his relative value supersedes the life value of another kid – in other words, when the bully picks on and/or punches the other kid – this is wrong and must be stopped. Here is the rule: relative values, no matter how “great,” cannot supersede the life value.

    You see the bully picking on the other kid. You feel – in your gut – that this is wrong. Congratulations, you are moral. (By the way, most people are moral – they know the difference between right and wrong)

    Now…you see the bully picking on the other kid. You overcome the “freeze,” you overcome the embarrassment, and you go tell a teacher. Congratulations! You are ethical. (Ethics are moral values in action).

    Now…you see the bully picking on the other kid. You overcome the “freeze,” you overcome the fear, and you go to the aid of the kid being bullied. You put yourself at risk. Congratulations! You have the makings of an Ethical Warrior.

    And it doesn’t end in the schoolyard. Almost all problems in our society and the world are caused by bullies – those who would supersede the life value of others with their own relative values. Ethical Marine Warriors counter the bullies.


      December 8, 2018 4:44 PM MST
    3

  • 7939
    I like questions that examine human behavior as a whole; to learn how minds work and what makes people feel the way they do. As for the definitions, I feel like that's semantics. The question relates to what you see as being right or wrong. Actually, both did. You and the person who wrote the blog (which I did read) may have the opinion that they're not interchangeable, but it's just an opinion. It's not fact. The opinion can't even be proven by the definitions. Even if you Google the definition of "Ethical," you'll find it has a much broader definition than the blog you cited. So, semantics. 

    Might make for an interesting question... actually. To pick apart values, morals, and ethics as a group. If you don't mind, I'd like to post it. 
      December 8, 2018 8:40 PM MST
    0

  • 6098
    Oh just so sad that people do that.  Though I know they do.  Ideally a friend or family member should take the pet which I have seen happen as well.  Years ago I had a cat who moved with me a couple of times across the country but when I went to the Northwest a former roommate offered to take him and he lived out his last years with her. 
      December 8, 2018 5:00 PM MST
    2

  • 976
    I would not do that. I would have someone waiting to step in and provide a new home and love. 
      December 8, 2018 6:56 PM MST
    2

  • 5835
    Well, in the real world you sometimes have to do things you would rather not. Like if a horse breaks a leg, there is nothing but to shoot it. A horse with a broken leg can't sleep. And a dog in a shelter is going to be snuffed if nobody adopts it within a couple of weeks, depending on what support the place has. Ethics has little to do with it. So the choice is whether to die quickly or slowly.
      December 8, 2018 7:23 PM MST
    1

  • 7939
    Our local shelter has done a great job of maximizing space and adoptions. They haven't euthanized due to overpopulation in years. They do free adoption weekends or $1 adoption weekends when they get full. In this case, the dog would have lived and been adopted if a family member didn't step up. 
      December 8, 2018 8:42 PM MST
    2

  • 3523
    Can I have my wife put to sleep when I die?  Just kidding, of course.  My grandmother had around 30 dogs, yorkies and poodles.  In her Will she requested that all of them be put to sleep when she dies.  The bank, her executor, would not do it.  They found homes for all of them.  All of her surviving relatives were glad of that.  In short, no it does not seem ethical to me or to any of my siblings or cousins. This post was edited by CallMeIshmael at December 9, 2018 5:32 PM MST
      December 8, 2018 9:30 PM MST
    2

  • 7939
    lol There's a whole business devoted to that... only while both spouses are alive... and it's not exactly legal.

    Your story is shocking. 30?!? D: I'm glad you guys worked it out. 
      December 8, 2018 10:13 PM MST
    1

  • 19937
    I could never do that to a healthy dog.  In fact, although I don't have a dog now, when I retire, I expect to rescue one and I know that my youngest sister would definitely take care of it in the event of my demise.
      December 8, 2018 9:31 PM MST
    2

  • 1893
    I could not do it.  My dogs care and who they are going to is stated in my will
      December 9, 2018 1:26 AM MST
    2

  • 53524

      I think it's both selfish and cruel, especially if and when the pet is in good health.   Make that EXTREMELY unselfish and EXTREMELY cruel. 

      December 9, 2018 6:44 AM MST
    3

  • My dogs are so attached to me they would never be the same for anyone else.  I was out of town for a few months and my sister who kept them said they howled outside my bedroom door all the time and were shedding tears.  Putting them in an environment such as jail would be hell for them.  They bight at strangers who try to touch them.  They would end up being euthanized.
      December 9, 2018 6:23 PM MST
    1

  • 53524

      December 9, 2018 7:30 PM MST
    1