When would you 'put down' a dog?

[Smokey]

This question has been bothering me for a bit so I decided to make a poll out of it...hope it's not offensive. Feel free to comment...or add a response...

Thanks.

[mydiamond]

Option 1-->I guess when a dog is just way too sickly, and requires lifetime medical treatment that would affect his happiness, it is wise to let the dog go.

Option 2-->I don't vote for this one because... Well.. Just because a husky is 18-years-old doesn't mean he can be put down if he's still in good shape

Option 3-->I don't agree with this one. There are lots of possibilities why a dog would attack a person, and.. lets face it.. most of the time it's not the dog's fault. If we put down every dog that attacked a person, we would have no more dogs in (around) 15 years!

Option 4-->I also don't agree with this one. Some bites are classified as fear bites--which is obviously a bite given because the dog's constantly provoked. It is unfair to put down a dog that is just trying to protect himself

Option 5-->I still don't know about this... But I don't vote for this one. Public would quickly got enraged if this kind of news spread, but again sometimes it's just plain human fault. I've read about a toy dog that killed a human baby.. And IMO it is the owner's fault for leaving such a small kid alone with a dog without supervision =\ still, who are humans to defend another species? Our own species would be top priority no matter what, and if a case like this made it to the news, folks would demand the dog to be PTS--which is very unfortunate

Option 6-->If monitory issues got in the way, and there is no way to fix it, guess it is time to think a step further and see if we are really the right owner for our dog. Might be the toughest decision to make, but if our dog has behavioral or medical issues and we can never be there to watch over him or help him recover, guess it is time to look for someone else who can. So IMO in a situation like this, re-homing might be the best solution. PTS is never an option

Option 7-->"never" is also not an option. It is better for our dog to roam free across the Rainbow Bridge than spending a life with his humans in pain. This is almost like talking about the pros and cons of euthanasia in humans.... Lots of people would join the con side, but lots more would join the pro side because.. Sometimes.. We should just end our best friend's pain.

[Tams Teeko and Keeta]

I've only voted for the one about illness... I am assuming the illness that is making their life unbearable is incurable.

But...now this is probably going to anger some people... I do also think there is a point where aggressive dogs need to be put down. Yes, 9 times out of 10 it is simply a. Behaviour pattern resulting from whatever stimuli that needs to be resolved and in that case, work should be done. But...there are occassions where aggression is a result of issues within the dogs brain that can not be resolved. And in this instance, if I feared the dog was a danger to others and everything had been tried to remove this danger but all had failed, then yes, I would condone having the dog put down.

This happened to my family dog when I was younger. He was amazing. My dad....an excellent trainer and wonderful understanding of dogs. Barney was amazing in the house but out on walks showed aggression to all animals and some people. My dad worked relentlessly...we all did. We took precautions, avoided certain places but on one occassion Barney flipped and went for the throat of a miniature schnauzer completely unprovoked.

I wasn't there at the time but my dad said it was like a flip switched. He could see it in his eyes. Both my dad and the other owner were badly bitten by Barney until eventually my dad had to use a stick to get him off the other dog. My dad made the choice and had him pput down. The decision was also affected by the fact that we had a small toddler living next door.

Now...as i'm sure people will attack this (by the way...i'm very nice but if anybody is derogatory about my dad I will defend...just a gentle side not :-) )

So...lets have the flip side. One of my closest friends was walking her dog in the family park outside her house. A good sized field i'd say. When a large Dogue de Bordeaux (not sure how to spell that), ran from the other end of the field (about a football pitch length) and grabbed my friends dog by the throat. The other dogs owner beat the dog off with a stick and scuttled home leaving my friend with an almost dead dog rushing for a taxi to take her to the vets. My friends dog survived...just....and is now aggressive towards other dogs (quite expected) and must be muzzled on all walks.

As for the other dog....he still lives 6 doors down from my friend. He is not muzzled when he is out. The owners insist they've done all they can but who knows. And it might only be a matter of time before he takes the throat of a child.

With aggression...unless you are in the situation you can not judge. So...after both these insanely lengthy stories (lol)...no I haven't voted for aggression but in some situations it is unavoidable.

[Tams Teeko and Keeta]

Oops double post

[mydiamond]

I've only voted for the one about illness... I am assuming the illness that is making their life unbearable is incurable.

But...now this is probably going to anger some people... I do also think there is a point where aggressive dogs need to be put down. Yes, 9 times out of 10 it is simply a. Behaviour pattern resulting from whatever stimuli that needs to be resolved and in that case, work should be done. But...there are occassions where aggression is a result of issues within the dogs brain that can not be resolved. And in this instance, if I feared the dog was a danger to others and everything had been tried to remove this danger but all had failed, then yes, I would condone having the dog put down.

This happened to my family dog when I was younger. He was amazing. My dad....an excellent trainer and wonderful understanding of dogs. Barney was amazing in the house but out on walks showed aggression to all animals and some people. My dad worked relentlessly...we all did. We took precautions, avoided certain places but on one occassion Barney flipped and went for the throat of a miniature schnauzer completely unprovoked.

I wasn't there at the time but my dad said it was like a flip switched. He could see it in his eyes. Both my dad and the other owner were badly bitten by Barney until eventually my dad had to use a stick to get him off the other dog. My dad made the choice and had him pput down. The decision was also affected by the fact that we had a small toddler living next door.

Now...as i'm sure people will attack this (by the way...i'm very nice but if anybody is derogatory about my dad I will defend...just a gentle side not )

So...lets have the flip side. One of my closest friends was walking her dog in the family park outside her house. A good sized field i'd say. When a large Dogue de Bordeaux (not sure how to spell that), ran from the other end of the field (about a football pitch length) and grabbed my friends dog by the throat. The other dogs owner beat the dog off with a stick and scuttled home leaving my friend with an almost dead dog rushing for a taxi to take her to the vets. My friends dog survived...just....and is now aggressive towards other dogs (quite expected) and must be muzzled on all walks.

As for the other dog....he still lives 6 doors down from my friend. He is not muzzled when he is out. The owners insist they've done all they can but who knows. And it might only be a matter of time before he takes the throat of a child.

With aggression...unless you are in the situation you can not judge. So...after both these insanely lengthy stories (lol)...no I haven't voted for aggression but in some situations it is unavoidable.

you've just extended my knowledge

[Tams Teeko and Keeta]

you've just extended my knowledge

Good to know, lol. :-)

[persephona]

I did not vote in this poll... I don't think there is a general rule to putting dogs down and since I never had to take such a heart breaking decision, I am sure exactly what I would do.

Speaking of illness or too old age - I think that life should be valued in general and even for sick dogs, depending on the degree of their sickness, I would be really reluctant to have them put down. The only case I would agree that it is probably best for the dog would be a disease that is inflicting a lot of pain and will certainly result in the death of the animal. Otherwise I don't think the dog should be put down - of course, it is up to every owner to decide whether their dog can still enjoy life and it's still worth living. But as long as that's the case there's no question about the decision.

As for the aggression part - in general, I believe that a dog that has killed a person in an unprovoked attack should certainly be put down. Obviously, killing a person means an extremely vicious behaviour and I don't think that once a dog has done that, the dog can be trusted again. To be quite honest, even in a provoked attack, a dog shouldn't exhibit such an intense level of aggression as to kill a person.

I don't however think that babies enter this category - in general, if a baby ends up mauled to death by a dog, it's usually the parents fault and unlike the previous case, it doesn't take a lot of force to kill a baby. The dog might not even be aggressive at all, just wanting to drag the baby away or something like this, which would still result in the baby being seriously harmed. So in the case of babies and toddlers, the dog shouldn't necessarily be put down. Kids are a different matter though - it would of course depend on the case, but I would generally tend to consider them as an adult person when deciding what the fate of the dog should be.

Attacks are a complicated thing - I know there are dogs out there that have neurological issues and attack out of the blue. Sadly, there is no way you can help them and they do need to be PTS, for the safety of the owner and everybody else. But if a dog that attacked when it was provoked and the level of aggression was appropriate, no, then dog should not be put down. Sure, measures need to be taken, but euthanising the dog is not one of them.

I most certainly don't believe a dog should be PTS for biting a person - there are so many cases when that happens and most of them, there is a very good reason for that. The dog should be worked on with a professional behaviourist and the issue resolved, but killing the dog for that would be unfair.

Finally, it would be unfair for the dog to be put down because of monetary issues. When you get a pet, you accept the risk of it developing costly diseases and the possibility of having to pay a lot for this. If you can't commit to this, then you shouldn't own a pet in the first place. This is a harsh statement, but it is true. That's how you get this type of situation when the owners can't afford treating their dog and sadly, the dog has to suffer.

There are options out there - you can find new owners for the dog, try to raise money one way or another. Where there is a will, there is a way. Killing the dog should never even be an option.

[Bec]

I would PTS if my dogs no longer had any quality of life.

We have many clients come to us with aggressive dogs who have attacked and severely injured people and other dogs, in some instances even killed other dogs, the times where euthanasia is the best option is rare as long as the owner is willing to work with the dog.

Tams Teeko and Keeta my husky at the peak of his behaviourial problems would run across the park to attack another dog, he could run in a park with dozens of dogs happily playing with them but if a new dog entered the park he would grab it by the throat and shake it and I would have to physically pull him off. The other dogs wouldn't 'provoke' him as such, just the sight of a strange dog would set him off (and it wasn't all strange dogs either). When a dog is triggered into aggression, their eyes do change, their pupils dilate and because they are running on pure adrenaline their pain threshold is much higher which means they won't respond to commands or corrections like they would outside of that highly aroused state.

This time last year this story was all over the news here - http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8228648/pet-dog-mauls-four-in-sydney many people thought the dog should be PTS. He now lives with the trainer I work for and has never shown aggression again. He lives happily with people, other dogs and children.

[stormchaser09]

I voted for

1 for obvious reasons.

2. i also voted for as our last elderly setter was put to sleep when he struggled to move to be able to toilet etc. The messing upset him and he was getting so weak in his hind area that we felt it just wasn't fair on him.(not because he had simply reached a certain age though and we thought long and hard before deciding and had our vets agreement that it was the kindest thing to do)

3. i voted for because having had dogs all my life and never having an agressive one I don't think that one that seeks to attack really has a place in society.

4. I didn't vote for because dogs bite for a variety of reasons and often there is an avoidable issue that causes the dog to be pushed to that point- usually people. I was bitten by my parents rough collie years ago - totally my own fault as I didn't heed his warnings that I was making him feel uncomfortable.

5. voted for same as 3 really. we were always very careful when our kids were younger not to leave dogs and kids unsupervised but in all honesty I probably could have trusted the dogs as they were all so gentle around kids of all ages.

the rest I didn't vote for as the issues are human and therefore why should the dog be put to sleep for our problems when they could be rehomed to a family who could take care of their needs.

[Leyka&Diva]

we had a black lab put down after it attack my sister and then our collie cross put to sleep at the age of about 17 years old as her quality was so poor she was particially sighted partially deaf then her bladder control went and then she could barely walk to it was kinder to put her down than let her suffer x

[ahursty]

My Sam was but to sleep as he had a brain tumour, it was to far for any help so sadly we decided to put him to peace.. :-( he was a gold and white border Collie, very active and giddy but became ill so quickly we couldn't help him get better..:-(

So I'd only do it again if it was a illness that could not be helped, I think dogs deserve a second chance, good owners and a family life makes a dog happy ..:-)

From Angie, Rico and Mia.. :-)

[Tams Teeko and Keeta]

I would PTS if my dogs no longer had any quality of life.

We have many clients come to us with aggressive dogs who have attacked and severely injured people and other dogs, in some instances even killed other dogs, the times where euthanasia is the best option is rare as long as the owner is willing to work with the dog.

Tams Teeko and Keeta my husky at the peak of his behaviourial problems would run across the park to attack another dog, he could run in a park with dozens of dogs happily playing with them but if a new dog entered the park he would grab it by the throat and shake it and I would have to physically pull him off. The other dogs wouldn't 'provoke' him as such, just the sight of a strange dog would set him off (and it wasn't all strange dogs either). When a dog is triggered into aggression, their eyes do change, their pupils dilate and because they are running on pure adrenaline their pain threshold is much higher which means they won't respond to commands or corrections like they would outside of that highly aroused state.

This time last year this story was all over the news here - http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8228648/pet-dog-mauls-four-in-sydney many people thought the dog should be PTS. He now lives with the trainer I work for and has never shown aggression again. He lives happily with people, other dogs and children.

While I always, always place your opinions very highly....on this occassion I will have to respectfully disagree. I think there has to be a poinnt where someone says 'enough' before serious injury can occur.

As for the eyes etc...yes, this is true and my dad is fully aware of all the physical and behaviourial signs of aggressions. As mentioned, he has a wonderful understanding of dogs. I completely respect his decision and would not dream of questioning his opinion that Barney's issues were more than behavioural problems with much deeper roots. His decision came after years and years of work and was not taken lightly.

As for a dog running across to attack another dog...personally if any dog did that to mine I would not think twice about doing some serious damage to both dog and owner just to protect my own. This is why I posted both stories. My dad had the heartbreaking decision where he had to put down a healthy dog while my friend had the heartbreaking situation of almost losing her dog as a result of another, aggressive dog in a completely unprovoked attack. I wonder how you would feel if your dog were the one being attacked?

As for rehoming or handing to another trainer...the problem is then just moved it does not go away. I think my dad made the responsible choice no matter how much it hurt. Barney was not with us for just weeks or months...he was a family pet for years.

In the US a man will be put to death for killing another man....in the UK we all kinda wish that happened. Even INVOLUNTARY manslaughter carries a custodial sentence. Yet with dogs....we fight to keep even the most aggressive alive stating that 'every life is valuable'.

There are behavioural aspects that can be resolved in a high percentage of aggressive dog cases but you can't apply a standard rule to all. Unless you are in the situation, you can not judge. There is always going to be a certain degree of guesswork and assumption in behavioural science. It would be arrogant of us as humans to think otherwise. Until animals learn to speak english we will never really know what is going on.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

if my pet had no quality of life i would or if they had seriously hurt somebody i would have 2 think about wether it could be rectified or not

we had to have our cat pts because it had cancer in its leg which had spread and he had stopped drinking soon as he didnt want water anymore n wouldnt move off his bed we got him booked him

[Bec]

While I always, always place your opinions very highly....on this occassion I will have to respectfully disagree. I think there has to be a poinnt where someone says 'enough' before serious injury can occur.

I never said there wasn't? I was just sharing my experience as my dog had relatively bad dog aggression.

As for a dog running across to attack another dog...personally if any dog did that to mine I would not think twice about doing some serious damage to both dog and owner just to protect my own. This is why I posted both stories. My dad had the heartbreaking decision where he had to put down a healthy dog while my friend had the heartbreaking situation of almost losing her dog as a result of another, aggressive dog in a completely unprovoked attack. I wonder how you would feel if your dog were the one being attacked?

I have been on the receiving end of a dog attack, when a dog broke off it's leash and attacked my youngest dog, it took two of us to pull the dog off of her. I was by no means saying my DA dog's behaviour was remotely acceptable, I was just explaining the extent it got to before we got help. I had him from eight weeks of age and he certainly wasn't born as an aggressive dog. He was attacked by a number of dogs in his first fear period and I believe that was what started his fear aggression, which got progressively worse over time. His behaviour had to develop to a point where we could recognise there was an issue, and I still feel bad about the dogs he attacked (no serious injuries sustained thankfully) even though that was 6-8 years ago now.

I never met the dog your dad had PTS so I would have no idea whether or not it was possible to work with it, I was just sharing my experience with a similar issue.

As for rehoming or handing to another trainer...the problem is then just moved it does not go away. I think my dad made the responsible choice no matter how much it hurt. Barney was not with us for just weeks or months...he was a family pet for years.

Again, I wasn't saying at all that aggressive dogs should be rehomed, in most situations I feel that is inappropriate. My trainer ended up with the dog as he offered to the family that he'd work with it and they ended up deciding they didn't want to take him back (for various reasons), so my trainer kept him. I was just using that case as an example of why I wouldn't automatically have a dog PTS for attacking people. It was not intended to be remotely related to your post.

There are behavioural aspects that can be resolved in a high percentage of aggressive dog cases but you can't apply a standard rule to all. Unless you are in the situation, you can not judge. There is always going to be a certain degree of guesswork and assumption in behavioural science. It would be arrogant of us as humans to think otherwise. Until animals learn to speak english we will never really know what is going on.

I never said all aggressive dogs are the same or that all aggressive dogs can be cured. I said that even though as a company we specialise in working with aggressive dogs and see aggressive dogs every week that most trainers would recommend be PTS, our clients would only be recommended euthanasia in rare cases (not never). And in those rare cases, generally it's not a case of the dog is impossible to work with but that the owner is not capable of working with the dog in a way that will ensure the dog is safely and adequately managed while behaviour modification takes place. I wouldn't say that we will never 'really' know what is going on with a dog, otherwise we wouldn't be able to successfully work with so many of them. It's not all guesswork.

[Tams Teeko and Keeta]

I never said there wasn't? I was just sharing my experience as my dog had relatively bad dog aggression.

I have been on the receiving end of a dog attack, when a dog broke off it's leash and attacked my youngest dog, it took two of us to pull the dog off of her. I was by no means saying my DA dog's behaviour was remotely acceptable, I was just explaining the extent it got to before we got help. I had him from eight weeks of age and he certainly wasn't born as an aggressive dog. He was attacked by a number of dogs in his first fear period and I believe that was what started his fear aggression, which got progressively worse over time. His behaviour had to develop to a point where we could recognise there was an issue, and I still feel bad about the dogs he attacked (no serious injuries sustained thankfully) even though that was 6-8 years ago now.

I never met the dog your dad had PTS so I would have no idea whether or not it was possible to work with it, I was just sharing my experience with a similar issue.

Again, I wasn't saying at all that aggressive dogs should be rehomed, in most situations I feel that is inappropriate. My trainer ended up with the dog as he offered to the family that he'd work with it and they ended up deciding they didn't want to take him back (for various reasons), so my trainer kept him. I was just using that case as an example of why I wouldn't automatically have a dog PTS for attacking people. It was not intended to be remotely related to your post.

I never said all aggressive dogs are the same or that all aggressive dogs can be cured. I said that even though as a company we specialise in working with aggressive dogs and see aggressive dogs every week that most trainers would recommend be PTS, our clients would only be recommended euthanasia in rare cases (not never). And in those rare cases, generally it's not a case of the dog is impossible to work with but that the owner is not capable of working with the dog in a way that will ensure the dog is safely and adequately managed while behaviour modification takes place. I wouldn't say that we will never 'really' know what is going on with a dog, otherwise we wouldn't be able to successfully work with so many of them. It's not all guesswork.

Again, with respect, my reply to you was not intended argumentatively so I apologise if it came across that way.

[Bec]

Again, with respect, my reply to you was not intended argumentatively so I apologise if it came across that way.

No apology needed, I just wanted to make sure it was clear I wasn't aiming my first post at your example, it just prompted me to share my experience

[meeshsalts]

Buck at nearly 19 just seemed to give up living. A few days earlier he seemed back to his old self running around with a puppy. I the end he couldn't get up and just gave up. We gsaid we will see how he is the next day. No change so I rang my father and asked him to run us to the vet to put him to sleep. I thought I would have to carry him to the car but he got up and walked out of the door and into the car. It was like he wanted to go out with dignity. We Jennifer and I tookhim in to the vet. The vet said he could do some tests but he felt it was his time. We said we wanted him to suffer no more and stayed with Buck while he was put to sleep we held him and kissed him until hewas gone. We kissed one last time and left him. We had him cremated and asked for his ashes.

We had no choice but to let him go and we feel it is only right to put a dog down when it is right not to let it suffer no more.

[MollynDiesel]

I voted for if it was too sick to have a happy life and if it attacked people.

I had a 4 year old Jack russell called Kipper a few years ago. He was my baby and my best friend!

But something just snapped in his mind! and he went for a total stranger at the door (this guy was dodgy and i felt very unsure of him so it does make sense) So Kipper had to be muzzled around people (which we did!) and did 1 on 1 behaviour training with a dog trainer that had worked with police dogs. We worked REALLY hard at it! But he then attacked my bf at the time so we looked at rehoming him but no one wanted him

He was such a good boy and we thought we were getting somewhere, he's never gone for Maisy so he knew his place so it wasnt him thinking he was top dog kinda thing.

The trainer told us all these rules like dont look him in the eye and all that stuff. Which we all listened to, except my MORON sister! 1 evening she went in the kitchen and bent over Kipper in his bed and said hello while looking at him in the eyes. He went for her and caught her lip and she had to had a few little stitches. A week later he had to be put down because whenever he went for someone he went for the face! and he was going for people in the house. So we booked him in at the vets to be pts. All the way his tail was wagging

Took him into the room (i sat in the car, i wanted the last memory i had of him to be him being happy) and that was the last time i ever saw my kipper

This dog didnt have alpha issues and knew he was bottom in our family and was such a cuddle bug! But he just snapped and something totally changed in him, it was clear he wasnt the same dog we'd lived with for 4 years and he was just getting worse R.I.P Kipper

I never WANT to put any of my dogs to sleep again, its a horrible experience. But if its fairer for the dog then it will have to be thought about

[elenamarie]

I voted for too sick, attacked someone (though it would have to be a serious attack) and of course killed someone.

I've had to put down a cat and a dog. Both were seriously ill, nothing more could be done for them, and both were advanced in age. I held Beaner (the cat) in my arms and petted him as he went. The dog, Angel, was far too large to hold but my daughter and I sat on each side of her and petted her as she went. Each is buried here on our property.

It was so hard to be with them as they died but I wouldn't think of leaving them with strangers as they went.

If I had an aggressive dog I would do what I could to address it behaviorally but in the end, if the dog is determined to be aggressive I think it's best to put them down, for my safety and the safety of my family and others. Fortunately I've never had to deal with that issue.

[Emma]

My eldest son was attacked by my friends gsd a few years back. To this day I don't know exactly what happened ( they were looking after him for me as I had a nasty stomach bug) but its something along the lines of their younger child did something when he was eating, he looked up and spotted my son in the entrance to the kitchen, chased him into the living room, ripped his ear and bit his forehead. He has light scarring but not much. His earlobe was stitched back in almost perfect allignment, very impressive.

However, back to topic. Did I demand them to destroy him? No, I asked them to explore every other option first. Trouble was he was their guard dog (used to run a pub in London) and although trained in many ways was not in what mattered ( he was about 5,6 years old) an ex policemen come dog behaviour expert told them it was too late and putting him down was really the only option.

God I felt guilty, still do. It's not something we talk about really, partly because my son (teenager now) is still affected by it, almost seven years later he still is wary of gsd dogs.

Odd because he loves bear and yet her colouring is quite gsd looking!

[Mazz]

I've had to go through the decision process. It's never an easy one. You hope beyond hope for a miracle. Then you hope that the passing will come on its own in a peaceful way. When it does not, you begin to try and figure out when you will know. And when the time comes, you know it's time, but you still have doubts. Afterward, you have a tremendous amount of guilt, and you question if there was something you could have done to prevent this. I myself, felt more terrible upon the passing of Elke our first Husky, than I did for either of my parents. Why? Because I made the decision to bring an end to her suffering. I did not feel comfortable making that decision. There is a lot more that goes into this than what any poll might indicate.

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

when it is necessary for it to be done.

There are too many conflicting issues which could mean why/.

[lovemysiberian]

I voted for the first option. Although Taz was not sick, quite healthy in fact, he had hip dysplasia. He was diagnosed and one week later, I had to put him to sleep suddenly. It was the hardest yet the easiest decision I made. Very hard and devastating for obvious reasons. Easy because I wanted him to go with some sort of dignity, and I wanted to give him some kind of honor. I tried pain killers, and they ended up failing him very fast. He was so healthy inside and his puppylike spirit was somewhere in there, but I could see right into his eyes and hear in his crying that he was suffering and I was helpless to do anything. I did everything I could for him, and it just didn't work, and the decision to euthanize was fairly quick.. although the mixed feelings of not wanting him out of my life and the devastation of watching him in agony, I was unselfish and made the decision for him.

[Austinville]

I've had to go through the decision process. It's never an easy one. You hope beyond hope for a miracle. Then you hope that the passing will come on its own in a peaceful way. When it does not, you begin to try and figure out when you will know. And when the time comes, you know it's time, but you still have doubts. Afterward, you have a tremendous amount of guilt, and you question if there was something you could have done to prevent this. I myself, felt more terrible upon the passing of Elke our first Husky, than I did for either of my parents. Why? Because I made the decision to bring an end to her suffering. I did not feel comfortable making that decision. There is a lot more that goes into this than what any poll might indicate.

Wow! My sentiments exactly.........

Wishing I could give more than one +1!!!!!!

[Mike G.]

Just last Wednesday I was faced with the decision to put my 8 week old puppy on a respirator or have her put down. Her odds of survival were less than 50%, and even if she did survive, her brain injury would've likely left her unhappy/distant/unhealthy/etc. I didn't want the poor thing to suffer any longer so I thought it was the best decision to have her put out of her misery. It was a gut-wrenching decision. But at least I know my poor puppy is in a better place