To Carrie Guppy -
I'm sorry you misunerstood my post.....Gary's post about having a pet die
at home and letting them go naturally, made me think of my experience with
little Molly and something that Ann Davis had said to me a few weeks before
Molly died (that sometimes they need to hear you say it's ok for them to go
and then they will).
 
It was not meant to criticize you for using euthanasia.  Carrie, I have used
euthanasia myself - more than once.  And I would use it again if I had to.
Yes, it is a difficult decision to make - you wonder if 1 or 2 more days might
make a difference....you wonder what they're thinking....you wonder about the
pain they may be in....
 
However, I truly believe it is worse to let an animal linger on for which
there truly is no hope.  Quality of life is very important.  If living means
having to be cleaned up several times a day because one is incontinent, if
leaving means having to be forcefed several times a day because you are not
willing to eat on your own, if living means just lying around in a cage
waiting for your owner to force feed you or clean up your messes.....day
after day.....then, is that really living?  But, these are strictly my
opinions, and each person and each pet are different.  There are no rules
when it comes to this - there is no wrong way or right way - the only way
is the way in your heart - and you don't have to explain your decisions to
anyone.
 
It may be that my not commenting on some of Gary's statements led you to
believe that I agreed with them, however, my real focus was on my
experience with Molly.
 
Debbie Riccio
WNYFLFA
Rochester, NY
[Posted in FML issue 1189]