I'm a bit behind on my FML reading, so I don't know if this subject has been discussed much lately, but I'm curious about a something. I have been a pet owner (of a very wide variety of pets) since the age of two. I was never taught that animals are expendable, but I was taught that when animals reach a certain point in their existence when living is no longer a pleasure for them but sheer torture, it is time to let them go. I have been a ferret owner just over a year, and I have yet to have to deal with a painful terminal illness in one of my fuzzies, but I'm sure in the coming years, I will. I know, that from my experience with other types of animals, the second the vet tells me that one of my animals has no hope of ever really "enjoying" his/her existence again, that it will all be downhill from that point...and when I can look at the animal and discern that it is in pain and no longer live comfortably...I will allow it to be released from its suffering. I have seen animals die in some excruciating ways, and I cannot imagine allowing one to die that way if I could simply euthanize it and save the animal (and, admittedly, myself) a great deal of suffering. I see so many posts here about people attempting to preserve their animals' lives as long as possible, until the little creature's body just gives up on its own. That seems almost selfish to me. I understand that choosing to put an animal down is a very personal choice, but is there no one out there on the FML who feels that sometimes, in some cases, euthanasia is the more humane way to let our furry friends pass from this world? MJ, who is donning her flame-retardent gear as she types, so she can ward off all the emails from people who will almost certainly suggest she is a "fuzzy killer"... [Posted in FML issue 2971]