When “putting him to sleep” is not the end you choose for your dog.

by Denise Flaim

"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful,” mused author Isaac Asimov. “It’s the transition that’s troublesome.”

Often people choose a veterinary-assisted death for their aged animals due to the practical difficulties of caring for them – incontinence or vomiting, frequent medication schedules, etc. There are solutions available to many of these problems, however.

Our culture’s ambivalence about death is no secret and no surprise. Leaving this mortal coil can be messy and exhausting, both physically and emotionally. So with our companion animals, we oftentimes beat death to the punch, scheduling it on our own terms by taking that teary-eyed ride to the vet’s office and saying a final goodbye on a tiled floor or steel table. …

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