Would you consider the following scenario a form of betrayal?>Your elderly pet has a large tumor in their chest that was detected late>You don't have the money for chemotherapy, and since it's an existing condition, trying to get insurance now wont cover it>Your pet is so old that open chest surgery is likely to kill them, and if it doesn't then you still wont have much if any money left over for their other needs after the surgery when more issues inevitably arise>Suddenly their breathing gets worse seemingly overnight, with them taking rapid short breaths>Had a previous pet you only euthanized when they lost the will to live (on vet recommendation), which meant they had started to suffer, which made you feel wrong for having allowed it to happen at all>Even though they haven't lost the will to live, get them euthanized knowing it will get much worse very quickly (on vet recommendation), and you don't want them to die having their lungs slowly crushed by a growing tumorOn the one hand, your pet certainly trusts that you wont kill them, so you're violating that trust. On the other hand, betrayal requires intent to harm, whereas the euthanasia was performed with the intent to prevent harm./an/'s thoughts?
>>4907694Pets are not smart enough to understand they have a tumor that will eventually lead to a lot of pain and death. You are. Thus it is your responsibility to put it down before the onset of the suffering, in the least painful way.
>>4907694You can live guilt free if you were to euthanize them anon its a tough decision always but if the writing is on the wall you don't have to wait until the last possible minute to euthanize them and you clearly have their best interest at heart.
You have to reason for them either way, so ask yourself what you would want. Would you rather have more time with the people you love, or a painless death?
I watched my old dog choke to death, he was all tumored up too, a 15 year old aussie lab mix. Took about an hour, and halfway through I think his dog buddies came to take him away, I could hear a pack of dogs all around us like nails clicking and panting and collars jingling. There weren't any other fucking dogs around us. There were a couple other weird things too, but without getting into them I'm glad we didn't have him put down early because those things wouldn't have happened. It sucked worse for both him and me, but I learned more about this world, which has led to many other experiences. Including this one. I guess I didn't realize what a big fork in my road that one day was. I think you should let life unfold as it may, although I get you just want to help your little buddy. If it gets too bad pay a vet to do a home visit euthanasia.
>>4907694>chemotherapywhat are you thinking mate? i would never subject myself let alone anyone i care about to such barbaric treatments.>lost the will to live and started to sufferthey started to suffer a long time before that anon. Reality is life is cruel and deciding when to end your own life is extremely difficult -- let alone any thing else.
>>4907694Don't feel any guilt about the decision to say goodbye in this hopeless situation.
If he's struggling to breathe, he's already suffering. Dilemma solved.
>>4907694>betrayal requires intent to harm,Betrayal does not in any way require intent to harm. You can betray someone or something by doing something good for it. And I think you should. Just... take a week or two.
>>4907694You know what, I'm not going to answer this question, and I hope I'll never have to live this dilemma
No it's notAllowing your animal to progress to such a state that they're actively suffering without any hope of betterment is betrayalFucking sick fucks who are too cowardly to put their dog down even when they're suffering infuriate meBe brave for the sake of your friend, he needs you now more than ever
>>4907711>Would you rather have more time with the people you love, or a painless death?What if at the time I thought I'd want a 'painless death' due to the recent suffering of another pet, but after the decision I now feel like I should have instead chosen 'more time with the people you love' instead?Did I make the 'wrong' decision, or is there no 'right' decision under these circumstances, and I'd feel horrible regardless of what decision I made?>>4907753>I hope I'll never have to live this dilemmaI wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
>>4907709this is the most succinct summation of this moral quandary anyone could give you OPhave your pet live a happy life from start to end. anything else is unnecessary suffering the animal is not going to understand, will be confused and pained by.>>4907778more time with the people the animal loves will not alleviate its physical deterioration in any capacity. the animal is not served by this.
>>4907694Euthanasia is fine but only if you shoot the dog with a rifle yourself like Old Yeller. Having a vet OD the dog while it panics is fucked and cucked.
>>4907694Hmmm, I think I would keep my cat alive until he dies naturally from the disease. I will keep him as happy and comfortable as possible, as always, but I believe the will to live in animals is strong and that he would not choose euthanasia if he was able to make the choice. But I don't consider this a big moral issue, if somebody does euthanize their pet, it's their choice and I don't shame them for it.
>>4907694if every waking moment is physical agony, it is not a life worth living, especially since its so close to the natural end, that it does really matter in any way to suffer through it, theyre not going to get better, akin to a person burning to death, killing them is an act of mercy, not only does it put them out of their misery, you dont have to suffer their agony any longer either, watching your loved one waste away is not pleasant. at a certain point you have to rip the bandaid off and come to terms with reality, theyre dying, they will die, nothing you can do will prevent that, keeping them alive is ultimately selfish
>>4907817That's not the question, though. The question is about doing it before they reach that point.For the burning to death analogy, let's say you somehow know with 100% certainty that a person will catch fire and burn to death anywhere from the next few hours to the next few days. Do you kill them now, or do you wait until they start burning? If it's impossible for you to communicate to them that they're going to burn to death, and thus impossible to gain consent, are you betraying them by killing them before?
It is hell and I understand the feeling that you would give anything for them to get better but they won't, and trying to hang into something impermanent, just a day more, just an hour more...You will suffer no matter what, and will feel guilt too if the dog starts actively agonizing. In my opinion even the choice to just make them as comfortable as possible and let them pass naturally and go through the battle of death is acceptable.
>>4907694Yes it's betrayal, no they won't understand, yes it's because you were too poor/cheap, and that is why you have to do it but don't tell anyone that you did it and just say the pet died of cancer. Especially on the internet where either you have sites with no karma system where everyone will just shit on you 'cause why not, or some big name on a site with a follower/following system will shit on you to farm engagement. People in real life are more likely to understand, but you don't get anything out of telling the whole truth in this situation either way unless someone presses you thinking that maybe you just let it suffer, which most people won't do.
>>4907826If they're already burning, no one would blame you, but it would be wrong to kill them before they feel any pain at all. Pain is an inevitability your animal already accepts, what you should be worrying about is its quality of life.
>>4907694It's immoral to euthanize pets period because they *always* desire to live and spend more time with you OP. They're really good at dealing with pain, much better than you or I. Killing a dog before it even begins to experience suffering is just doubling down on your psychopathic savior complex. "It makes me sad seeing it suffer" is not an excuse for murder. Because it is murder. Your dog would not jump off a cliff if given the chance, no matter how much pain its in.
>>4907882>Yes it's betrayalCould you please elaborate on why? Do you think I should've brought him home and waited for him to really start suffering before bringing him back and getting him euthanized? Or that I should have let him die slowly and painfully since he can't consent to his suffering being ended?>don't tell anyone that you did it>Especially on the internetI don't care if I'm shit on; nobody could shit and hate on me more than I hate and shit on myself. If in your view I accidentally betrayed my best friend when he needed me most, then what do I do to make up for it? Or should I just hate my own guts for the rest of my life?>>4907910What if you don't see much signs of burning, but a medical professional does?
>>4907946I'm not aiming to devalue your opinion, but am genuinely curious if you've ever had to experience a beloved pet die slowly and painfully, or if this is coming from a fresh standpoint?Because I could've seen the perspective before my first pet died, but not now.
>>4907947>Could you please elaborate on why?Because that's what it felt like when I did it. This is a situation where there aren't any right answers, only wrong ones. But some are less wrong than others. You did the best you could and I wouldn't ever hold it against you, I'm just warning you that the least wrong answer is to spend as much money as you can to try and save it until the vets just tell you there isn't any more they can do, and some people might hold it against you for not doing that.
>>4907946>t. narcissist
You should read "The Deathbird" by Harlan Ellison
>>4907694Even if you have the money for chemo or surgery, the pet won't have 'hope' for the future so if the chances are bad it's most likely not worth the suffering. Better spend the money you do have for taking days off and giving it a great last day(s) followed by a home visit euthanasia.Your pet trusts you to do the best for it.I had to get my old cat euthanized and while she was mostly 'just' starving due to cancer If I could chance the decision I'd demand it a week earlier.
>>4907694>tumorYou already betrayed your pet by feeding him carbs instead of raw meat.
