i was wondering ,if you animal partner became disabled ,say a leg had to be removed ,they went blinde ,deaf all there hair fell out etc would you still feel the same way you do now about them .would you alter your life for them .or would you get rid of them for a greener pasture.i for one could never do that no matter what was wrong with my girls i would love them the same .what would you do.

I have always been there to the very end, and it always breaks my heart when they pass.

I.
Love.
Almost.
All.
Animals.
More.
Than.
Almost.
All.
Humans.

That answer your question? ^_ ^

My pit mix (probably pitxlab ) was an estimared 16, perhars 17 years old- he was a stray that I adopted at an estimated age of 18 months and the best friend I've ever had! As he aged, he developed an arthritic spine, and as well lost weight and muscle tone. I did all I could for him vet wise, but one day he couldn't use his rear legs well enough to stand and he was obviously suffering. There was nothing I or the vet could do but spare him from suffering further. I was the last thing (telling him it was all going to be ok) he ever saw or heard and I miss him to this day! It took more guts to put that dog down than it would have to let nature take its course but he deserved a better death. In truth taking that dog to the vet and staying with him while he was injected was one of the hardest things I ever did! But given the same circumstances,I'd do it again!. I'm just glad I was able to get him to the vet and didn't have to do the job myself!
I didn't try to replace him- just didn't have the heart to even try. The dogs I have around me now are all strays or discards that would probably be pound material (and dead) but for me. Some day I may encounter a dog that will take the place of the one I lost, but if so it will be circumstance rather than by intent! I guess the point of all this is that once you take responsibility for such an animal, that responsibility should be total, because you're the only God they know!

I had a dog that had gotten caught twice in someones traps. He lost a front paw, and the opposite paw on the back. He got along fine, and I saw him actually whip 2 coyotes at the same time. He sure was pooped afterwards though. Coyotes are sneaky, one would come close enough to tempt him out to the road, while another hid in the ditch, waiting to ambush him. He laid down 2 or three times on the say back to rest. I could never have gotten rid of him because he wasn't perfect. Luckily, he was in good health right up to the time he died... of old age.

If he had been suffering, I too, would have taken him to the vet, and let him go quietly, with my company till the end. My daughter is a Vet, and putting an animal down is the hardest thing she does.

Pet :cool2:

sounds good so fare thanks mop.

No matter how much we love something, either through age or infirmity they do live as long on this earth as we do. Sometimes there things that happen that love and the best of intentions can not cure. Is it not better to put a loved one to sleep rather than let it suffer saying but I love it and I cant kill it.

what meant was ,so many times an owner has a dog and loves it very mutch ,it gets hit by a car and loses its leg and they get rid of it because they dont want a three legged dog .how can people say they love it then just turn it off like that .if one of my girls were to get hurt like that i would love them just the same .missing a leg,tail ear what ever :D

For me it all depends on what is best for the animal. I've seen people put their pets through hell because the human didn't want to let go. Animals don't know that a certain course of treatment might give them a slim chance of survival - they just know they're in pain and miserable. My own feeling is that if the outcome is not likely to be good - why put this creature you love through agony that they have no way of understanding? They can adapt to being blind or missing one leg or whatever and be just as happy. But if their quality of life is going to be considerably lowered, or if the treatment is going to be long and painful, I think one has to closely examine their motivations for putting their pet through that.

This post has been edited by Sabelle on May 12 2007, 05:21 PM

We have had 2 horses who were blind.
They got around fine were fine with the handycap and safe to ride as they trusted us.
We used the same field for them and we had crushed stone around the trees so thy could feal where there was something to hit.

One was a foal whos mare got sick when her eyes were developing..
The vet specalist wanted to put her down we loaded her in the trailer and gut here out of there real fast.
As she grew bigger she could see around the dark spots in her eyes and she could see surprisingly well when she was bigger.

Some horses do not handle blindness and the right thing is to put them down but ours adjusted just fine..

Rus