Why is it accepted practice to "put down" dogs?

[TheNinja]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Staley8

I think you are exactly right. People will spend thousands of dollars to prolong the life of their sick/dying pet and tell themselves that they are doing it so the animal can live. In reality they just can't let go of a beloved pet (which I can understand) but they are looking out for their own feelings not the animal's who they claim to care so much about. If your pet has something stuck in it's stomach for example, sure pay the money to get it removed, but if it has liver failure or some other problem that is not curable, don't pretend to do the animal any favors by prolonging it's life, let it die in peace and not spend the last years of it's life in pain.

my dog wasn't in any pain until right before the end. the radio therapy was helping, but when my parents moved with the dog to colombia that was the end of radiology.

my cat had skin cancer on the heel of her back leg. her leg was amputated and she adjusted in about 24 hours since she'd already been limping for a couple of weeks.

I'm not arguing if some people want to spend a ton of money on their pets, it is their money and they love their pets dearly. I'm only saying 2 things. First that in some cases (obviously it is on a case by case basis) the pet is going to be sick and in pain for hte rest of their lives, is it fair to the pet, who doesn't understand what is going on, to keep it alive and suffering for your own good? And secondly, each person would need to look at why they want to keep their pet around, basically for whose benefit are they doing these things. That's all, if your pets have been healed and appear to be happy then I think it is great, I am an animal lover to the core.