My dh and I have had three dogs put down in our 25 years together and it's painful every time--you never get used to that. But it beats KNOWING the animal is suffering and not ever going to get better and just letting the poor thing hang on in pain and misery. On the other hand, I don't think I could be the one to do it myself--give the injection or fire the gun or whatever it takes--so we're fortunate to have a responsible and caring vet to help with this.

But there are times when you're not sure--when the animal still seems to be enjoying life even in his or her pain, and then it's a tough call. Even vets aren't the universal authority--I've stopped seeing a vet who seemed to recommend euthanasia too easily and too often--I wouldn't go back to him if he was doing FREE animal care.