Loved to death: Is euthanizing pets to be buried with dead owners OK?

[Peter1469]

Loved to death: Is euthanizing pets to be buried with dead owners OK?

I think states should outlaw this. Who do these people think they are, a Pharaoh?

Sometimes, people love their pets too much. Such was the case with Emma, a healthy Shih Tzu mix that was recently euthanized after its late owner left explicit instructions the dog be put down - and laid to rest - with her.

It’s a practice that’s not only cruel, but one, that in most cases here in Virginia, is illegal.




“Emma” arrived at the Chesterfield Animal Shelter on March 8. During her two-week stay, shelter personnel had several discussions with the executor of the dead woman’s estate, trying to talk him out of euthanizing the dog so it could be laid to rest with its master, but to no avail.




It’s a scenario that left shelter employees heartbroken.

[Common]

Yeah thats dicey, euthanizing a young healthy pet. Why cant they let someone raise the pet after they are gone and then when the pet pass's then bury their remains with them. There are some very sad cases where pets wind up in animal rescue after an older owner pass's' but they are usually adopted quickly

[Common Sense]

If you ask for that, you never really loved the animal.

[Just AnotherPerson]

Anyone who would do that does not really love their pet! Pets are not just pets, they are family members, at least to most who love their pets. I dont see animals as being very different from a human. If you really love a person or an animal, you want them to be happy and healthy. You wish for nothing more. If you truly love someone or your pet you would never wish harm to come to them ever. Anyone who would do this absolutely does NOT love their pet, or care about them.

[Standing Wolf]

I see this as being, in some ways, similar to the obsessive "love" some people express for a spouse or boy/girlfriend who has rejected them, which inspires them to wish that person dead (and in some cases to actually kill them). It's the mindset of "If I can't have you, nobody can".

I would have to question whether this woman was of sound mind when she died, or when she wrote this provision into her will. She may have had some concerns about the care and/or happiness of her dog after she was gone, but lots of people are able to make provisions for the care and safety of their pets without doing something like this. Dogs are incredibly resilient creatures, and I'm certain that Emma, were it possible to present the situation to her in a way that she could understand, would definitely vote for more life.

I'm being absolutely serious when I suggest that were I one of those shelter employees, and it became obvious that the executors were going to go through with killing Emma, there would be an "escape" or unexplained disappearance from the facility. The folks I know at the Arizona Humane Society would do similarly, I have zero doubt.

"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." - attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

[Peter1469]

I see this as being, in some ways, similar to the obsessive "love" some people express for a spouse or boy/girlfriend who has rejected them, which inspires them to wish that person dead (and in some cases to actually kill them). It's the mindset of "If I can't have you, nobody can".

I would have to question whether this woman was of sound mind when she died, or when she wrote this provision into her will. She may have had some concerns about the care and/or happiness of her dog after she was gone, but lots of people are able to make provisions for the care and safety of their pets without doing something like this. Dogs are incredibly resilient creatures, and I'm certain that Emma, were it possible to present the situation to her in a way that she could understand, would definitely vote for more life.

I'm being absolutely serious when I suggest that were I one of those shelter employees, and it became obvious that the executors were going to go through with killing Emma, there would be an "escape" or unexplained disappearance from the facility. The folks I know at the Arizona Humane Society would do similarly, I have zero doubt.

"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." - attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

@Chloe would be with you.

[jimmyz]

Ima gin it.

[Dr. Who]

Loved to death: Is euthanizing pets to be buried with dead owners OK?

I think states should outlaw this. Who do these people think they are, a Pharaoh?

That's sick (not in a good way). That animal is just property not a little being that could continue to have a life with another family.

[Cotton1]

I would never consider such cruelty to a defenseless animal whose only crime was its love and devotion to and for me.

[Cotton1]

To increase awareness of pets who.are neglected , have nobody to love and often cross the Rainbow Bridge having never known the things many pets take for granted. Please help them. Many small combined efforts equal a huge collectiveve effort...