The perfect video for those who need a good cry.
November 17, 2013 9:33 PM Subscribe
It seems to me they prolonged that poor animal's suffering in service to someone's projected desires
Man. I felt really connected to what I was watching and was going to say something really inspirational and that comment just totally killed it.
posted by phaedon at 9:48 PM on November 17, 2013 [4 favorites]
Man. I felt really connected to what I was watching and was going to say something really inspirational and that comment just totally killed it.
posted by phaedon at 9:48 PM on November 17, 2013 [4 favorites]
This is bizarre. The poor dog! Awful.
posted by ReeMonster at 9:48 PM on November 17, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by ReeMonster at 9:48 PM on November 17, 2013 [3 favorites]
+1 on the being angry part. This video shows a dog who is clearly in pain being kept alive in that state longer than appears necessary, apparently because it had "communicated" to the people who found him that he wanted to die slowly in a home instead of at a vet's office under observation.
It doesn't seem like Pawshpal, the group who posted this video, is a scam as far as I can tell, but I beg you not to consider donating to this organization.
posted by pkingdesign at 9:49 PM on November 17, 2013 [4 favorites]
It doesn't seem like Pawshpal, the group who posted this video, is a scam as far as I can tell, but I beg you not to consider donating to this organization.
posted by pkingdesign at 9:49 PM on November 17, 2013 [4 favorites]
At first I thought it was some sort of new gizmo that translated barking/gestures into human-equivalent emotions or simple phrases. Then I realized that it was just some people deciding what the dog really wanted and then telling each other that that's what the dog had said. How could a dog even understand the idea of euthanasia, let alone the qualitative difference between dying with painkillers and and dying "at home" AND also communicate a choice in that very subjective and vague dichotomy to beings of a different species? All the dog knows is that it hurts.
posted by Scattercat at 9:55 PM on November 17, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by Scattercat at 9:55 PM on November 17, 2013 [7 favorites]
Sorry. I didn't mean to harsh anyone's heartwarming experience.
posted by janell at 10:05 PM on November 17, 2013
posted by janell at 10:05 PM on November 17, 2013
Part of me understands where they're coming from. Animal rescue gets totally depressing and most of the time the only reward is seeing the starved, scared, neglected thing you found on the street transform into happy, loving pet. It makes you do crazy stuff, like having way more animals in your house than you ever intended, spending ridiculous amounts of time outside trying to catch a hurt stray, and, in cases like this one, projecting all of your emotions onto your rescue.
These people are irresponsible and crazypants. Of course the dog is going to be happier if you give it food and water and pets, it's a dog, that's what happens. An animal in pain would prefer to be in pain somewhere warm and safe over in pain while lying in a puddle of its own urine on the street. That doesn't mean it's a good idea to let him suffer! Hold him as he dies, but don't force him into your little "Before/After" narrative to get good marketing and assuage your guilt under the guise of "letting him die naturally". It's fucking cruel.
posted by Anonymous at 10:14 PM on November 17, 2013
These people are irresponsible and crazypants. Of course the dog is going to be happier if you give it food and water and pets, it's a dog, that's what happens. An animal in pain would prefer to be in pain somewhere warm and safe over in pain while lying in a puddle of its own urine on the street. That doesn't mean it's a good idea to let him suffer! Hold him as he dies, but don't force him into your little "Before/After" narrative to get good marketing and assuage your guilt under the guise of "letting him die naturally". It's fucking cruel.
posted by Anonymous at 10:14 PM on November 17, 2013
How could a dog even understand the idea of euthanasia
Not to mention request to be cremated and have his ashes spread in a particular location. I noticed that the credits thank someone with the title "Rinpoche" for performing final rites, so maybe this is connected to some specific religious beliefs.
posted by XMLicious at 10:18 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
no
posted by maggieb at 10:18 PM on November 17, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by maggieb at 10:18 PM on November 17, 2013 [3 favorites]
I am crying, because the whole thing is heartbreaking. From the circumstances to the choices made by the caregivers, heartbreaking. And unnecessary.
posted by ApathyGirl at 10:26 PM on November 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by ApathyGirl at 10:26 PM on November 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
What complete assholes.
posted by timsteil at 10:31 PM on November 17, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by timsteil at 10:31 PM on November 17, 2013 [4 favorites]
This is wrong from beginning to end.
posted by Dip Flash at 10:35 PM on November 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Dip Flash at 10:35 PM on November 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
BTW the entire top page of the organization's web site at the moment is a still from this video and the donation link on YT goes to the address "/campaigns/ol-boys-last-dying-wish" there.
posted by XMLicious at 10:37 PM on November 17, 2013
posted by XMLicious at 10:37 PM on November 17, 2013
I think they mean well but the dog was beyond help. I know people that are way into this kind of "communicating with animals" type of thing. They even do it over the phone which is even more unbelievable. It was touching and sad. But not enough to get me to donate.
posted by cairnoflore at 10:37 PM on November 17, 2013
posted by cairnoflore at 10:37 PM on November 17, 2013
On review it looks like something that happened in another country and possibly scammy.
posted by cairnoflore at 10:39 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by cairnoflore at 10:39 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
More background. The comments here are food for thought, but this doesn't appear to be a scam.
posted by Wordwoman at 10:46 PM on November 17, 2013
posted by Wordwoman at 10:46 PM on November 17, 2013
My best friend ever was a dog.
When I was 12 in 1977 and had moved to the foothills of the Cascades where I was a stranger we had chickens and a rooster who, despite me defensively flattening him with my Gatorade gym bag on numerous occasions, used to chase me down our gravel driveway on my way to catch the bus to school. Until, that is, our neighbors dog [Alkasite was older and shaggy and part border collie, part something else and the best person ever] from down the road decided it was her job to walk the eighth-mile to our house every morning and protect me from the rooster.
Roosters are more dangerous than you might think. Alkasite would scramble to her feet when I came out of the door in the early-morning frosty cold and dark and, lowering her head, stay between me and the always waiting rooster - who would pace at the periphery and emit a birdbrain buk buk buk in complaint.
She was there every morning. After protecting me from the rooster Alkasite would walk to the front and right, nearer the ditch, to my bus stop - nearly a mile away. When a car was coming she would move from the road to the ditch and look back, imploring me to not get hit by a car.
I used to go wandering around in the farm and forest country where I lived in 1977. Near but not heeling Alkasite was around - I like to think we gave each other confidence. She used to nose the door to the house open and lay on my bed waiting for me to come home from school.
I miss my friend.
posted by vapidave at 10:58 PM on November 17, 2013 [50 favorites]
When I was 12 in 1977 and had moved to the foothills of the Cascades where I was a stranger we had chickens and a rooster who, despite me defensively flattening him with my Gatorade gym bag on numerous occasions, used to chase me down our gravel driveway on my way to catch the bus to school. Until, that is, our neighbors dog [Alkasite was older and shaggy and part border collie, part something else and the best person ever] from down the road decided it was her job to walk the eighth-mile to our house every morning and protect me from the rooster.
Roosters are more dangerous than you might think. Alkasite would scramble to her feet when I came out of the door in the early-morning frosty cold and dark and, lowering her head, stay between me and the always waiting rooster - who would pace at the periphery and emit a birdbrain buk buk buk in complaint.
She was there every morning. After protecting me from the rooster Alkasite would walk to the front and right, nearer the ditch, to my bus stop - nearly a mile away. When a car was coming she would move from the road to the ditch and look back, imploring me to not get hit by a car.
I used to go wandering around in the farm and forest country where I lived in 1977. Near but not heeling Alkasite was around - I like to think we gave each other confidence. She used to nose the door to the house open and lay on my bed waiting for me to come home from school.
I miss my friend.
posted by vapidave at 10:58 PM on November 17, 2013 [50 favorites]
More background.
Since that article and this video mention different charity names and different peoples' names, and the article mentions a video with a slightly different name posted on Facebook rather than Youtube, it doesn't seem like enough evidence to be certain that the donation link reached via the OP is legit - this could be scammers trying to piggyback on a real event.
posted by XMLicious at 10:59 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
The moment I saw this I guessed that it didn't happen in the US - looks like I was right, and that it was in Singapore.
Before we're all angry at the caregivers, keep into consideration that euthanasia for dying animals isn't always performed everywhere. I remember being surprised at learning that owners in the US would put down their own animals when the animals were old and/or suffering. I hadn't considered it seriously before, the same way I didn't actively consider voluntary euthanasia for humans.
posted by suedehead at 10:59 PM on November 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
Before we're all angry at the caregivers, keep into consideration that euthanasia for dying animals isn't always performed everywhere. I remember being surprised at learning that owners in the US would put down their own animals when the animals were old and/or suffering. I hadn't considered it seriously before, the same way I didn't actively consider voluntary euthanasia for humans.
posted by suedehead at 10:59 PM on November 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
I am not angry at the caregivers. I think they truly cared for that dog. I wondered what country they might be in because as suedehead said not everyone is into euthanasia for like we are in the US.
There are thousands of these types of video's on youtube. Eldad Hagar and the Bill Foundation create them almost weekly.
posted by cairnoflore at 11:14 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
There are thousands of these types of video's on youtube. Eldad Hagar and the Bill Foundation create them almost weekly.
posted by cairnoflore at 11:14 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
I live a few hours north of Singapore, and go there a lot for work and whatnot, but my experience with dog people is more here in Malaysia, where we have our girl Betsy. I can confirm that while there are some different approaches to dogs here - lots of strays in various areas being common, for example - not all dog owners here are like these people.
I can feel bad for these people because I know what its like to have a dying dog on your hands and wanting to be able to save it, but being unable. You have a terrible juxtaposition of wanting longer life for your pet / family member, and wanting what will be best for them - even if it is hardest for you. I suppose that's not entirely unlike the terrible position many of us are put in over time with our human family members.
That said, I too would have made the kinder decision a lot quicker for that poor dog.
I think I've told this story around here before, but Harriet was basically the dog I grew up with. She was a Doberman rescue dog and her whole life she never stopped having her cowering reaction when somebody raised a hand in the air suddenly. She would also lose bladder control when you wrapped an arm around her neck, even though she was a hulking beast of a dobie.
We got her when I was 10, shortly after which my youngest brother was born. As he was a baby, mom would let him crawl all over her and she would just lie there letting him poke at her eyes, pull on her ears, pull back her huge jowls, she basically treated him like her own puppy. Once a friend she hadn't met came into the room and she watched carefully and just bared the slightest of toothy low growls when he tried to come close to the baby and her. We had a wood stove in the winter time and she and mom would always have to jostle each other for the optimal warm spot on the carpet just in front of it at night. She was basically my mom's shadow all growing up.
Anyway, we lost her to cancer in my early 20's. The vet was very kind to come to our place and do the shot in a comfortable place for her. Dad and my brother dug a hole under the old cherry tree she used to run out to in the morning and pee under. The other dogs nosed her a bit too, got the idea.
They all used to find ways through the fences into the back horse pastures where they would chase jackrabbits until they couldn't stand any more. About a week after she was buried, mom was backing the car out of the garage when she saw something on top of Harriet's grave - it was a jackrabbit with its neck broken but not a single break in the skin. All we can figure is it was the other dogs' way of saying goodbye.
Losing a dog is hard.
posted by allkindsoftime at 1:26 AM on November 18, 2013 [21 favorites]
I can feel bad for these people because I know what its like to have a dying dog on your hands and wanting to be able to save it, but being unable. You have a terrible juxtaposition of wanting longer life for your pet / family member, and wanting what will be best for them - even if it is hardest for you. I suppose that's not entirely unlike the terrible position many of us are put in over time with our human family members.
That said, I too would have made the kinder decision a lot quicker for that poor dog.
I think I've told this story around here before, but Harriet was basically the dog I grew up with. She was a Doberman rescue dog and her whole life she never stopped having her cowering reaction when somebody raised a hand in the air suddenly. She would also lose bladder control when you wrapped an arm around her neck, even though she was a hulking beast of a dobie.
We got her when I was 10, shortly after which my youngest brother was born. As he was a baby, mom would let him crawl all over her and she would just lie there letting him poke at her eyes, pull on her ears, pull back her huge jowls, she basically treated him like her own puppy. Once a friend she hadn't met came into the room and she watched carefully and just bared the slightest of toothy low growls when he tried to come close to the baby and her. We had a wood stove in the winter time and she and mom would always have to jostle each other for the optimal warm spot on the carpet just in front of it at night. She was basically my mom's shadow all growing up.
Anyway, we lost her to cancer in my early 20's. The vet was very kind to come to our place and do the shot in a comfortable place for her. Dad and my brother dug a hole under the old cherry tree she used to run out to in the morning and pee under. The other dogs nosed her a bit too, got the idea.
They all used to find ways through the fences into the back horse pastures where they would chase jackrabbits until they couldn't stand any more. About a week after she was buried, mom was backing the car out of the garage when she saw something on top of Harriet's grave - it was a jackrabbit with its neck broken but not a single break in the skin. All we can figure is it was the other dogs' way of saying goodbye.
Losing a dog is hard.
posted by allkindsoftime at 1:26 AM on November 18, 2013 [21 favorites]
i like the part where they needlessly prolonged an animal's suffering because ghost beach
posted by obiwanwasabi at 2:31 AM on November 18, 2013
posted by obiwanwasabi at 2:31 AM on November 18, 2013
I don't know. After you pick up a dog and start taking care of it--picking off hundreds of ticks and giving it water from a syringe, etc., I think it kinda becomes your dog. Staying with it and caring for it isn't nothing. I don't know that's worse than a quick decision to put the dog out of its misery. I don't especially want someone making that decision for me (though I might want the right to make it for myself) but I can't fault someone who takes care of me and stays with me, especially when it might be uncomfortable. I think I would be grateful for that and maybe it was good for the dog. How do we know, anyway, for sure?
posted by Anitanola at 3:31 AM on November 18, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by Anitanola at 3:31 AM on November 18, 2013 [6 favorites]
Thank you for the post.
Yesterday, my six-month old kitten went from being my best buddy and bouncing love toy to lethargic and breathing on his side. Took him to the hospital, and he was diagnosed with heart failure.
He died in my arms as I cried more than I have cried in years.
The vets were amazing. I was (maybe am?) in shock, and they gave me the support that I needed. They treated my little boy with great compassion.
Just as I am glad I could tell my cat how much I loved him as he died, I am glad this dog received the care he did. What a piece of work is man, indeed.
posted by angrycat at 4:32 AM on November 18, 2013 [15 favorites]
Yesterday, my six-month old kitten went from being my best buddy and bouncing love toy to lethargic and breathing on his side. Took him to the hospital, and he was diagnosed with heart failure.
He died in my arms as I cried more than I have cried in years.
The vets were amazing. I was (maybe am?) in shock, and they gave me the support that I needed. They treated my little boy with great compassion.
Just as I am glad I could tell my cat how much I loved him as he died, I am glad this dog received the care he did. What a piece of work is man, indeed.
posted by angrycat at 4:32 AM on November 18, 2013 [15 favorites]
I don't like the "animal communicator" stuff, and the problems I'm sure it causes beyond this incident, but better that they took him in and gave him some comfort than if he was not found at all.
posted by ignignokt at 4:37 AM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by ignignokt at 4:37 AM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
And yeah, I can get why people might be angry at this video. The vets last night gently told me that he was suffering and any treatment he might receive would prolong his life. They helped me understand that euthanasia was the right decision, something I could have not easily come to last night, as in the morning he had been my happy, turkey-gobbling, bouncy companion. I am so glad that they did so, because otherwise he would be at the hospital right now, struggling to get air.
With regards to the dog, I am going to go with the understanding (because that's all I can wrap my head around, presently) that the vets understood that his distress could be greatly ameliorated by syringes full of water.
I could be totally wrong. But I need to hold on to a sunny understanding of this one or I'm not going to make it to work this morning.
posted by angrycat at 4:40 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
With regards to the dog, I am going to go with the understanding (because that's all I can wrap my head around, presently) that the vets understood that his distress could be greatly ameliorated by syringes full of water.
I could be totally wrong. But I need to hold on to a sunny understanding of this one or I'm not going to make it to work this morning.
posted by angrycat at 4:40 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Oh Dear, so much anger and outrage. I am by no means well versed in Buddhism, but it is my understanding that you do not kill a sentient being. It is bad karma for yourself. And you are interfering with the karma of the other being. They helped the dog to their best of their abilities and that is what they had to do. Killing the animal is just not part of their belief system.
Other religions and belief systems have different ways to deal with situations in life. Some cut the throat of an animal and let is slowly bleed out to make it good for consumption. Others play with the head of a goat horse games. Other people eat meat and do not want to think about where it comes from.
This dog was loved, cared for and given last rites by a Buddhist teacher. And hopefully the dog's karma will ensure that he will never be a stray dog again.
posted by nostrada at 4:59 AM on November 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
Other religions and belief systems have different ways to deal with situations in life. Some cut the throat of an animal and let is slowly bleed out to make it good for consumption. Others play with the head of a goat horse games. Other people eat meat and do not want to think about where it comes from.
This dog was loved, cared for and given last rites by a Buddhist teacher. And hopefully the dog's karma will ensure that he will never be a stray dog again.
posted by nostrada at 4:59 AM on November 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
Dogs do not understand human religious beliefs, and if they do, they have no way to communicate this to us.
posted by elizardbits at 5:20 AM on November 18, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by elizardbits at 5:20 AM on November 18, 2013 [5 favorites]
Well, elizardbits, neither do Babies and yet we bestow our beliefs upon them.
I understand that we have a special bond to dogs, cats and horses. Tolerance for other religious beliefs is sometimes very, very hard. I struggle with it often, that is for sure.
posted by nostrada at 5:29 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
I understand that we have a special bond to dogs, cats and horses. Tolerance for other religious beliefs is sometimes very, very hard. I struggle with it often, that is for sure.
posted by nostrada at 5:29 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is not a good cry. This is a bad cry.
posted by tzikeh at 5:35 AM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by tzikeh at 5:35 AM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
neither do Babies and yet we bestow our beliefs upon them
Giving a second example of ways in which humans deny other sentient beings their own agency by forcing religious beliefs upon them when they cannot communicate their desire to be treated differently does not make this first example okay. To classify this as "religious intolerance" is disingenuous.
posted by elizardbits at 5:45 AM on November 18, 2013 [7 favorites]
Giving a second example of ways in which humans deny other sentient beings their own agency by forcing religious beliefs upon them when they cannot communicate their desire to be treated differently does not make this first example okay. To classify this as "religious intolerance" is disingenuous.
posted by elizardbits at 5:45 AM on November 18, 2013 [7 favorites]
Some religious beliefs are innocuous. Some inflict great pain on unwilling participants (sutee, FGM, etc) and are worth neither retention nor respect.
posted by jenkinsEar at 5:49 AM on November 18, 2013
posted by jenkinsEar at 5:49 AM on November 18, 2013
There are thousands of these types of video's on youtube. Eldad Hagar and the Bill Foundation create them almost weekly.
I've watched hours of Eldad Hagar's and the Bill Foundation's videos, and I think they've euthanized one or two dogs at most. Their videos are rescue, rehabilitation, and adoption videos, and they could not be more opposite of this one.
posted by gladly at 5:50 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
I've watched hours of Eldad Hagar's and the Bill Foundation's videos, and I think they've euthanized one or two dogs at most. Their videos are rescue, rehabilitation, and adoption videos, and they could not be more opposite of this one.
posted by gladly at 5:50 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
We're morally wrong to treat babies so differently though, nostrada. There isn't afaik any sensible approach except Peter Singer's assessment that "killing a newborn baby is never equivalent to killing a person" because newborns lack the essential characteristics of personhood, including "rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness". By comparison, a laboratory chimp might reasonably deduce that euthanasia occurred if they keep seeing other chimps disappear.
posted by jeffburdges at 5:52 AM on November 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by jeffburdges at 5:52 AM on November 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
I am very much for safe and humane euthanasia - for animals and humans, alike. Needless pain is always unacceptable. I also don't buy into the "communication" thing here.
That said, I do believe that canines and humans can converse on a basic level. A dog is perfectly capable of demonstrating pain. This dog appeared to be comfortable. I can only judge from the footage, but there's not anything there for me to jump on the humans about.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 5:55 AM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
That said, I do believe that canines and humans can converse on a basic level. A dog is perfectly capable of demonstrating pain. This dog appeared to be comfortable. I can only judge from the footage, but there's not anything there for me to jump on the humans about.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 5:55 AM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
Giving a second example of ways in which humans deny other sentient beings their own agency by forcing religious beliefs upon them when they cannot communicate their desire to be treated differently does not make this first example okay. To classify this as "religious intolerance" is disingenuous.
Euthanizing an animal is not providing it with agency. Not euthanizing an animal is neither granting or denying it its agency. This dog was not stripped of its agency because it had none, due to its inability – and the inability of all animals – to communicate whether it wanted to live or die.
posted by ignignokt at 6:08 AM on November 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
Euthanizing an animal is not providing it with agency. Not euthanizing an animal is neither granting or denying it its agency. This dog was not stripped of its agency because it had none, due to its inability – and the inability of all animals – to communicate whether it wanted to live or die.
posted by ignignokt at 6:08 AM on November 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
Elizardbits: point taken. Jeffburdges: bookmarked for further reading.
I agree that needless pain is unacceptable. Euthanasia is something different altogether. You can ease pain without killing. And Buddhists are against taking a life.
Having said this, I am in favor for people being able to able to decide when they want to die.
posted by nostrada at 6:19 AM on November 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
I agree that needless pain is unacceptable. Euthanasia is something different altogether. You can ease pain without killing. And Buddhists are against taking a life.
Having said this, I am in favor for people being able to able to decide when they want to die.
posted by nostrada at 6:19 AM on November 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
As usual, whether it's comedy or tragedy, Metafilter comes back with the same response:
"Yer doin' it wrong."
posted by sutt at 6:28 AM on November 18, 2013 [8 favorites]
"Yer doin' it wrong."
posted by sutt at 6:28 AM on November 18, 2013 [8 favorites]
Good cry, bad cry, what the fuck. I'm still crying.
Some people found a dying dog, and they gave him water and warmth and comfort. Maybe it wasn't what you would have done (and I agree that euthanasia is what us Westerners would have chosen for the dog), but it was better than letting the dog die on the street.
I'm going to give my dog Mac a hug now.
posted by math at 6:28 AM on November 18, 2013 [9 favorites]
Some people found a dying dog, and they gave him water and warmth and comfort. Maybe it wasn't what you would have done (and I agree that euthanasia is what us Westerners would have chosen for the dog), but it was better than letting the dog die on the street.
I'm going to give my dog Mac a hug now.
posted by math at 6:28 AM on November 18, 2013 [9 favorites]
The dog was a zillion times happier and better off than dying in its own piss in an alley, had medical care and water, a warm floor, and love.
The perfect is the enemy of the (very) good.
posted by zippy at 7:45 AM on November 18, 2013 [13 favorites]
The perfect is the enemy of the (very) good.
posted by zippy at 7:45 AM on November 18, 2013 [13 favorites]
We project our fear of death onto our animals. I have walked two beloved very old cats (22 and 19) through it here at home ... a vet tech friend showed me what to look for to make sure they weren't in pain - and I made what I felt what was the right decision to let them pass on in their home, not in the sterile environs of a vet office. Been there done that in the past - no matter how compassionate the Vet - it's still a vet office.
Every situation is different - but please don't negate not only the possibility of animals communicating to some people their feelings; nor the correctness of allowing them to pass from this lifetime naturally. Both have validity.
That said - I have also been present at the (rightfully done) euthanasia of two dearly loved equines. Every situation is different - every situation *should* be determined based on what is best for the animal ~ not the sensitivities of the human being.
posted by cdalight at 7:54 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Every situation is different - but please don't negate not only the possibility of animals communicating to some people their feelings; nor the correctness of allowing them to pass from this lifetime naturally. Both have validity.
That said - I have also been present at the (rightfully done) euthanasia of two dearly loved equines. Every situation is different - every situation *should* be determined based on what is best for the animal ~ not the sensitivities of the human being.
posted by cdalight at 7:54 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
What complete assholes.
Yeah. Dying in a puddle of your own piss with 100 ticks on you is way better than what they did.
posted by prepmonkey at 8:49 AM on November 18, 2013 [6 favorites]
Yeah. Dying in a puddle of your own piss with 100 ticks on you is way better than what they did.
posted by prepmonkey at 8:49 AM on November 18, 2013 [6 favorites]
I am by no means well versed in Buddhism, but it is my understanding that you do not kill a sentient being. It is bad karma for yourself. And you are interfering with the karma of the other being.
There's lots of flavors of Buddhism; the Dali Lama eats meat because or a practical need while advocating for vegetarianism when possible and a mindfulness about suffering in all cases. Given that combination of practicality and concern I'd wager he'd support comfort euthanasia for an animal if other options are not superior. He's not the leader of all Buddhism but it's not a belief system that necessarily rules out such action.
I had to turn it off just prior to the 2 minute mark but that was long enough to get to the caption claiming that Ol Boy communicated directly that he "did not want to be put to sleep" and wanted to die naturally, so I don't think this is down to religious belief.
I guess there's not much more natural than a creature failing to thrive and suffering till the last moment but having ticks is natural too and they decided to remove them. So if you're going to meddle with Dying Naturally, as if that sounds so great, then why not meddle in the least painful way?
Yeah. Dying in a puddle of your own piss with 100 ticks on you is way better than what they did.
If we treat your reductive either/or choice as truth - rather than being sensible and recognizing that there were a variety of choices that could have been made - that might be true. Their actions may well have extended that animal's life and therefore his suffering. I think advocating for leaving him in the street that way would be shitty, though, so trying to rescue him until it was determined he couldn't be helped and THEN shortening his suffering seems a lot better than either of the two choices you seem to think there were.
posted by phearlez at 8:56 AM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
There's lots of flavors of Buddhism; the Dali Lama eats meat because or a practical need while advocating for vegetarianism when possible and a mindfulness about suffering in all cases. Given that combination of practicality and concern I'd wager he'd support comfort euthanasia for an animal if other options are not superior. He's not the leader of all Buddhism but it's not a belief system that necessarily rules out such action.
I had to turn it off just prior to the 2 minute mark but that was long enough to get to the caption claiming that Ol Boy communicated directly that he "did not want to be put to sleep" and wanted to die naturally, so I don't think this is down to religious belief.
I guess there's not much more natural than a creature failing to thrive and suffering till the last moment but having ticks is natural too and they decided to remove them. So if you're going to meddle with Dying Naturally, as if that sounds so great, then why not meddle in the least painful way?
Yeah. Dying in a puddle of your own piss with 100 ticks on you is way better than what they did.
If we treat your reductive either/or choice as truth - rather than being sensible and recognizing that there were a variety of choices that could have been made - that might be true. Their actions may well have extended that animal's life and therefore his suffering. I think advocating for leaving him in the street that way would be shitty, though, so trying to rescue him until it was determined he couldn't be helped and THEN shortening his suffering seems a lot better than either of the two choices you seem to think there were.
posted by phearlez at 8:56 AM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
It seems a bit strange to me to see people implying that it is clearly more natural, right, understandable, or correct for mammals to choose death over pain, when my understanding is that the opposite is the general state of nature.
The idea that euthenasia is *the* correct response to an animal dying a painful death is, I think, speaking from a very certain cultural context or cultural moment. It is indeed outrageous to see bad pet owners prioritizing their emotional well being over their animal's suffering. However, it is absolutely possible to have a moral, empathic, and valid construction of the world that assesses this sort of situation and comes to a different conclusion than "clearly this animal would prefer to die without pain than live, a little longer, with pain." Particularly in cultures that are not yet as aseptic and pain averse as most Western cultures, or that have different relationships with the animal, or that simply value certain things differently.
Hospice care seems like an extremely valid choice that stradles the line between euthenasia and unwaranted treatment which might add to the length of life while subtracting from the quality of it. This seems like it might fall somewhat under the category of hospice care, though I'm assuming from the comments that they didn't provide the dog a way to manage its pain, which is unfortunate.
Haven't seen the video; not gonna watch it. If they think they can actually talk to the dog, that's crazypants.
posted by jsturgill at 9:02 AM on November 18, 2013 [7 favorites]
The idea that euthenasia is *the* correct response to an animal dying a painful death is, I think, speaking from a very certain cultural context or cultural moment. It is indeed outrageous to see bad pet owners prioritizing their emotional well being over their animal's suffering. However, it is absolutely possible to have a moral, empathic, and valid construction of the world that assesses this sort of situation and comes to a different conclusion than "clearly this animal would prefer to die without pain than live, a little longer, with pain." Particularly in cultures that are not yet as aseptic and pain averse as most Western cultures, or that have different relationships with the animal, or that simply value certain things differently.
Hospice care seems like an extremely valid choice that stradles the line between euthenasia and unwaranted treatment which might add to the length of life while subtracting from the quality of it. This seems like it might fall somewhat under the category of hospice care, though I'm assuming from the comments that they didn't provide the dog a way to manage its pain, which is unfortunate.
Haven't seen the video; not gonna watch it. If they think they can actually talk to the dog, that's crazypants.
posted by jsturgill at 9:02 AM on November 18, 2013 [7 favorites]
Giving a second example of ways in which humans deny other sentient beings their own agency by forcing religious beliefs upon them when they cannot communicate their desire to be treated differently does not make this first example okay. To classify this as "religious intolerance" is disingenuous.
It's about as disingenuous as claiming that dogs are sentient and have agency; a claim that I happen to agree with, casually, but not one that has ever been communicated to us by an actual dog. Hence you are disproving an assumption by making another. So, at least culturally speaking, the parallel to raising a child is not an entirely meritless one. An alien could visit our planet and call "raising a child" slavery; it does not necessarily make it so.
posted by phaedon at 9:44 AM on November 18, 2013
It's about as disingenuous as claiming that dogs are sentient and have agency; a claim that I happen to agree with, casually, but not one that has ever been communicated to us by an actual dog. Hence you are disproving an assumption by making another. So, at least culturally speaking, the parallel to raising a child is not an entirely meritless one. An alien could visit our planet and call "raising a child" slavery; it does not necessarily make it so.
posted by phaedon at 9:44 AM on November 18, 2013
The dog's physical suffering aside, I feel like it's really stressful on any animal to be taken out of their familiar environment and manhandled by strangers. Even more so when the dog's too weak and in pain to resist. Now, there's no doubt in my mind that this was motivated by love and compassion.. but there's a lot of doubt in my mind about whether the dog was able to feel even a small bit of that.
Providing something like hospice car for a beloved pet is one thing. I absolutely believe that a dog or cat that's in pain is still able to understand "These are my people, I'm safe with them." It's a big step beyond that to imagine that a street dog in the care of unfamiliar people would feel loved in this situation.
posted by Jeanne at 9:45 AM on November 18, 2013
Providing something like hospice car for a beloved pet is one thing. I absolutely believe that a dog or cat that's in pain is still able to understand "These are my people, I'm safe with them." It's a big step beyond that to imagine that a street dog in the care of unfamiliar people would feel loved in this situation.
posted by Jeanne at 9:45 AM on November 18, 2013
It seems a bit strange to me to see people implying that it is clearly more natural, right, understandable, or correct for mammals to choose death over pain, when my understanding is that the opposite is the general state of nature.
This is only tangentially relevant to the dog in this video, who didn't appear to be physical pain to this degree, but I think your understanding of "the state of nature" is a bit rose-colored.
I've been in enough pain that I would have gladly chosen death had the option been available. Even the certain knowledge that the pain I was in was not a permanent thing, that it would heal in time, would not have stopped me from ending it if I'd been physically capable of performing the act. In retrospect I'm of course glad that that option wasn't available, but this is the me-not-in-pain person thinking that. The me-in-that-much-pain person would not, did not, think that.
With respect, if you're thinking of pain as something defined in terms of cultural values, you probably haven't ever experienced the real thing. I'm pretty stoic about most levels of pain -- I'm generally a 'drive myself to the ER because calling an ambulance would be presumptuous' kind of guy -- but past a certain threshold it becomes a different substance entirely. And that threshold becomes a lot lower when the pain is no longer healable, isn't temporary -- which will happen to all of us lucky enough to survive that long.
I didn't believe in euthanasia before that experience. I do now.
posted by ook at 10:09 AM on November 18, 2013
This is only tangentially relevant to the dog in this video, who didn't appear to be physical pain to this degree, but I think your understanding of "the state of nature" is a bit rose-colored.
I've been in enough pain that I would have gladly chosen death had the option been available. Even the certain knowledge that the pain I was in was not a permanent thing, that it would heal in time, would not have stopped me from ending it if I'd been physically capable of performing the act. In retrospect I'm of course glad that that option wasn't available, but this is the me-not-in-pain person thinking that. The me-in-that-much-pain person would not, did not, think that.
With respect, if you're thinking of pain as something defined in terms of cultural values, you probably haven't ever experienced the real thing. I'm pretty stoic about most levels of pain -- I'm generally a 'drive myself to the ER because calling an ambulance would be presumptuous' kind of guy -- but past a certain threshold it becomes a different substance entirely. And that threshold becomes a lot lower when the pain is no longer healable, isn't temporary -- which will happen to all of us lucky enough to survive that long.
I didn't believe in euthanasia before that experience. I do now.
posted by ook at 10:09 AM on November 18, 2013
With respect, if you're thinking of pain as something defined in terms of cultural values, you probably haven't ever experienced the real thing. I'm pretty stoic about most levels of pain -- I'm generally a 'drive myself to the ER because calling an ambulance would be presumptuous' kind of guy -- but past a certain threshold it becomes a different substance entirely.
With respect in return - I think it's dangerous to try to make Universal Quantifiers For Pain like this. We all have different pain thresholds, and those pain thresholds vary even within each of us. I too have experienced major pain; and the fact that my pain was not enough to cause me to wish for death doesn't mean that my pain was any less "real". (It did make me swear at an ER doctor to "STOP FUCKING AROUND AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON SO YOU CAN GIVE ME SOME DAMN MORPHINE OR SOMETHING ALREADY YOU ASSHOLES", though.)
I mean, I hear what you're saying, that it is indeed possible to be in so much pain that death would be a welcome thing in that frame of mind. But that's a highly individual thing amongst people - which is even more support for the fact that we simply don't know what another species of animal would also prefer if it had the choice as well.
Whether they should have left the dog behind to be euthanized, or whether it was the "right" thing to take the dog with them - we'll all have our own opinions about that. But even if the most morally-correct thing would have been to euthanize it right away, I would wager that "giving it pallative care for a few extra hours" is at least a close second, and a much better option than "leaving it in the alley" no matter what.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:45 AM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
With respect in return - I think it's dangerous to try to make Universal Quantifiers For Pain like this. We all have different pain thresholds, and those pain thresholds vary even within each of us. I too have experienced major pain; and the fact that my pain was not enough to cause me to wish for death doesn't mean that my pain was any less "real". (It did make me swear at an ER doctor to "STOP FUCKING AROUND AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON SO YOU CAN GIVE ME SOME DAMN MORPHINE OR SOMETHING ALREADY YOU ASSHOLES", though.)
I mean, I hear what you're saying, that it is indeed possible to be in so much pain that death would be a welcome thing in that frame of mind. But that's a highly individual thing amongst people - which is even more support for the fact that we simply don't know what another species of animal would also prefer if it had the choice as well.
Whether they should have left the dog behind to be euthanized, or whether it was the "right" thing to take the dog with them - we'll all have our own opinions about that. But even if the most morally-correct thing would have been to euthanize it right away, I would wager that "giving it pallative care for a few extra hours" is at least a close second, and a much better option than "leaving it in the alley" no matter what.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:45 AM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
Yeah if I was dying and couldn't talk I would prefer people not kill me on purpose. Removing life support? Fine- but I have lived through a lot of pain and found meaning in life in spite of it, I wouldn't appreciate someone else deciding to euthenasia me without my consent because they believe it's ALWAYS the kinder thing to do for a dying being. I might want that moment to feel my child holding my hand before I slip away.
I think this is a personal thing any dog owner has to decide based on observed pain level and their knowledge of the dog, and this case the caregivers counted as that role.
As an aside believing you have the ability to understanding a non-speaking being at the level they claimed to is impossible to verify and problematic for my liking-- however in spite of that I still don't think it's universal that every dying animal must be euthanized immediately to respect it's experience of life or have compassion for it.
However believing you know an animal wants to die also seems to be a bit presumptuous. We don't know, we just have to make our best guess.
posted by xarnop at 11:07 AM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
I think this is a personal thing any dog owner has to decide based on observed pain level and their knowledge of the dog, and this case the caregivers counted as that role.
As an aside believing you have the ability to understanding a non-speaking being at the level they claimed to is impossible to verify and problematic for my liking-- however in spite of that I still don't think it's universal that every dying animal must be euthanized immediately to respect it's experience of life or have compassion for it.
However believing you know an animal wants to die also seems to be a bit presumptuous. We don't know, we just have to make our best guess.
posted by xarnop at 11:07 AM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
I don't know about Singapore, but euthanasia isn't an option in every part of the world. I cared for a kitten in Thailand. I've written about this experience in the blue before, so I won't tell the whole story here. She was a very sweet little thing. Wheezing and weak. We were staying on an island when we found her. We asked locals if there was a "hospital for animals" and were met with laughter. Like, "Where the fuck do you people think you ARE?" So, we traveled for 4 hours to the nearest vet/pet store. The vet listened to her breathing. He told us she had fluid in her lungs and a 50/50 chance of survival. We had been trying to nurse her to health on our own--feeding her, cleaning the teaming fleas from her tiny body. We asked if he could help to hasten her death--to end her suffering--if it came to that. I believe we enlisted the help of a taxi driver to explain this. The vet told us "No," he could not do that. Didn't have the right medication? Against his religion? He didn't say. That night she died in my boyfriend's arms in our hotel room.
Choosing someone else's death for them is a big responsibility. Animals can't tell you what they want. I've had to choose the deaths of two beloved companion animals. In both cases, I knew it had to be done. There was nothing else left to do and the quality of their lives had degraded significantly. Still, two events that haunt me.
posted by apis mellifera at 11:29 AM on November 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
Choosing someone else's death for them is a big responsibility. Animals can't tell you what they want. I've had to choose the deaths of two beloved companion animals. In both cases, I knew it had to be done. There was nothing else left to do and the quality of their lives had degraded significantly. Still, two events that haunt me.
posted by apis mellifera at 11:29 AM on November 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
I think it's dangerous to try to make Universal Quantifiers For Pain like this.
That's a perfectly fair point, and you're right that I shouldn't have characterized pain-at-less-than-the-"wishing-for-death"-threshold as "not real," that was a poor choice of words.
I was just trying to express that at a certain point, whether in intensity or duration or the combination of both, pain becomes (or at least can become) something fundamentally different from what we normally use the word to describe: it's not just a change in degree. And that that fundamental difference would be difficult for people who have not experienced it to imagine. It sure caught me by surprise, anyway.
posted by ook at 11:35 AM on November 18, 2013
That's a perfectly fair point, and you're right that I shouldn't have characterized pain-at-less-than-the-"wishing-for-death"-threshold as "not real," that was a poor choice of words.
I was just trying to express that at a certain point, whether in intensity or duration or the combination of both, pain becomes (or at least can become) something fundamentally different from what we normally use the word to describe: it's not just a change in degree. And that that fundamental difference would be difficult for people who have not experienced it to imagine. It sure caught me by surprise, anyway.
posted by ook at 11:35 AM on November 18, 2013
I've watched hours of Eldad Hagar's and the Bill Foundation's videos, and I think they've euthanized one or two dogs at most. Their videos are rescue, rehabilitation, and adoption videos, and they could not be more opposite of this one.
It is similar in that they are both trying to raise money by making a video of the experience.
I cried again this morning when I read this thread. Thinking of the passing of my own pets and how I hope I made their passing easier makes me cry. I think if they were a stray on the street that I was assisting I would not feel the deep grief that I do - just relief that their suffering was over.
posted by cairnoflore at 12:28 PM on November 18, 2013
It is similar in that they are both trying to raise money by making a video of the experience.
I cried again this morning when I read this thread. Thinking of the passing of my own pets and how I hope I made their passing easier makes me cry. I think if they were a stray on the street that I was assisting I would not feel the deep grief that I do - just relief that their suffering was over.
posted by cairnoflore at 12:28 PM on November 18, 2013
So, I've been thinking about this thread and about my Little Guy. This morning I concluded my lit class with Act V of Hamlet, and the speech, when Hamlet accepts that his attachments to the world are ending: 'There is a certain providence in the fall of a sparrow ... the readiness is all.'
I think one reason the video is maybe in somewhat bad taste to Western pet owners is the attribution of 'the readiness is all' to the dog's mind -- the dog wasn't ready to die, the dog needed love before he/she was ready to die.
When in fact, it was the caregivers who were not ready, not ready to see such an abused creature leave life without love.
Is this wrong? To me, it has to do with the dog's distress. As animal caregivers, I am assuming that they were monitoring the dog closely.
I wonder what the motivating force behind making this video was. That's the thing that gives me a certain pause. It celebrates the decision to let the dog die a certain way -- and makes a Hallmarky video out of it.
Clearly, I'm biased because I euthanized one of my best buds last night, and the process was so -- dignified, really. Not, 'Oh we are letting a dog die naturally after removing his ticks, whoop' but more, 'let's treat this moment for what it is; a shock, a loss, and ultimately, a release from suffering.'
But again, I agree that cultural factors are definitely in play in here.
posted by angrycat at 12:46 PM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
I think one reason the video is maybe in somewhat bad taste to Western pet owners is the attribution of 'the readiness is all' to the dog's mind -- the dog wasn't ready to die, the dog needed love before he/she was ready to die.
When in fact, it was the caregivers who were not ready, not ready to see such an abused creature leave life without love.
Is this wrong? To me, it has to do with the dog's distress. As animal caregivers, I am assuming that they were monitoring the dog closely.
I wonder what the motivating force behind making this video was. That's the thing that gives me a certain pause. It celebrates the decision to let the dog die a certain way -- and makes a Hallmarky video out of it.
Clearly, I'm biased because I euthanized one of my best buds last night, and the process was so -- dignified, really. Not, 'Oh we are letting a dog die naturally after removing his ticks, whoop' but more, 'let's treat this moment for what it is; a shock, a loss, and ultimately, a release from suffering.'
But again, I agree that cultural factors are definitely in play in here.
posted by angrycat at 12:46 PM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Whether they should have left the dog behind to be euthanized, or whether it was the "right" thing to take the dog with them - we'll all have our own opinions about that.
I suppose it's not entirely rational for me to have more respect for a stated objection to euthanasia than the video's kookoocrazypants assertion that Ol Boy makes an explicit choice that he does not want euthanasia, but I do. I think both are wrong but one at least acknowledges personal responsibility.
posted by phearlez at 1:38 PM on November 18, 2013
I suppose it's not entirely rational for me to have more respect for a stated objection to euthanasia than the video's kookoocrazypants assertion that Ol Boy makes an explicit choice that he does not want euthanasia, but I do. I think both are wrong but one at least acknowledges personal responsibility.
posted by phearlez at 1:38 PM on November 18, 2013
I have had to have pets put down from suffering and even occasionally (and painfully) for a certain amount of convenience, and inability to afford proper care. A rescue who turned out to have a highly infectious untreatable respiratory disease that could have wiped out our own cat flock. I have also kept dying cats home and had them die in the arms of my wife and I. Naturally I would prefer this to have had a slightly happier ending with a perky miracle bounding around a big yard adored by children, but reality is pretty unyielding on these things. Suffering in this case was going to pass in pretty short order either way in this case, and if you want to say an animal has no cares for "dignity" in dying, obviously I can't argue the point. I am grateful for a few points on this vid. I'm grateful a stray dog didn't have to die in filth in the street in this one case in spite of the fact so many more will and have. If this makes someone somewhere think twice about ignoring a stray animal in the streets, then I can forgive the "communication with animals" jive, and I'm grateful for that too. Also I'm grateful for this post and the people commenting on it for fleshing out many sides of a story where I only saw one or two before because of only having my own experiences to go by.
Thank you Wordwoman and thank you Metafilter
posted by Redhush at 2:18 PM on November 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
Thank you Wordwoman and thank you Metafilter
posted by Redhush at 2:18 PM on November 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
I'm not watching this but these comments are enough to make me sick for the rest of the day. But nobody should ever turn their back on a suffering non-human animal.
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:45 PM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:45 PM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Do you know why dogs are here? To make us better humans.
posted by math at 3:55 PM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by math at 3:55 PM on November 18, 2013 [2 favorites]
The day may come when I wish for my own euthanasia, but the day will never come when I think ill of someone who won't give it to me and instead provides me with love, care and affection.
posted by Jernau at 9:02 PM on November 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by Jernau at 9:02 PM on November 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
A couple years ago, I came upon a cat in the middle of a one-way street on my urban block. I was the first to approach her. A bystander who was a non-native English speaker actually said, "don't touch it! It could have rabbits."
She let me pet her. It was clear to me that the cat had been hit by a car. I blocked the street with my bicycle and went inside to get a cardboard box and a towel to move the animal into something transportable. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I had no idea where the nearest vet was. When I got back, there were a couple more helpers. As I was talking with one woman about what we should do, another woman called animal control so the decision was made.
When the animal control guy arrived this cat that could barely move and who allowed me to pet her got up and bolted for safety at the mere sight of the man in uniform many yards away. She was clearly paralyzed or injured in her back legs as she darted away. The animal control worker had to jump a fence to get to her.
He showed us that she had a clipped ear, which meant that she was part of the spay and release program in DC and that she was definitely a stray, which was somewhat comforting to know that there wasn't a family missing their cat. The cat had necessarily encountered animal control many years before and she knew what it meant.
I asked if they would examine her before putting her to sleep. If maybe there was a chance...? The animal control worker said that that was the policy. What can I say? My denial wasn't going to hurt the situation.
This story is maybe neither here nor there, but I do think that animals can understand a lot more than we give them credit for and I was very amazed that the injured cat could differentiate motives between me, one strange human, and another strange human whose role was to catch her. I also have no doubt from the video that Ol Boy understood that these humans were helpers and that he was grateful in his own way even if I wouldn't procure the services of an animal communicator myself.
posted by Skwirl at 10:38 PM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
She let me pet her. It was clear to me that the cat had been hit by a car. I blocked the street with my bicycle and went inside to get a cardboard box and a towel to move the animal into something transportable. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I had no idea where the nearest vet was. When I got back, there were a couple more helpers. As I was talking with one woman about what we should do, another woman called animal control so the decision was made.
When the animal control guy arrived this cat that could barely move and who allowed me to pet her got up and bolted for safety at the mere sight of the man in uniform many yards away. She was clearly paralyzed or injured in her back legs as she darted away. The animal control worker had to jump a fence to get to her.
He showed us that she had a clipped ear, which meant that she was part of the spay and release program in DC and that she was definitely a stray, which was somewhat comforting to know that there wasn't a family missing their cat. The cat had necessarily encountered animal control many years before and she knew what it meant.
I asked if they would examine her before putting her to sleep. If maybe there was a chance...? The animal control worker said that that was the policy. What can I say? My denial wasn't going to hurt the situation.
This story is maybe neither here nor there, but I do think that animals can understand a lot more than we give them credit for and I was very amazed that the injured cat could differentiate motives between me, one strange human, and another strange human whose role was to catch her. I also have no doubt from the video that Ol Boy understood that these humans were helpers and that he was grateful in his own way even if I wouldn't procure the services of an animal communicator myself.
posted by Skwirl at 10:38 PM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
That is some Mother Theresa-level compassion right there. Did the dog's suffering bring it closer to Jesus, or something? Fuck no. There's a reason euthanasia exists. I just witness cruelty and some people (mostly YouTube commenters are fawning over it. When I saw the words "He wanted to die naturally..." I practically yelled at the screen. Don't personify your animals when it comes to their quality of life, for fuck's sake.
*disclaimer: I just had my 13.5 year-old dog put down Saturday morning after she had a severe seizure. I miss her like hell, but it was the right call.
posted by pmbuko at 8:22 PM on November 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
*disclaimer: I just had my 13.5 year-old dog put down Saturday morning after she had a severe seizure. I miss her like hell, but it was the right call.
posted by pmbuko at 8:22 PM on November 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
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