Animals and Euthanasia

  • Thread starter Thread starter TPJCatholic
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

TPJCatholic

Guest
What is the Church’s teachings regarding euthanasia and pets? If a pet dog bites, is it okay to put the dog to sleep? It is clear how this subject relates to humans–but it is not at all clear how it relates to animals and pets.

Help?

(was not sure where else to place this)…
 
Animals do not have souls. It is perfectly fine to have them put to death for legitimate reasons.

Some example legitimate reasons can include:* To eat them.
  • To make other good use of their bodies, teeth, fur, whatever.
  • To put an end to their suffering (old age, broken leg, …).
  • To remove a danger to humans.
  • To perform legitimate research for good.
That does not give us the right to be overly cruel.
 
Pointedly, only humans were created in the image of God, and therefore only humans have the RIGHT to life. Every other living thing has been put under the authority and protection of man (humans). We have a responsibility to treat animals ethically, and euthanasia is sometimes the ethical option, as animals cannot receive salvic grace. They have no need of salvation, there is not option for damnation. That being said, I don’t see where God has put specific limitation on us killing animals. Murder is only pertinent when the “victim” is also human. I think the “animal rights” people have planted the seed of scupilosity in some people regarding how we treat animals. I do, however, feel that God looks with disfavor on anyone who abuses His creation.
 
All living things have souls. Only Humans have Eternal souls made in the image and likeness of God. Yes it is moral to put an animal to sleep if that is the best thing for them.
 
Does anyone know of any formal Church teaching regarding this subject?
 
Sometimes animal euthanasia is the right thing to do. There is a different standard that applies to humans vs. animals. Groups like ALF and PETA try to elevate animals to the level of humans, but even they would put a suffering pet down. (I fear they would put down an ailing parent as well, however).

Animal euthanasia differs from cruelty. Some people kill animals for sport (I’m not talking about hunting!), or the ever famous drowning unwanted or imperfect puppies. I see this as being morally wrong.

Animal shelters euthanize pets when they are not adopted over a period of time or have major health problems…and this decision has to do not only with finances but other resources as well. Pit bulls in some cities are euthanized without question due to their overabundance, their having been trained as fighting machines, neglected, etc. They are not a popular dog and often, due to people’s cruelty in backyard breeding, they are not allowed by insurance companies. Even the heathy, sweet ones, in some geographic areas would waste away in kennel for life. Is this humane?

Much of this killing can be prevented by responsible pet ownership so I am not so much sad that these animals must be euthanized as for the REASONS for the euthanasia…and poor decisions by humans are the cause all too often.

Animal euthanasia is definitely not morally wrong in most cases. If someone doesn’t have the funds to save their pet, sometimes there are shelters or rescue groups that will take the animal and give them a new home. People who put pets down for behavioral problems they just don’t want to be bothered with, in my opinion, are doing wrong.

I believe in respecting all llife, but the key word is “respect”. Pets are not throwaway lives and any decision to end a life of any kind, IMHO, should be thoroughly considered.

Now…that said, let’s not talk about my need to kill every spider anywhere near my presence!:bigyikes: 😛 (See…even I’m selective in my recognition of life) So, please just take my opinions with a grain of salt and some common sense.
 
Thanks much for all of the replies.

What if a dog has a history of biting (5 or more times or 6-7 years)? Does the Catholic faith have anything to say (for or against) about euthanasia in that case?
 
40.png
TPJCatholic:
Thanks much for all of the replies.

What if a dog has a history of biting (5 or more times or 6-7 years)? Does the Catholic faith have anything to say (for or against) about euthanasia in that case?
Click to expand...
Well, there is no doubt that the welfare of people comes before the welfare of any animal. I **strongly believe ** that a dog who bites a human even once should be put down.

If a dog will bite a human once, who can honestly say that they aren’t risking the dog killing a child the next time? Who can actually try to advance the moral argument that protecting an animal is worth risking the life of a child?

I am actually quite appalled that a dog has bitten people 5 or more times and no one has had the moral courage to address the issue. If the dog was in my neighborhood, and pursuing matters through the police had failed, then I’d walk over with my shotgum and take care of business. That could be my child attacked the next time, and I am simply not going to accept that possibility.
 
rfk,

Does it matter, in your view, if the dog was provoked in any of those cases? Does it matter if the dog did no real harm?
 
If the dog was unprovoked and just attacked for no reason, say you are walking down the street and out of nowhere a dog attacks you…then yes, it should be put down right away. But, I am a strong believer that if a dog was provoked, then no, it shouldn’t be put down. Animals have to defend themselves some how. If they feel threatened, much like human, they are going to protect themselves as best they can. This is an innate quality in all animals and humans. You can’t punish an animal because they were scared or threatened. If someone is teasing or scaring an animal, and they get bit, then they deserved the bite, plain and simple. you can’t blame the dog for trying to defend itself.

I happen to think that God put animals on this earth to help humans, be it food, warmth, companionship. We should all learn to co-exsist with animals as best we can without hurting thme unnecessarily. That is why I am a vegetarian, or at least try to be, but on some occasions, I need meat, especially now that I can’t eat a lot of sugar (diabetes). I am incredibly agaisnt factory farming. The average american eats 115lbs, of red meat a year, that is more than i weigh. I highly doubt that God put animals on the earth to be mass-murdered. Plus, 115 lbs. a year borderlines, if not is, gluttony.
 
40.png
TPJCatholic:
Does it matter, in your view, if the dog was provoked in any of those cases?
Click to expand...
Well, there is “provoked” and there is “provoked”. In other words, it gets into a gray area.

If it is a teenager baiting a dog from the other side of a fence every day, and the dog accidentally gets loose and bites him, and the dog shows no sign of being aggressive with any other people, then I’d be inclined to give the dog a second chance.

If it is a toddler who innocently goes and take a ball away from a dog, or thinks she is playing with the dog but the dog doesn’t like the play, that is a different story. The toddler isn’t being malicious, and the dog can always get up and walk away. Under no circumstances would I give a dog a second chance in that kind of scenario.

I grew up in a family of seven children that always had dogs. You have to be able to trust that a dog isn’t going to hurt a young child. Anything that reasonably destroys that trust is grounds for putting the dog down. A dog’s life is never more valuable than a child’s life.
40.png
TPJCatholic:
Does it matter if the dog did no real harm?
Click to expand...
If blood was drawn by the dogs teeth, then the next time could be fatal. No second chance.

That is my take on it, worth what you paid for it.
 
Sorry to revive an old thread, but this came up numero uno on google.
I have a mini poodle that won’t die. We got him from the pound who were about to put him down that day cause he was older(about 4 or so) and no one wanted him. That was about 16 years ago!!! He’s seemed on the verge of death in the past but somehow kept going. He’s lost all his teeth, his eyesight went shortly after we got him, cataracts, he has no eyes left. He can barely walk, I don’t think he can hear. For the past 7 years we’ve confined him to the kitchen because he started going to the bathroom on the carpet. Then 2 years ago he just stopped caring about scratching or waiting by the door to be let out. He just pees or poops on the floor. We clean, but it’s disgusting. Family won’t come over because they are repulsed by it all.
What would you do??
He still eats, somehow, and putters around, mostly sleeps, but doesn’t seem in any real pain, which is how I would qualify putting him down.
 
rfk said:
Well, there is no doubt that the welfare of people comes before the welfare of any animal. I **strongly believe ** that a dog who bites a human even once should be put down.

If a dog will bite a human once, who can honestly say that they aren’t risking the dog killing a child the next time? Who can actually try to advance the moral argument that protecting an animal is worth risking the life of a child?

I am actually quite appalled that a dog has bitten people 5 or more times and no one has had the moral courage to address the issue. If the dog was in my neighborhood, and pursuing matters through the police had failed, then I’d walk over with my shotgum and take care of business. That could be my child attacked the next time, and I am simply not going to accept that possibility.
Click to expand...
A dog bite is different than a dog attack. I had a dog that bit a person and I would keep that dog. Why? Because a bigger(90lbs), ill tempered dog attacked my dog on my property and the idiot owner decided it was a great idea to pull the dogs apart by picking my dog (15lbs) up. The dog had my dog by the neck. My dog was still snapping away and landed an bad chomp on the guy’s hand. He told me he was going to sue, I told him to get out of my yard and take his dog before I killed it (well within my rights).

Another time I was dog sitting a standard poodle. (the big ones) A young teen (maybe pre-teen) was torturing the dog every time he went by, throwing rocks, hitting it and sticking his hands over the fence to do so. The dog took a nice chomp…there’s no way I’d get rid of that dog. Fortunately, the kid’s parents knew he had habit of harassing dogs so they punished him and not the dog owners.

Many small breed dogs bite when over handled. If an owner says not to, and a person does anyway…in the person has the bite coming.

A biting dog is bad news. You are 100% responsible for it. The “damage control” of the dog also determines weither or not they need to be put down, and also the bite strength. Pitbulls, bulldogs, some hounds and mastiffs have alot of torque to their bite…they also have a natural instinct to not let go. Most terriers, retrievers and Shepard are nippers. They have been bread to nip or bite loosly and not clamp down…for terriers in their persuit of foxes or other game, for shepards in hearding sheep, and for retrievers handling waterfoul.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top