Is euthanizing my pet training my soul for euthanizing a person?

[MNathaniel]

OP, query: is your brother a vegan?

I’m just wondering, because if he’s against killing animals to spare them non-redemptive suffering… perhaps he’s also against killing animals to eat them?

I’m basically wondering if he’s struggling to patch together a coherent worldview right now and he sees all killing of all animate creatures as wrongful. And maybe that’s where his theological confusion is rooted.

It’s okay for a Catholic to be a vegan, by the way (just not okay to suggest Catholics must be vegans!).

Maybe I’m going off track here. But just wondering whether your brother thinks it’s not just euthanizing an animal that hardens a human heart, but slaughtering an animal to eat. If he’s okay with one versus okay with neither, that could help trace back his thought process.

(PS I’m sorry to hear about the situation with your dog. It’s hard to watch a pet suffer, and it’s hard to choose to euthanize them. Either way, it’s a difficult situation, and I’m sorry you’re experiencing it right now.)

 

[Tis_Bearself]

All of this you’re writing is your own speculative opinion.

It is NOT from the Catechism, the Pope, the Vatican, Scripture, etc. I note this because apparently someone in the thread has already been misled by your posts into thinking this is Church teaching.

It’s also at least borderline off-topic for this thread, but I’m not bothering to flag it. I’ll simply say I think it’s ridiculous and like most of the other posters, I do not think there’s any comparison between AI and a living creation of God. If you find this sort of thinking interesting, then different strokes for different folks. I think it’s gross.

 

[Angel_Bradford]

Not letting your pet suffer is the ultimate unselfish act and, although it will be painful for you, you are doing it out of love for that animal. While the Church forbids euthanizing people, She also recognizes, that while the person should not be denied food and water, there is no obligation to maintain extraordinary means of life support.

 

[AHapka]

This is the difference as I see it. Genesis
1:26 And God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

We have dominion over animals, not humans. Therefore we can make such life or death decisions for them. We can keep them as pets, we can’t keep other humans as pets. There is a clear line because God made it so.

 

[phil19034]

Recently my dog developed a severe health problem that would cost a lot of money and since he is an older dog and has other health issues I was seriously considering putting him down. I talked to my brother about this and he insisted that I had the mindset of a pro-choice person.

He’s wrong about this.

He said because the dog is domesticated that when you kill him it is training your soul to killing people.

This does not “train your soul to killing people.” However, for unevangelized & uncatechized people who place animals on equal ground with humans, it does give them a logical (yet erroneous) basis for euthanasia.

He said that there is a value to suffering and that I should just watch the dog die just as I would for a human

The value in suffering is by the person suffering. Watching the dog die from cancer is NOT the same as a human dying from cancer. Redemptive suffering is much more than just emotional suffering.

Is it harmful for the soul if I kill a domesticated animal?

Again: it is not harmful for the SOUL to mercifully kill a domesticated animal which is suffering. It would be harmful to the soul to brutally kill an animal because it’s “fun” or “funny.”

With that said, I do think we need to reevaluate when we kill animals because it’s sending a mixed message to people who don’t understand the difference between rational & irrational souls. Some farmers, breeders, etc are sometimes a little too quick at killing an animal which can no longer fulfill a working service.

We also have to keep in mind that the pro-euthanasia crowd DOES point to mercy killings of animals to support their argument why we should “mercy kill” humans. They do NOT recognize the difference, so we need to keep this in mind.

I pray I’m making sense.

God Bless & Godspeed.

 

[JanR]

Anonkun:

So they are basically advanced computers made out of flesh and fur. Putting down an animal may feel bad, but morally it’s equivalent to eliminating an old pc.

Not so. A computer is an inanimate object.

Animals aren’t machines. Computers are. Animals are living beings. The higher animals have some degree and amount of personality to them, and they can experience things that happen to them. While governed primarily by instinct, the higher animals do have some measure of intelligence, and some of them can be quite smart. They can learn simple things, such as figuring out how to open a door or a hatch, and they can be trained through conditioning.

While not the same as humans, animals are no more computers than people are robots.

It’s good stewardship to be kind to animals, and if they are suffering, to end their misery in a humane and compassionate way. That won’t harm your soul.

Conversely, we do need to watch out for people who wantonly and wastefully kill animals just for the thrill of it. They have no regard for creation, are cruel for the sake of being cruel, may be mentally disturbed, and could possibly escalate or graduate to committing homicide against humans. If they have no regard for animal life, they may have little or no regard for human life, either. THOSE are the dangerous ones.