Beekissed

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Great job Ben!! Any chance you could trap the beagle and take him to the pound? Even if he gets put down there, it's got to be better than starving to death... and who knows, maybe someone would want him for a pet, far from your chickens.

I haven't seen him since I yelled at him the first day, though the neighbor has seen him a few times and Mom saw him out by the highway.

If we caught him we'd likely just do the deed ourselves rather than drive 20 mi. so the shelter can pass him around over and over and then euthanize him. Last time I called with a dog they kept saying, "If you bring him here we'll just have to put him down"...we can do that here, quicker and with less fuss.
 

Baymule

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Bee, what you say makes perfect sense to me, but I am sure some people would be horrified at the "cruelty" of you doing the deed yourself. I do not condone cruelty to animals, but sometimes just taking care of the problem yourself turns out to be kinder in the long run.
 

Beekissed

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Bee, what you say makes perfect sense to me, but I am sure some people would be horrified at the "cruelty" of you doing the deed yourself. I do not condone cruelty to animals, but sometimes just taking care of the problem yourself turns out to be kinder in the long run.

I'm sure there are folks who think that is cruel and it's likely due to the fact they've never killed anything themselves. We've killed many, many animals so one becomes practiced in the art of the kill, wherein the dying is just as humane and quick as that done with medicine at the vets.

A dog shot at close range in the head with a .16 gauge shotgun dies instantly, sinking to the ground like it just went to sleep...just like when the vet puts a dog to sleep in his clinic. There's no blood or gore even...the pellets are so small and penetrate so quickly and deeply that you can't even see the dog has been shot unless you examine it closely. One minute he's standing there, eating a piece of bread, the next second he's gone. No pain, no mess, no spasms even.

I had this discussion with a young lady at the humane society one day..the same one that threatened to "just put him down" if I brought a dog in to them. I told her that's fine, we'll just shoot him here. She started getting all upset over that and begged us not to do it. I asked her, "Why? You just told me YOU were going to kill him if I brought him to you, so why can't WE just kill him and save ourselves the trip?" She said, "I don't want you to just shoot him in the head!!!!" Obviously, this woman has seen far too many movies and TV shows wherein people are shot in the head and it's a violent and gory event.

I explained to her how quickly it goes, how bloodless it all is and how the dog doesn't suffer at all, but she started insisting I bring the dog to them, that she would find a place for him after all. :rolleyes: He was too good of a dog to shoot~though a confirmed chicken killer, so I went ahead and took him in...he was adopted the next day.

Why is it that people think that putting a dog to sleep is any different and less cruel then putting it down with a shotgun? Because there is less noise,maybe? Never have figured that one out, but dead is dead and there are many definitions of cruelty in this world...I have my own opinions on what is cruel to an animal and they would not be popular with most of the world's population if I expressed them. ;)
 

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And not to mention large animals like horses. If euthanized, you are stuck with 1,200 pounds of poison meat that must be buried so that other animals that would be drawn to the carcass are not poisoned by eating the carcass. If you don't have the equipment or facilities for a proper horse funeral, you must pay for it's disposal. A dead horse quickly becomes a high dollar liability for people who often cannot afford it. And then people wonder why old horses get dumped out on lonely stretches of road...... You can't shoot your own horse because it's "cruel". Rant over.
 

NH homesteader

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I'm going to jump in here and agree with this entirely. I have heard way too many stories of the vet having to do multiple injections because a horse didn't go down. On the other hand a good old farmer with a gun does it right the first time. I am lucky to live where no one cares if they hear a random gunshot. My neighbor usually only shoots on two occasions: sighting in for deer season, and when the coyotes get too close. However they don't care a bit about what we do on our side of the property line.

I hadn't thought about the issue of poisoned "meat" and the need for keeping it away from scavengers. Good call there.
 

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Very true. My vet actually was telling me about a mare that I can't remember what was wrong with her, but she was dying and in a lot of pain, she told the owner that she needed to be put down, that there was no saving her, and he said he was going to shoot her because he already had a lot of money in vet bills at that point and couldn't spend more on her being put down. So, my vet went to her truck and waited for a while after she heard the shot and went to check that she was actually dead and that he didn't need any help moving the body or anything. She said that he did a great job and that there was no blood.

I've had to put 2 horses down, but one was down and we couldn't get him up, and he was starting to have neurological symptoms before we put him down, and the other was over 30 years old and had cancer eating away at him. They both went out without a fight and the vet was even surprised on both of them how quick they were gone after the shots.

It doesn't really matter how they go, as long as it is fast and as painless as possible.
 

Beekissed

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It doesn't really matter how they go, as long as it is fast and as painless as possible.

I agree. :thumbsup

Anyone owning animals needs to know how to quickly and painlessly put them down at home or at least have someone nearby~neighbor, family, etc~ who can do it for them. A vet is not always available and why should an animal suffer for lack of fortitude and preparation in its owner?

Is it easy? Not a bit. Not even close to it. It can be downright heartbreaking.

But we aren't promised an easy life, so best to just pull up the big girl britches and get on with the dirty work.
 

Kusanar

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I agree. :thumbsup

Anyone owning animals needs to know how to quickly and painlessly put them down at home or at least have someone nearby~neighbor, family, etc~ who can do it for them. A vet is not always available and why should an animal suffer for lack of fortitude and preparation in its owner?

Is it easy? Not a bit. Not even close to it. It can be downright heartbreaking.

But we aren't promised an easy life, so best to just pull up the big girl britches and get on with the dirty work.
If I couldn't get a vet to the barn, I know WHERE to shoot to put one of the horses down, and my dad has guns and knows how to use it. If a horse was in serious distress (broken leg etc) and we couldn't get in touch with the vet, he would shoot them for me.
 

Baymule

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It can cost $600 plus to get a dead, euthanized, pile of poisoned horse meat hauled to the landfill. :ep
 

NH homesteader

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Holy cow. $600?

Thank goodness for my husband, he does all the dirty work for me. But I know by having animals that it'd my job if he isn't around. I also have a friend who lives just up the road who responds to a "911" text message within a minute with a gun. Helps to have neighbors!
 

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