The Word Euthanasia

Over the last week I have been reading a lot about this word Euthanasia.

This is one of the reasons why I really enjoy the world of blogging. Blogging brings me topics that I otherwise would not think about in MY small, closed minded world and this subject of Euthanasia has really had me thinking over the last few days.
A few fantastic bloggers brought this certain topic to my attention in the following posts:
Edie Jarolim at Will My Dog Hate Me wrote about this topic in her post titled Just One Word.
Kim Clune at This One Wild Life wrote a post titled Animal Over Population :The Euphemism Of….
and Christie Keith wrote a post called Stop Calling It ‘euthanasia’.
All are excellent posts and I encourage you to stop by and read them.

After reading each post I have my opinion on the topic, which I honestly have to say, I have never put much thought into before reading these blogs. Shame on me.

What does the word Euthanasia mean? Well according to Wikipedia it refers to the practice of ending a life in a manner which relieves pain and suffering.
It’s a word to me that is sacred. It is my last gift that I can give to my pet,  my best friend, my family member,
in a time when he/she needs me the most.

My sacred word should not be used to describe what happens to the 3 year old dog who is going to be killed because the shelter has run out of room. Society should not be able to use my sacred word to help them feel better about the massive killing of shelter dogs. Don’t sugar coat it for society.
The shelter pets deserve this word because we are ending their suffering from this cruel world they were brought into. The workers in the shelters deserve this word for being the brave souls of taking care of these pets and doing what most of us never could do.

But don’t use this word to society to describe what happens in shelters. The society that has created this suffering needs a different word to use. Do not use the word that is my last act of kindness towards my beloved pet, to make you feel better about what goes on in these shelters.

I have been trying to think of the right word for this but the only one that keeps popping into my head “killing”

Definition of kill: cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly.


Or maybe Execute-Murder in a planned fashion; to kill as a means of socially sanctioned punishment.

These dogs are being punished by society’s lack of responsibility.