Letters to the Editor
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Well? Should we?
"Should we euthanize the yorkie?" I don't care for Guiliani either, though this seems kind of extreme.
Oh wait. This is in the advice section. Must be about a pet, and that kind of story is too heartbreaking for me to read.
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Thank you, Chickadee
I know this is sort of a sidebar conversation, but I just wanted to say thanks to AJ Calhoun for the comment about servicemembers and to Chickadee for the comment about "brainwashing." I am an Army veteran and at no point during my admittedly brief (4-year) Army career do I feel that I or anyone else around me was "brainwashed." Servicemembers take an oath of office. Saying that they're "brainwashed" into doing their jobs is like saying that criminal defense lawyers have been "brainwashed" into believing their clients are innocent. Really, it's just a matter of professionalism. And if you find morally objectionable the mere notion of embarking upon such a profession as the military, then how is it that we're supposed to have a military at all? Or is your stance that we should not have a military at all?
In my mind, and speaking as a former closeted lesbian Democrat Army officer, the biggest problem culturally that faces today's military arises from the fact that progressive-minded people by and large stopped joining after the Vietnam War, particularly in the officers' corps. As a result, the top ranks of leadership are heavily populated with Rush Limbaugh-type Republicans. This is a dangerous development for a democracy, since the people who wield all of the nation's firepower should ideally be representative of the people they represent.
Indeed, ideally, the military should simply be a neutral institution, one that is certainly valued but not revered or unquestioned. Unfortunately, with so few members of our population having had actual military experience, the sentiments of the average American seem to fall at either one extreme end of the spectrum or the other.
Oh, and for the record, this Army veteran is against killing the dog.
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Thank you, Cary
That was your most eloquent response yet.
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Unbelievable
You want to put down the dog because it's become an inconvenience. Jesus Christ. Your grandmother seems to think the dog needs her? Guess what, miss. The dog loves her and she loves the dog. Is that hard to understand?--the reciprocal love between a pet and its owner? Maybe you might consider hiring a pet sitter or dog walker before you rush the dog off to some vet so the animal gets a hot shot. Too many vets will do thoroughly unethical things, e.g., euthanizing a perfectly healthy animal to suit the convenience of a spoiled brat who is put out by the nastier aspects of caring for a creature like this. A pet sitter might be able to limit the dog's diet. A caretaker for your grandmother might be able to do the same thing. Has anyone thought of these alternatives or are you too wrapped up in your own inconveniences to think of anyone but yourself?
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i took care of my grandmother who had alzheimers while she was dying or Put the Dog Out
I didn't know she was dying. I didn't believe she could die. She was still firm and strong, and I was hugging her good-bye on the steps of her old house. Even as I dragged her out of the electronic recliner, she was firm and strong and standing on the steps of her old house.
Even when she shit her sheets, told me I'd gained weight, couldn't play poker, she was standing the steps of her old house in Knoxville, Tennessee, the house my mom grew up in, and I was in the bathtub, knocking blocks, playing with funnels.
My grandmother had this cat. This irritating, beautiful gray and white cat, with a fat body and wild green eyes and oily fur. She loved that cat. I hated that cat. I am 24, too. So I dealt. I put that cat out. I put that cat out alot. She lived in a small suburb, and I prayed when I called that stupid cat in, it wouldn't come in, but slip sleekly away into suburban underbrush, set up shop by the parking garage of the mall. It always came.
You don't know it, but your grandmother is dying. She'll be gone soon, and you'll be glad you did what you're doing now. Put that damn dog out. Put it out and pray someone steals it. Give it a long leash tied to a tree and don't think about it again.
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@kdollarsign
What you did to your grandmother's cat was both cruel and cowardly. Cruel, because you tossed an animal out of its home and hoped that it would never come back. Starvation and disease or dying from expsoure, or being run over by a car or killed by a dog -- is that what you were hoping for? Because that's what happens to animals thrown out of homes.
You were a coward, too, for not having the guts to at least take the cat to a shelter and give it up like any decent, responsible, person would do. You took the easy way no, no matter how much that meant the animal would suffer.
The LW should ignore the likes of you.
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Find the dog a better home
I'm sure there are organizations that would love to help you find the dog a better home for the holidays.
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Euthanize the Yorkie
I'm more concerned about Grandpa than the dog. Grandpa needs to see a doctor. I'm sure his wife's decline has a lot more to do with his depression than the dog does. She's dying, but first she's going to erode slowly in front of him. That's much more depressing than a dog. If he's blaming it on the dog, I would bet that her inability to care for the dog has become a symbol of her growing list of disabilities for him.
You also need to look at other living options for Grandma and Grandpa. If living with Grandma is making Grandpa suicidal, other arrangements need to be made for them. She may need to go to an Alzheimer's unit in a nursing home, or maybe they could go to assisted living together, or maybe the county could help you get a hospice care person in a couple of times a week, so he can get out of the house.
As far as the dog goes... this dog is destroying the well-being of several family members. It's driving Grandpa, Auntie, and Granddaughter to the point of violence. The fights over the dog are creating increasing rifts between the sane family members and the demented Grandma. Grandma is no longer rational and is not capable of caring for the dog or of making a decision about what to do with the dog. No one else in the family likes the dog or can care for it.
The only thing to do is get rid of the dog. I'm sure Grandma loves the dog, but she's no longer capable of being responsible for the dog so she can't get the final say.
It doesn't matter how you get rid of the dog, just get rid of it. Kill it, adopt it out, take it to a pound, whatever... Dogs aren't entitled to the same amount of ethical care that people get. A gentle death by injection is good enough.
Y'all have enough to deal with, without dealing with this issue. Good luck.