When is it time to put down an animal

[BRYANT]

How bad of an injury does it take for you to just count it as a loss and put down and animal. Any animal from a dog that is your best friend to a cow ??
I ask because I see people on here that sometimes I think they would do the stock a favor if they would go ahead and put it out of its suffering. But they will keep holding on even when their Vet says it needs to be put down. I have seen people bring cattle to a sale that were so broke up their leg would be facing backwards and dragging. to me they should have put a bullet between its eyes and took the loss, if you can't afford a loss once in a while you need to get out, sell a broke up cow like I am talking about for a little of nothing and make it drag around a sale all day you got problems. that's my :2cents: :2cents:
No I am not an animal rights softy I have killed ,for a meat packing house, more cattle than some people have seen.

 

[skyhightree1]

Well I will tell you this my vet said put my cow down after 2 weeks she got upba month later and is still up. I put down when they can't pick up their head or injury they can't recover from.

 

[Nesikep]

I'm pretty quick with putting them down.. If I don't see a chance of recovery, that's it... If they are eating, drinking, and not in any evident anguish, I'll wait it out...
I had a cow that must have had a stroke (she was lost and confused), brought her to the vet, spent $400, didn't get any reasonable indication of what was going on, he gave her LA200.. Month later (of no improvements) she fell or laid down in a way she couldn't get back up, she was bloated and tired from struggling, We turned her around the right way, trocar'd her, and a half hour later she still wasn't going to get up, so I got the .22 and put her down right there.

You just gotta balance what your heart tells you with what your mind tells you...

 

[talltimber]

How bad of an injury does it take for you to just count it as a loss and put down and animal. Any animal from a dog that is your best friend to a cow ??
I ask because I see people on here that sometimes I think they would do the stock a favor if they would go ahead and put it out of its suffering. But they will keep holding on even when their Vet says it needs to be put down. I have seen people bring cattle to a sale that were so broke up their leg would be facing backwards and dragging. to me they should have put a bullet between its eyes and took the loss, if you can't afford a loss once in a while you need to get out, sell a broke up cow like I am talking about for a little of nothing and make it drag around a sale all day you got problems. that's my :2cents: :2cents:
No I am not an animal rights softy I have killed ,for a meat packing house, more cattle than some people have seen.

Bryant, this is a big issue with me, when I have to deal with it. It's a moving target, so to speak. For me, there is a line, a moving target for each incident, that I am struggling to find. And it is a struggle for me, financially obviously it will be a setback,emotionally, morally, ethically. Satisfaction that I've done right by what was bestowed upon me to take care is important to me. It may be my ocd, it may be I have deep underlying problems myself, idk. But I struggle with it.

I am trying to find the point of balance: Hope vs. Welfare. I don't want to give up one second too early on one. I want to give it every chance to recover and make it. But, I also don't want to make one have to suffer one second too long. So, that's a fine window for me to be satisfied. A one second window. If I miss it, I feel I am no better than the sorry sob you mentioned in your post. I agree, the type of person that has that little compassion for the animal, making one suffer like that to try get a last penny has problems.

With that said, here's my general guideline. If they can't get up, but are eating good, drinking, moving around (scooting and/or trying to get up), I'll wait on them, however long, try to help with meds for pain management and swelling. Help them what I can.
If they start going backwards, stop trying, and definitely if they stop eating and drinking, I go to looking for the line, while still helping however I can. I have had them not eat a feeding before, but turns out they didn't like the taste of the meds I had put in it, ate the entire next feeding. So, I watch for things like that to throw them off.
It sucks, and I don't deal with it very well. I just try to do what I feel is the best for the animal.

 

[bird dog]

If a down cow gives up trying to stand, I give up trying to help.

Dogs it is more of a quality of life deal. Their are to many real nice dogs at the humane society that get put down that deserve a chance so if I have had one that's had a nice life but's its time is almost up, I may speed it along a little bit.

 

[Nesikep]

If a down cow gives up trying to stand, I give up trying to help.

that was exactly the case with the cow I mentioned...
Her sister on the other hand was 18 years old and had bad arthritis... I let her raise her last calf and put her down, another winter would have been too hard on her, though if I was going to pamper her she may have lived another 5 years, I can't retire old cows here though