About a month ago, I wrote two blog entries dealing with the mythology vs. the reality of pet euthanasia. It’s an important topic, since euthanasia advocates often say something along the lines of “we can put a suffering dog to sleep, but we make humans suffer.” All the variations on this theme imply that all acts of pet euthanasia are acts of kindness to alleviate the suffering of a beloved pet.

The two articles have been edited and made into an article now available on MercatorNet, which has a publishing focus, in part, in “reframing ethical and policy debates in terms of human dignity, not dollars and cents or political calculation.”

The original blog entries drew on Dick Sobsey’s writing and research. He agreed to work with me and we submitted this as a coauthored piece.

I’m providing a link and an excerpt. MercatorNet has a generous redistribution policy, but it’s only right that I show my gratitude by directing you to their site to read the article. –Stephen Drake

Let’s put this pet theory to sleep

We have suffered long enough the euthanasia lobby’s myth that society is kinder to animals than to humans.

Over the years, we’ve gotten thoroughly sick and tired of the repeated use of the myths surrounding pet euthanasia as an argument in favor of providing the same “service” for humans. The myth seems to gaining new vigor in recent months.