Sorry to hear that. But, can she do it in a less violent way?

Bashing the head in (or indeed drowning) is not the approach I'd personally choose.

In the absence of a firearm (my 1st choice), or a gas chamber (2nd choice), I'd go for breaking the neck.

I don't think he level of violence is the issue, but rather the amount of suffering involved, which should obviously be as little as possible.

Shooting is a pretty violent method, but also one of the methods that produces the least suffering.

I would imagine bashing its head in with a rock would be pretty instantaneous - messy maybe, but it'd be quick

My o/hs dad apparently killed both their Jack Russells (mother and daughter) hitting them over the head with a spade, when they had to move from a smallholding, down to a house in the village, and they couldn't take them with them. This was in the early 1960s. I was so appalled and disgusted when he told me, his dad is dead now, but if I'd known before, I would never, ever have been able to be friendly toward him, I would even have refused to have met him I think.

well, grannys heart was in the right place, but her method could have used a lil work
though what she did, if done right will have been pretty instantaneous

In general terms, if it has to be done, better messy and instant then slower and cleaner- effectively bashing with a brick imo is much kinder than drowning though obviously a proper injection is kinder than either but in some cases it could be kinder to kill an animal instantly, if you can, then to let it suffer while transporting it to the vet to be put down.

In the days when money was tight, and firearms were more commonly owned, it was considered normal to take your old/sick dog for a "walk" and put it out of its misery.

I understand it's still the practise, in countries with large distances between major towns.

Yeah no way I could do it either.
When I was living with a girl, she had a cat who got sick with feline leukemia. My mates were like, just run it over, save on vet bill getting it put down. They were bloody serious too. Anyway cat would go vets every now and again for boosters and would be well again for a while, but the downs got bigger and bigger.

Eventually she took the cat to the vet, and stayed with the cat holding him whilst the vet gave 3 lethal injections. She said she felt his head go heavy in her hand. Thats when she knew he was gone.

Nooooo way I could have done that. I'd have just dropped the cat off at the vet, coz I couldnt have coped. I loved that cat too.. But as she quite rightly said. Its not fair on the cat to have had to die alone. He knew his time was up, so she wanted to be there for him, as that cat was always there for us. Animals do feel the love we give to them. So I figured, yeah if i had to die id rather die in the arms of a loved one, rather than being dumped in a room with a complete stranger who is going to come and kill me.


This same friend found a kitten abandoned in a bush. It must have only been a week old, and was skinny, hungry and suffering. Spain isnt a nice place for cats really. Most spanish people arent fond of them, and would rather keep dogs. Theres no society here anything as big as the RSPCA, and any kennels to take unwanted animals are always full, and are constantly sacrificing unwanted cats. So what was she to do? Just leave a kitten slowly starving to death in a bush. The thing was so young it coulnt even see properly, nevermind catch any prey and survive. So she took the cat and went round the area knocking on doors to see if anyone wanted it. If they didnt, then she was going to drown it. She couldnt do it, so ended up keeping and raising the cat herself.. She now has 4 cats running around her place!! Now 'it' has a name.. Sassy.