"put him down"

[foggycreekcavy]

I hate this phrase. I envision someone standing out in a field with a gun to a horse's head.

Can't we just say what it is? "Euthanize" is what it is, let's just say that. For example, "I had to have him euthanized" instead of "I had to put him down".

 

[bpatters]

We can try. But as someone who used "put him down" for many years before she ever heard the word "euthanize," I can't promise that I won't slip up.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

I use "euth". Or euthanize. I can't stand "put him down" or "put to sleep". :weepy:

 

[Paula]

A gun to the head, for a large animal, is a humane way to end life when done properly. I think it's a matter of personal preference and experience. There are a lot of euphemisms for intentionally ending the life of an animal/pet and I think it’s largely down to the term you used or was most used around you growing up. People that grow up on a farm largely use the terms “put down,” and, much less gentle, “dispatch.”

"Put down" doesn't bother me, and in fact my husband and I have a running joke when any of our dogs acts up where we say we’re going to put them down and then proceed with silly insults, like, ‘your ears are too short,’ etc., as another application for the term “put down” is “to insult.”

“Put to sleep” annoys me, personally – as it’s too flowery for what it is. Euthanize also seems like it's just a kind word for killing something.

You can’t control what phrases or things bother or annoy you – but I think it’s a bit unrealistic to ask people to use a term that only you personally approve of and agree with without regard to the experiences that might make up someone’s particular vernacular.

 

[foggycreekcavy]

It's really just a pet peeve thread, Paula. No need to get all down on me. Euthanize is the technical term.

It's like I don't like it when people say the guinea pig's "balls". They are testicles!

 

[animalmadlover]

Mostly we use "gone over the rainbow bridge"

 

[stray hares]

I find the softer terms easier to use and say, right after I have had to make the call to have an animal euthanised, simple because it's a lot easier to voice without breaking down into a blubbering mess.

"Put down" has distance to it. I would never say I had the animal's in my care put down, it's something that happens to, usually, faceless and nameless animals. I actually rarely use the term now that I think about it, it's usually something I say about someone else's choice that I may not agree with to end the life of an animal in their care.

You've got me thinking when I use the different terms now!

 

[scoottie]

Um I will choose to say what ever I please put down, euthanize its the same thing.