Letting go or playing God?

I chatted with a guy at the airport who was flying to put down his dog down (the dog was living with the guy’s ex-girlfriend). He was pretty bummed out about it and was having a bad day and a hard time at the airport to boot – about to miss his third flight that day. He said making the decision to end his dog’s life was really difficult and he was having trouble reconciling it even though the poor guy is old and suffering.

Walking quickly with him towards his gate, I tried to console him by telling him a theory that I heard – that pets live longer, despite failing health, because they’re loyal to us. They love us and know we need them so they stick around, out of loyalty. In nature, animals that are old, sick or dying, just lie down and die, or get eaten or run across the road and get hit by a car. The theory goes that they’re not attached to their bodies the way we are because life and death are natural.

He was not consoled so I continued to explain that it was actually his duty as the human guardian of his dog, to allow him to move on. I said he should just tell him, “it’s okay dude, I’ll be alright, you can go.” He chuckled at my use of the word dude, thanked me, and rushed to board his plane. After the conversation, though, I keep coming back to the same question. Why is it so easy for people to eat meat but so difficult to end the life of their pet?

While in LA, I mentioned at lunch that I was a vegetarian and someone questioned the fact that I still wear leather shoes. Even when I was veg the first time, for over five years, I wore leather shoes. I’ve been in need, for several years now, of a good pair of tall boots and now that I’m in the Bay Area, more than ever. As I shop, however, I find myself grappling with the idea that I can’t continue to be the animal lover that I want to be and still wear them on my feet. Can I? I don’t consider myself a fashionista but a well-made pair of Italian knee-high boots seem like something I can’t happily live without!

I just think it's ironic that we struggle so much with the morality of euthanasia, in animals and humans. Why does it seem like we have an easier time killing for food (or fashion) or for punishment (the death penalty) than we do with relieving a person or animal of pain?