<p>A lot of people have dealt with having pets put down, and I’ve had to go through that a few times. Today I found a dying and injured squirrel though. After thinking about all the possible courses of action, I realized that the only way I could minimize its suffering was to kill it. It was definitely not going to live even if I’d gotten it medical attention from a wildlife veterinarian. There was no way I could just leave it on the lawn to suffer for maybe hours more. </p>
<p>I cried like a baby as soon as it was done. It took a lot to even work up the nerve to do it. The squirrel’s death was instantaneous and painless. I know I did the right thing, but I’ve been thinking about it all day. It was traumatic because it’s not like having an animal put down where they just seem to fall asleep. There was no avoiding the reality of what I had to do.</p>
<p>Has anyone else had to do something like this?</p>
<p>Edit: None of the vets around here would deal with squirrels, so I couldn’t have had it put down peacefully.</p>
<p>Yes. A couple of times my dog attacked, severely maimed but not killed ground hogs on my property. H finished the job. We felt was the compassionate thing to do.</p>
<p>The most humane way to kill a small animal is to freeze it, if you can set that up without getting bitten. Another humane way is to put it in a bucket with a chunk of dry ice under a towel (so no skin contact), which suffocates the animal with the carbon dioxide produced.</p>
<p>I’m not worried about how I killed it. It took a tiny fraction of a second and the squirrel had no idea what was coming. It just hurt me to have to do anything to an animal.</p>
<p>There are times when it is best for humans too. But it seems to me that in these days there are many more people who will reflex a compassion reaction when it come to animal suffering, more so than human suffering. </p>
<p>Has anyone else watched a loved one die a needlessly slow, needlessly agonizing and needlessly expensive death due to an incurable illness?</p>
<p>PM, you know you did the right thing; we know that thankfully you had the strength to do the right thing. But because you have a decent heart, a part of you will always hurt thinking about it.</p>
<p>DMD, thanks for your tip, but dry ice doesn’t come by easily. We had a deer that had broken its leg badly and couldn’t move and was making the most gut-wrenching noises - I don’t think I’d heard deer vocals before. I have no idea what we would have done, but fortunately we had a neighbor who put it down, and then said he suspected parts of it had begun rotting.</p>
<p>I have been surprised to discover that most grocery stores will sell you dry ice. They don’t mention it, but they have it in the back of the butcher section if you ask.</p>
<p>Yes, of course it was the compassionate and right thing to do. Thank you for facing up to a tough job.</p>
<p>Our society has become so urbanized we don’t encounter such situations as much as our forebears did. In my rural family history I know that a good and dependable friend was sometimes described as someone you could ask to shoot your dog. This meant a person who would do a tough job if you asked, and who was competent to do it painlessly and quickly for the animal.</p>
<p>You did the right thing. I’ve actually seen a lot of dead squirrels on the streets lately and have had to swerve and brake to miss some as well. Is there some sort of young squirrel (i.e. unaware of the danger) season?</p>
<p>Our oak trees are dropping acorns, and it makes the squirrels crazy every fall. They are as oblivious as the hormone-crazed bucks chasing after does this time of year.</p>