by Sandra Piddock

Created on: October 21, 2007   Last Updated: May 17, 2012

I've got a confession to make. When everyone said we should put our 17 year old Welsh Border Collie, Patch, 'out of his misery,' I disagreed. You might think that a dog who suffered from arthritis in his back legs and had had a mini stroke had earned the right to die but I knew Patch wanted to live as long as he could, as long as he was pain free. And, despite everything, he was pain free, right until the end. He was eating and drinking and enjoyed short - very short - walks.

On his last day, I realised that it probably was time to 'put him out of his misery,' but he decided when he wanted to leave this life. He lay with his head in my lap and gently, almost imperceptibly, stopped breathing. He died at home, in familiar surroundings, knowing he was loved right until the end. My dog loved life, and he didn't want to leave it until he had to. How do I know? Because, despite his dodgy back legs, he was always ready for a walk. And he was very interested in everything around him. His enormous appetite didn't desert him until the last day of his life.

What's my dog's death got to do with euthanasia? Everything! The will to survive is strong in all animals, and we should not interfere with it. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, and we must abide by His decisions. Life - and death - is God given, and should not be entrusted to frail human hands.

The animal will to survive is also very strong in we humans. Recently, a friend was called to his mother's deathbed. He lived over 200 miles away, so it took several hours to get there, and he was afraid he would be too late to say goodbye. However, his mother defied the doctor's expectations and hung onto life until he arrived at her bedside. When he took her hand and spoke to her, she slipped peacefully away.

There's an old saying that 'Where there's life, there's hope,' and, like many old sayings, it's absolutely true. Think of the number of cancer sufferers who have lived months or even years beyond the doctor's expectations. Then there are those people who are misdiagnosed. There are just too many variables in this complex, precious thing we call life. No single human being should ever be called upon to decide when, how and where life ends.

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