Everyones' stories have made me sad,I had to put a dog down only once and I really don't want to replay the whole thing in my mind, but I know that a sedative was used and my dog was still trying to get up afterwards to come to me .It was terrible, I don';t ever want to go throught that ever again..

As for this poor dog at 17 to have be given pain before death, terrible.Even if it was a accident, it's terrible for the dog owner to have witnessed it.

My dog was euthanized (also in 2005) at age 17 years 10 months old.

She was first anesthetized, then the barbiturate (heart-stopping drug) was given. It was done in my living room, and it was very peaceful.

I was not aware that vets out there euthanize pets without first giving them the anesthetic. I wonder why they don't.

unfortunately, i've had to put my dog down, too. it was done in our back yard (the dog could no longer walk and was too big to carry by one, in too much pain to be carried by two).

the vet gave the same preanesthetic they use for surgery. this completely knocks the dog unconscious, and when the lethal injection is given, he feels nothing and dies in his sleep. i held his head in my lap through the whole thing, and he went so peacefully, it was impossible to tell the difference from him being asleep and being dead at first.

i cannot understand why any vet would not induce sleep first. we know from the controversy over lethal injections in prisons that there can be complications with them, they can cause pain.

i also don't understand why this job was left to a vet tech. was this her regular vet? from an emotional standpoint, it would be very important to me who put the dog down, and i'd want it to be my dog's vet, not a tech.

Re: not sedating dogs first. My vet had said it depends - if he can get the IV in quickly, without a problem, and the owner doesn't want the dog sedated, and the dog is calm, then he didn't think it was necessary. But the great thing about my vet is he listens, and appreciates when he gets feedback. He readily admits he has a lot of things to do and take into consideration every day, and he's not always aware what's going on in the owners' minds, so it helps him when people let him know. Sometimes even people with the best of intentions miss things that they deal with everyday. It's hard to tell yourself to question every aspect of what you do all the time. Sort of like driving to work on the same route every day and suddenly realizing you don't remember if the last traffic light was red or green when you went through it. The important thing is for the vet and owner to both be open with each other, and open-minded, and to work together for the good of the dog. I'm sure many vets would appreciate rational, educated discussions with owners. Vets who aren't humble enough to listen and admit they don't know everything don't need to be in the profession. But then, there are people like that in every profession. And dog owners like that, too. We have to have a little humility ourselves, and I think most people on this board do - that's why it's so helpful.

Incidentally, I'm going to mention the sedative issue to my vet next time I see him. If he hears enough about how important it is to owners, I believe he would consider changing to an "always sedate except under unusual circumstances" policy.

Thanks everyone for the informative replies. I spoke to my friend again and told her of the info I got here. She is really appreciative of the feedback, so thanks from her too.

Just for clarification, it was the vet that administered the medication, and it was in fact, without sedation. There was a tech present who assisted when the dog became agitated.

I now know for sure that if ever in the future it is necessary to put down one of my dogs, that I will be alert to the need for sedation prior to administration of the final drug.

Thanks again to all!