[orthodoc]

I am still conflicted after having our beautiful chocolate Lab girl, Molly Malone, put down three years ago after sudden onset of further stroke and pain at the age of 12. In retrospect I wish I'd pressed the vets for strong pain meds that I could have given her at home, and if they had taken her off or just relieved her pain, either would have been fine.

I wish she had died at home, not in a clinic. Even though we were there it was terribly cold and fast, not a moment to hold her or say anything, just a syringe into her foreleg and, 'She's gone.' As if the crucial thing were for it to be done with asap. In another case, when one of our feline family takes that journey, I'll make sure it goes differently.