glelsey I think it's the right thing to do, but of course only if the animal is suffering and terminally unwell. I've owned two rabbits in the past; the first lived to a very old age and after the vets had kept an eye on him for a week, they summarized that his major organs were "shutting down", and his body was slowly stopping to work. So we decided to have him put down; not only because he was suffering and had no chance of recovery, but also because the vets said that he was at a high risk of having a heart attack or fit. And that would have been much worse than having him put to sleep. My second rabbit came down with flystrike when she was just two years old. The vets warned us that there was little hope of survival, and recommended that they put her down. But as it wasn't certain she would die, I asked them to continue with her flystrike treatment. She survived, we had to give her constant medical attention for a few weeks, and after a couple of months she had made a full recovery. I don't expect everyone to do what I did in that situation; like I said it was very risky, and we really were lucky with how things turned out. But I do agree that when an animal is suffering (and especially if there's no hope of recovery) it is the kindest thing you can do. Some countries allow humans to be euthanized too.

Angelica_AW I know this is a year old, but I wanted to share my thoughts on this. I have to agree with the both of you. Putting an animal down to stop it's suffering from old age or an illness is one of the kindest things you can do for a pet. My oldest dog is 13, and may have to put down soon. She's having trouble walking up stairs, can't figure out how to turn around, and isn't eating much. It would be cruel to keep her alive any longer then we have to. It'll be hard, but it'll also be the right thing.