Well, as far as pets dying in arms, I've had to 'put down' 2 dogs myself...you see, we lived in a very rural part of the country, on a farm growing up...a Vet was something you called for your horse or cows, not for your pets...when we had to put our two beloved hunting dogs down (one due to severe hip displacia and the other due to the same thing, but age as well) we would do it ourselves, (our dog, our problem)...there ain't nothing worse than putting a gun to the back of their heads and doing it yourself..but looking back on it, it taught me at a young age about how valuable life is...that its okay to cry as a guy (first time I'd ever seen my "Stone-wall Jackson" father cry, and haven't seen him cry since) and it taught me about love and compassion for animals. Both dogs *knew* it was time, from the moment we carried them to the trailer attached to the back of the tractor, to the point we laid them to rest on the ground prior to putting them out of their misery..."Tony" actually licked my hand once I set him in the field, then lay his head down with the back of his head facing us (he'd seen us shoot cows for butchering, that we consumed in our family)...it was truly a sad moment...something I will never forget.
