Examples Of Euthanasia In Of Mice And Men

Milan Kundera once said,“Dogs do not have many advantages over people, but one of them is extremely important: euthanasia is not forbidden by law in their case; animals have the right to a merciful death.”. Kundera references the act of euthanasia where animals and people are killed in a painless manner. In the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, chapters two and three display an example of euthanasia being used where dogs are euthanized to prevent a life full of suffering. The plot follows the main characters George and Lennie who find work at a ranch during the Great Depression. In chapters two and three Slim is forced to kill puppies since he is unable to feed all of them and they won’t live a healthy life. Candy is an elder who lives

Carlson had been guilting Candy into euthanizing his dog, "He's all stiff with rheumatism. He ain't no good to you, Candy. An' he ain't no good to himself. Why'n't you shoot him, Candy?" (Steinbeck,44). Carlson indicates that Candy’s dog being alive is hurting him more than helping, and Candy being selfish is making the dog suffer tremendously. Carlson reflects upon the time period of the Great Depression, when owning a weak dog might make you useless and disposable in a ranch environment. Candy risked losing his position on the ranch in exchange for keeping a disabled and useless dog he had cherished greatly. According to the article "Reasons for and Against Euthanizing" from Petquerks.com, "Unlike human beings who are covered by health insurance,your pet's treatment might have come from your pocket" (Reasons for and Against Euthanizing, 2). The article presents the idea that animals don’t have the advantage of healthcare, which means that the owners of these pets will pay a lot of money for treatments to hopefully cure their pet's illness. However, these treatments could be simply hopeless if the pet has incurable diseases, which causes the expenses for temporary treatment to become a money-pit for owners. Pet owners need to decide when it is right to euthanize their pets, especially if the expenses to relieve pain are draining their wallets.

However, when people are in pain, they aren’t in the state to make a decision; specifically, in Candy’s case, his dog can’t speak, so he has to make the logical decision; Candy had been selfish and unable to make the decision about ‘plugging the plug’. The article states that euthanizing animals is acceptable when an illness reaches a point of no return, "If your dog is suffering from a terminal illness,your best efforts will only prolong her life for a few months, but eventually she will die." (Reasons For and Against Euthanizing, 1). Candy’s dog was going to die because he was disabled and old. He would have had to live a life full of excruciating pain; therefore, killing him was the best choice considering the situation. The owners of these animals need to make a decision regarding their pet's long or healthy life. Therefore, it requires considering the cost of the medicine along with the financial status regarding the medicine’s cost. If the animals have incurable conditions, logically, it would make more sense to euthanize them, considering they were going to pass away either