Kindness or Cruelty? “If Your Animal Needs You, You Gotta Be There”
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by Michael John Scott
Life can be filled with unkindness and in some cases unkindness can often be the best kindness, as is the sad case of Michael Whalen and his beloved dog Allie.
Whalen was charged by the Virginia Beach patrol for animal cruelty after allegedly shooting Allie, his dog of 15 years. He says it was an act of kindness, not abuse.
The self-professed dog lover says Allie was one of his best friends. “We did everything together,” he says. Sadly Allie was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease last year. Whalen says a vet offered to put her down, but neither he nor Allie were “ready” for that. Instead, he put Allie on medication.
Early one cold morning in late January, Allie started having intense seizures. Whalen says he didn’t think he could get Allie to a 24-hour vet safely, so after 40 minutes he decided to end her misery.
Whalen tells local TV station WVEC he thought shooting Allie would be a “painless, instantaneous” way for her to go. He says shooting his dog was “so emotionally disturbing” he still cries when he thinks about it.
He buried Allie’s body at a beach nearby because he says she used to like watching him surf, and he would wave to the spot when he walked by in the coming days.
A few weeks later, however, a passerby spotted Allie’s partially buried body. Whalen was charged with animal cruelty and burying trash. Vets don’t consider a gunshot an appropriate form of animal euthanasia.
Whalen says he’s no animal abuser. “If your animal needs you, you gotta be there for her,” he says. “You have a duty and obligation.” A court date is set for June.
An act of kindness, hard fought, and forever remembered. Rest in peace Allie, and, Mr Whalen, may you find peace in the memory of your best friend’s life.
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It likely was an extremely painful thing for him to do. I just can’t imagine me being able to do that to Rascal although I am sure I would if it becamce absolutely necessary.
I think his only mistake was where he buried her. “At a beach nearby” sounds like asking for trouble…Poor guy; IMO he did exactly the right thing, for the reasons Tall Stacey expressed. Hope the court throws this out, and Whalen gets a new best friend.
“Vets don’t consider a gunshot an appropriate form of animal euthanasia.” Why not? Surely the circumstances matter. I once had to have a goat euthanized, and he reacted badly to the drugs, jerking and moaning. The large animal vet was as upset as I was. I told him, “I’ll bet sometimes you wish you could just shoot them.” He agreed.
In nh you can shoot an animal to put it down legally
I’m a dog lover, animal lover, and I have done the exact same thing. I find it immoral to terrorize my best friends by forcing them into the car that they hate, taking to a strange place, be among strangers for these last moments. I hope I will die at home surrounded by my life and loves. My best friends deserve the same.
At my age I have a cemetery of my animal friends that I talk to every time I pass. I hated what I had to do for some of them, but I do agree it was the kindest thing I could do. I’ve had some “put down” by vets, and sat with them, holding them, as their life slowly drained out. I hated that more. They knew.
And the money that would have been spent to have a vet do the deed is much better spent at my local animal shelter either by donation, or in getting a …. not new, but different… animal friend.
PS: I see that Whalen has been charged with “burying trash”. Trash? What an insult to everyone who has ever loved and lost an animal.
Hope the judge is a dog lover.
Me too. Were I the judge I know what I would do. How about you?