i feel like you owe it to be there when an animal gets put to sleep. being there for comfort might be hard, but i think avoiding it would only cause guilt.

I fixed that for you. I work in the field and see this daily, so I can tell you right now that now wanting to be there when they're euthanized does not equate to the feelings that an owner has for their pets. People are terrified of death, especially when it's a pet that they have a strong bond with. I could tell so many stories...

Yeah, I suppose so.

I was with my ferret when she was put to sleep.

It was pretty traumatic for me, but I'm glad that she and I got to pal around for those last few minutes.

I had to put my dog to sleep not too long ago and they asked if I wanted to watch.

? Do people normally watch?

I said no.

You basically just hold them and pet them as they get injected and go to sleep. I'm sure it's more comforting to the dog to have you in the room.

I've been with every one of my animals that have been put to sleep. My mom's a vet, so she does it herself in our house to make it more comfortable for the animal (so they don't have to go to her clinic)
It's rough, it really is. But I think they deserve to have the people they love with them during their last minutes.

I work at a vet clinic and have to restrain and help for drop off euthanasias, it's hard for me even without knowing the dog.

No on my end.

I had 2 different dogs when I was younger.

Both actually ran away.

First one would dig holes under the fence and want to play, but one day it wanted to do it during a stormy night and all it was doing it running around.
Second one we ended up giving away since my family had to start work more often and didn't have time for it (It was fairly young for a dog, so it could adept).