Pet euthanasia & the law. Who can get an animal put down?

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 Chris Harris 25 Jul 2017
A slightly random question to put it mildly, but the wisdom of UKC knows no bounds.

Scenario:

Elderly person in the early stages of dementia has an elderly cat with an unsightly condition which is causing it no distress & is being managed by a family friend with veterinary contacts/knowledge (but who is not a vet).

Person X, who has no legal jurisdiction over the life of said elderly person, goes round to see them, sees the cat & says "Oh, poor tiddles, he looks terribly unwell, I really don't think he should be allowed to suffer any longer. I really think it's best if he's put to sleep".

Elderly person, who is in no position to make an informed decision, agrees.

Person X takes cat to vet & has cat put down. Have they broken any law? What should the vet have asked? What's to stop me getting the bleeding thing that shits on my garden & taking that up to the vet for the same treatment?

Google doesn't throw up much on this. Plenty on people getting their own moggy put to sleep, but not other people's.

Any info appreciated.

In reply to Chris Harris:
So how random is your question?

Do you actually just want know if you can get away with having a sentient being, that is loved by one of your neighbours, destroyed because it has the audacity to take a dump in your garden?

I don't know what the law is, but I could give you my opinion, if you'd like me to?
Post edited at 22:44
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 Timmd 25 Jul 2017
In reply to Chris Harris:
So you're pondering about if you'd be able to have somebody else's cat put down, which belongs to an old person who can't make an informed decision, craftily take it to the vet yourself, because it poo's in your garden?

I effing hate the cat poo in my garden, but to me that's a despicable thing for somebody to do. If you're serious.

Post edited at 22:52
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OP Chris Harris 25 Jul 2017
In reply to Hugh J:

> So how random is your question?

> Do you actually just want know if you can get away with having a sentient being, that is loved by one of your neighbours, destroyed because it has the audacity to take a dump in your garden?

> I don't know what the law is, but I could give you my opinion, if you'd like me to?

Please do. I haven't the slightest intention of doing what you suggest, I was merely using it to illustrate a point, you halfwit.

Do you honestly think that if I was looking to get rid of a neighbour's cat, I'd stick a thread on the internet, under my own name, asking about the legal technicalities of paying to have the thing put down t the local vet's? Do you genuinely think I'm that stupid?

3
OP Chris Harris 25 Jul 2017
In reply to Timmd:

> So you're pondering about if you'd be able to have somebody else's cat put down, which belongs to an old person who can't make an informed decision, craftily take it to the vet yourself, because it poo's in your garden?

> I effing hate the cat poo in my garden, but to me that's a despicable thing for somebody to do. If you're serious.

Oh, for Christ's sake, they're out in force tonight - I'M NOT TRYING TO KILL ANYBODY'S CAT.

RHETORICAL QUESTION TO ILLUSTRATE A POINT.

CAN I MAKE IT ANY CLEARER?
3
 Timmd 25 Jul 2017
In reply to Chris Harris:
Calm down calm down. Before wondering if people think you're that stupid, or evil, remember that online people who have't met you don't know you.

Some people have posted awful things on here. Peace.
Post edited at 22:58
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 wintertree 25 Jul 2017
In reply to Chris Harris:

Interesting question.

Person X: Section 8.9 in the link below suggests authority to destroy an animal (I assume this is without the owners consent) can only be given by council inspectors or police officers. So not Person X. However Person X can claim to have authority from the dementia sufferer, although if they are aware of the sufferers condition that seems like thin ice to me.

http://www.rcvs.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/code-of-professional-conduct-for...

The Vet: How can they check legal ownership of the cat, when there is no official or central register of ownership? The best they can do is ask the person if they are the owner or an agent thereof and employ judgement. I never recall being asked for proof of ownership when taking my long gone moggie in to the vets.

The elderly neighbour is lucky the RSPCA didn't jump all over her to get a court case they could use in their fund raising material...
Post edited at 23:03
OP Chris Harris 25 Jul 2017
In reply to Timmd:

> Calm down calm down.

It wasn't me that was getting worked up........

The elderly person in question is my former best friend's father. Former on the grounds that he's dead. I had the pleasure of burying him in June 2014, and when he was dying he asked if I'd look after his Dad for him, which I do.

He lives down the road. Person unnamed had his cat put down.

Next door & my garden is not central to this, and was merely included to illustrate a point, as I have already stated. I clearly miscalculated when mentioning this as I assumed this would be pretty obvious.

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In reply to Chris Harris:

Hi Chris, I will try and answer your question.

Firstly, pets are regarded as chattels in law. So they are a possession, like your car or anything else. Euthanasia, carried out by a veterinarian requires permission from the owner. This is usually written permission, by signing a form where they have to declare themselves as the owner, and give their express permission,before the vet is allowed to humanely destroy their property.
There are a few exceptions to this requirement, of signed consent, mainly if the vet in his/her professional opinion, feels that is the animal is suffering with little / no chance of recovery.
Everything else is covered by the animal anti cruelty and dangerous dog laws.
Hope that helps
Paul
OP Chris Harris 25 Jul 2017
In reply to Hugh J:

Quarter, then. At best.
OP Chris Harris 25 Jul 2017
In reply to taddersandbadger:

> Hi Chris, I will try and answer your question.

> Firstly, pets are regarded as chattels in law. So they are a possession, like your car or anything else. Euthanasia, carried out by a veterinarian requires permission from the owner. This is usually written permission, by signing a form where they have to declare themselves as the owner, and give their express permission,before the vet is allowed to humanely destroy their property.

> There are a few exceptions to this requirement, of signed consent, mainly if the vet in his/her professional opinion, feels that is the animal is suffering with little / no chance of recovery.

> Everything else is covered by the animal anti cruelty and dangerous dog laws.

> Hope that helps

> Paul

Thanks Paul, much appreciated. Do you have any sort of link to relevant documentation.

Also, can we get Hugh J put down?
1
In reply to Chris Harris:

> Quarter, then. At best.

Which is something you won't be given.

I have not personally insulted you.
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In reply to Chris Harris:

and it goes without saying that the vet would examine the pet first plus listen to what the owner has to say before advising whether or not the pet needs to be euthanased or if quality of life can be improved to a level that is acceptable to both owner and pet alike.
 elsewhere 25 Jul 2017
In reply to Chris Harris:
You continue to be the best of friends.

Do you have power of attorney (health/welfare and financial) for the elderly father of your friend?

If not you need to arrange that very urgently whilst he is still competent enough to agree to it.

Elderly person in the *early stages of dementia* - legally competent to decide about cat so person X broke no law.

Power of attorney required to prevent him being further taken advantage of.
Post edited at 23:21
OP Chris Harris 25 Jul 2017
In reply to elsewhere:

> You continue to be the best of friends.

> Do you have power of attorney (health/welfare and financial) for the elderly father of your friend?

> If not you need to arrange that very urgently whilst he is still competent enough to agree to it.

> Elderly person in the early stages of dementia and legally competent to decide about cat so person X broke no law.

Thanks, yes, I have Power of Attorney, that was all put in place when my friend was diagnosed as terminal. Your last sentence is interesting - strikes me as very grey area.
 Timmd 25 Jul 2017
In reply to Chris Harris:

> It wasn't me that was getting worked up........

I got worked up first, then you did.

> The elderly person in question is my former best friend's father. Former on the grounds that he's dead. I had the pleasure of burying him in June 2014, and when he was dying he asked if I'd look after his Dad for him, which I do.
> He lives down the road. Person unnamed had his cat put down.

That's a really shitty thing to do.

> Next door & my garden is not central to this, and was merely included to illustrate a point, as I have already stated. I clearly miscalculated when mentioning this as I assumed this would be pretty obvious.

Fair eough.
In reply to Chris Harris:

RCVS website quoted above is a good starting point.
These can be very emotive situations to manage.
I can appreciate your position in that you are looking out for your friends dad, and there is a perception that a third party has come along and forced thier will upon the situation. I would hope that the vets involved would have done as I suggested in my other post.
Quite often the clinical exam or further tests reveal strong clinical evidence for euthanasia that would not have been obvious to the owner or you guys. Occasionally the opposite is true, and what the owner thinks is fatal, ends up being quite treatable.
This is when client care and good communication counts.
In reply to Chris Harris:

Yhm
In reply to Hugh J:

Stop being a dick.
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 Big Ger 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Chris Harris:

Get him a new cat, if you have the time to look after it for him.

Pets can very much brighten the life of even the most dementia affected person.
1
 Fraser 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Chris Harris:

> It wasn't me that was getting worked up........

"Oh, for Christ's sake, they're out in force tonight - I'M NOT TRYING TO KILL ANYBODY'S CAT.

RHETORICAL QUESTION TO ILLUSTRATE A POINT.

CAN I MAKE IT ANY CLEARER?"


Yes, you were clearly very calm.
6
 deacondeacon 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Hugh J:

> See you around Chris from Nottingham.

Haha. Super sleuth!
Tell him you've worked out his IP address and that you're watching him through his webcam.
Bellend.
1
 Dax H 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Chris Harris:

> Elderly person in the early stages of dementia has an elderly cat with an unsightly condition which is causing it no distress & is being managed by a family friend with veterinary contacts/knowledge (but who is not a vet).

This is the key part. If the animal is not in distress it should not be put down and I would hope no vet would do it.
In reply to captain paranoia:

> Stop being a dick.

It wasn't me who was the one throwing around personal insults. I just asked a valid question which Harris took offence to. Well, if Harris is prepared to say something without thinking, which it appears he has in several places, including the OP, then he should prepared to take the consequences.
37
In reply to Hugh J:

You accused him of having the cat put down. In an obviously aggressive manner. That's pretty insulting.
1
 wintertree 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Hugh J:

> Well, if Harris is prepared to say something without thinking [...] including the OP, then

Are you kidding? The OP was perfectly clear. I can see how someone jumping to the conclusion that you did, in the face of what was clearly a rhetorical question, can be interpreted as an insult - you overlooked the obvious and jumped to the conclusion they were proposing criminal action. A bit worse than their reply if you ask me.

Insults can be explicit or implicit and can be unintended. So perhaps you should have thought more about your post as well?

> [...] then he should prepared to take the consequences

Do you actually want know if you can get away with assaulting a sentient being, that is loved by its family, just because it has the audacity to call you a halfwit?

I think I am misinterpreting you significantly less than you misinterpreted the OP. Think about it and decide if you're being a screaming hypocrite.
Post edited at 10:15
 elsewhere 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Chris Harris:
Your friend's father may be loosing his confidence and becoming suggestible. That makes him vulnerable to people like person X as he'll go along with whatever is suggested.

It may be time to gently suggest you take control of his finances so he can't be ripped off by the latest phone scam.

It's a very grey area, I think the power of attorney (PoA) means *you decide* when to take over.
Nobody did an formal medical or legal assessment to decide I should take over.

Then you'll need to send copies of power of attorney to banks etc. but they're used to it.

Hospitals seem to be clued up about PoA, surprisingly the GP wasn't.

I have power of attorney and Deprivation of Liberty (DoL, annually renewed) for somebody with severe dementia.

DoL means care home can stop somebody with severe dementia from walking out the door, otherwise they don't have any legal power to do so. DoL has a medical assessment and formal legal status.
Post edited at 12:25
In reply to wintertree:

> Do you actually want know if you can get away with assaulting a sentient being

For the benefit of readers late to this discussion, it's worth pointing out that Hugh J made a threat of violence towards Chris Harris last night, now deleted: you can see the remnant in a broken 'in reply to'. I don't tell people to stop being a dick just because they had a bit of a tiff.
OP Chris Harris 26 Jul 2017
In reply to elsewhere:

> Your friend's father may be loosing his confidence and becoming suggestible. That makes him vulnerable to people like person X as he'll go along with whatever is suggested.

> It may be time to gently suggest you take control of his finances so he can't be ripped off by the latest phone scam.

Thanks for the full & helpful response, much appreciated. I have control of all finances, billing etc, so all sorted on that front.
Cheers
Chris
OP Chris Harris 26 Jul 2017
In reply to taddersandbadger:

> Yhm

Cheers, I have email access issues at the minute (the ever superb Talktalk.....), will respond as and when they stick a new mouse on the wheel.....

 Nina_Sky 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Chris Harris:

> The elderly person in question is my former best friend's father. Former on the grounds that he's dead. I had the pleasure of burying him in June 2014, and when he was dying he asked if I'd look after his Dad for him, which I do.

> He lives down the road. Person unnamed had his cat put down.

This really is awful You could be forgiven for being very angry indeed. I'm pretty sure that I would be.

In reply to deacondeacon:

> Bellend

Another personal insult , I'll make a list.
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In reply to captain paranoia:

Not offended if you think I'm "being a dick", it's a whole world of difference than "you are a dick" or a "halfwit" or a "bellend".
11
Deadeye 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Chris Harris:

Couple of brief points:
1. The intended sense of your OP was completely clear to me. Amazed it got misinterpreted.
2. What's happened is shocking.
3. If no immediate family member is available to do so then you should discuss with your friend LPA for both Health and financial affairs. Do this asap - once he is no longer deemed to have capacity, you have instead to apply for Deputyship - which is a whole new level of cost and complexity (involves going to court), whereas LPAs are cheap (£120 each) and can be done online. Our kids have them for us now they are 18.
1
In reply to Hugh J:

While I wouldn't normally take any notice of the likes/dislikes on here, when you're getting 20 times as many of the latter as the former, that should be telling you something.

Which is that you massively misunderstood the OP, and have been digging a deeper hole for yourself ever since. And that pretty much everyone can see that's what is happening, except you, it would seem...
1
 deacondeacon 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Hugh J:

> Another personal insult , I'll make a list.

That's great! Thanks matey
1
 mike123 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Hugh J:
Did you miss hear the advice about what to do when you find yourself in hole as "keep digging" ?
1
 WaterMonkey 26 Jul 2017
In reply to captain paranoia:

> For the benefit of readers late to this discussion, it's worth pointing out that Hugh J made a threat of violence towards Chris Harris last night, now deleted:

Lol o'fecking lol ! Do people actually get that worked up on the internet so as to threaten someone else?
Bless. Gutted I missed it!
Deadeye 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Hugh J:

Hi Paddy!

Hope you're well. I had a couple of minutes spare so I've drafted the paragraph below so that you can simply cut and paste it when you reply threads. Save on you computer for easy access. No worries - you can thank me another time.


"Dear OP

I'm afraid I didn't read your post properly and so responded inappropriately. Sorry about that and for any offence caused.

Love

Paddy
xxx"

The kisses are probably optional.
1
In reply to Deadeye:
I obviously did misread the post, but my initial reply was to gain clarity.

Which would have led to a totally different reaction had the clarity given in his subsequent posts been made in the first place.
Post edited at 17:28
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 La benya 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Hugh J:

that was almost an apology
In reply to WaterMonkey:
I got worked up because someone hiding behind the safety of his computer screen called me a halfwit. I merely pointed out the reality if he'd have had the nerve to say it to my face, which I very much doubt he would. Neither would the person who called me a bellend.
Post edited at 17:27
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In reply to mike123:

It's my effing hole!
Lusk 26 Jul 2017
In reply to Hugh J:

The Russians tried to drill through the Earth's crust to get to the mantle once, you might beat them
1
In reply to Hugh J:
> I got worked up because someone hiding behind the safety of his computer screen called me a halfwit. I merely pointed out the reality if he'd have had the nerve to say it to my face, which I very much doubt he would. Neither would the person who called me a bellend.

In which case you need to grow a thicker skin and calm down. Because in your current form (specifically your deleted message) you are indeed demonstrating you're not only a halfwit, but a complete and utter tw*t along with it.

EDIT: I am sure in person you are not. So why behave like that online.
Post edited at 20:57
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 Stichtplate 26 Jul 2017
In reply to A Longleat Boulderer:
Hands up anyone who hasn't been an utter tw*t of occasion ...
Oh , ok , just the self righteous prick in the corner then.

I think Hugh J has got the message by now that he was being dick.Maybe lay off a bit?

Edit: fully agree with your edit.
Post edited at 21:03
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In reply to Stichtplate:

Didn't read the thread. Saw his comment and thought it was unacceptable.
 Stichtplate 26 Jul 2017
In reply to A Longleat Boulderer:

> Didn't read the thread. Saw his comment and thought it was unacceptable.

Unacceptable. Agreed.

In reply to Chris Harris:

No problem, I have sent you my personal contact details. Feel free to ring me to discuss this away from all this clutter. I am a vet, who foolishly also studied law plus have a close relative with advanced dementia, hence this is a topic close to my heart.
P
OP Chris Harris 28 Jul 2017
In reply to taddersandbadger:

> No problem, I have sent you my personal contact details. Feel free to ring me to discuss this away from all this clutter. I am a vet, who foolishly also studied law plus have a close relative with advanced dementia, hence this is a topic close to my heart.

> P

Thanks, much appreciated. Still can't access my email, but will drop you a line as soon as I can.

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