Mercy Killing Part 3

During Part 3, Carlson kept telling Candy to kill his dog. He complained that the " 'dog stinks...That stink hangs around even after he's gone...Got no teeth...He's all stiff with rheumatism" (44). Carlson then goes on to suggest that Candy shoot his dog saying that " 'he wouldn't feel nothing...He wouldn't even quiver' " (45). Slim agreed saying that the " 'dog ain't no good to himself' " and saying that he " 'wisht somebody'd shoot [him] if [he] got old an' a cripple' " (45). I understand where Candy is coming from, I had a dog that my family eventually decided to put down, but even though I would like my dog, Roxanne, to still be alive, I know that it would be very selfish of me to keep her alive while she is suffering. Eventually, everyone will get to a point that life is too painful, hard, et cetera to keep living and if the person or animal is better off not living, than it's not our right to force them to keep going. If the person or animal can't make the decision for themselves, it becomes our responsibility to decide whether or not they should keep going and it is hard to not be selfish in that. Candy's decision wasn't an easy one, especially because he had raised the dog from birth, but in my opinion, it was the right one for the dog. What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment.