We have to

keep reminding ourselves - ours is a power to protect, not to destroy.

While protection always comes hand in hand with love, to end a life doesn't always equate to destruction. If you act out of love, you will have a knowing in your heart on which path to take, which decision to make. It is always for the good of the other person, the other animal, nature.

In the course of helping our animals, there are surely occasions when we have to put an animal down. The question is: is it right to do so?

When the animal is in your hands, ask yourself: what would Love do now? Would love choose to stand on the sidelines and watch the animal suffer in pain? Or would love choose its power to cease the pain?

If all possibilities of relief and healing have been explored and tried, and if your faith is not strong enough to seek for a miracle, then just hold this maxim in mind: Love never hurts. Love will seek to end all hurt.

The courage to love an animal requires the courage to see it die.