On Fri 12 Dec 2008 09:28:10p, Kathleen told us...

> Janet Wilder wrote:
>
>> Dan Abel wrote:
>>
>>> In article >,
>>> blake murphy > wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:37:54 -0500, Nancy Young wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> even so, some people keep their pets too long to assuage guilty
feelings
>>>> about putting them down.
>>>>
>>>> it's true, though, that you can't ask them how they feel about it.
>>>
>>>
>>> I think you've put your finger on part of the problem, here. By the
>>> time many people need to make a decision, they are no longer capable
>>> of making decisions, and sometimes are unable to communicate.
>>>
>>
>> Then they should be able to say so in their durable power of
>> attorney/living will. It shouldn't be all about feeding tubes and plugs.
>> The person executing the document should be able to define the quality
>> of life that they would want to end it on.
>>
>
> I have made this abundantly clear to not only my next of kin, but those
> further on down the line, should the nearest and dearest show signs of
> chickening out.
>
> I would be willing to accept a certain level of diminishment of
> capacity, down to, say, the level of your average house cat. No, maybe
> I wouldn't be doing any algebra, but if I could feed myself, use the
> litterbox (aka toilet), and enjoy lying in the sun, that would be okay
> (destroying furniture would be a bonus).
>
> But I don't want to be a potted plant.
>
>

Plant, no. But it might be fun to be potted!

--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)
************************************************** **********************
Date: Friday, 12(XII)/12(XII)/08(MMVIII)
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Countdown till Christmas Day
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'The fog comes on little cat feet . . .' --Carl Sandburg
(Obviously, Mr. Sandburg never heard a cat walk across a linoleum
floor.)