IS THIS BULLSHIT OR APPROPRIATE?

[HairOfTheDog]

This is a true story.

My dad had a white German Shepard that had five puppies and there was something wrong with one of them. It didn't really look deformed, but it wasn't able to nurse and the mother kept digging shallow holes and trying to bury it alive. She knew something was wrong with it, but her attempts at burying it wasn't doing anything but flinging dirt in the poor thing's eyes. So my dad picked it up and smashed it in the head with a hammer. Good memories.

And yes I'm still traumatized.

My mom left my dad for two days, again, when we lived in Norwalk because the cat kept clawing itself onto the kitchen screen and my dad threw water at it.

My mom is a major animal lover and stood up to him. Then, my weird hippy parents (who turned into weird conservatives late in life) got into another fight over it and my dad held the cat over the garbage disposal and flipped the switch. He never would have done it, I know that for sure now. But, it made an impact.

So.........off we went once again -- mom, me, my sisters and the trouble-making cat........to the fleabag motel on Rosecrans. There was a pool there though, so we got over it real quick.

Your dad just did what he thought was quickest and necessary to end the puppy's suffering, it seems. But, I can see how it would be traumatizing and might have helped turn you into the compassionate animal caregiver you became.