A story came out a couple of weeks ago about a recently-deceased woman whose will directs that her dog’s ashes should be mixed with hers and buried with her. The problem, of course, is that her dog is still alive and healthy. Her attorney claims that “the dog has aggression issues that pose a risk to other animals and human handlers,” and that “a veterinarian consulted on the matter recommended that the 105-pound dog be euthanized.” I have no basis for disputing these claims, but it certainly makes the situation simpler than if the dog were both healthy and well-behaved.

Yes, this is blatant emotional manipulation.

The woman lived in Indiana, and the attorney says that he request is not illegal under that state’s law. I’m not sure it would be illegal in Texas, either, but it raises more than a few questions. Euthanasia of pets, a/k/a companion animals, must be performed by a licensed veterinarian or under the supervision of one under most states’ laws (PDF summaries of euthanasia laws are here and here). As far as I know, though, nothing legally obligates a licensed professional to perform euthanasia, especially when the animal is otherwise healthy and not subject to any sort of court order based on aggression. In other words, an executor of a will that requires euthanasia of a pet could be rebuffed by a veterinarian.

This raises the troubling question of whether a person could euthanize a pet, in accordance with someone’s will or for whatever other reason, themselves. I’ll limit myself to Texas’ animal cruelty statute for now, and it seems to leave that possibility open. Section 42.092(b)(1) of the Texas Penal Code states that “[a] person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly…in a cruel manner kills…an animal.” The statute defines “cruel manner” as “a manner that causes or permits unjustified or unwarranted pain or suffering.” Tex. Pen. Code § 42.092(a)(3). The offense is a state jail felony for a first offense, or a third-degree felony for subsequent offenses. The only Texas court decisions that I could find citing that part of the statute involved unambiguously “cruel” treatment of an animal—specifically, setting a bat on fire and beating and stabbing cats to death.

Basically, there is no explicit prohibition under Texas law on a pet owner euthanizing their own pet, provided it is not “cruel.”

On a semi-related note, I learned that it might even be legally permissible under Texas law for a person to kill a dog in a less-than-perfectly-humane manner if it “is attacking, is about to attack, or has recently attacked livestock, domestic animals, or fowls,” provided the person witnessed the attack. I don’t know how you determine that a dog is “about to attack” with legal certainty.