Hello moroboshi: I noticed this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to PsychCentral ... from the Skeezyks! I hope you find the time you spend here to be of benefit.

I'll share a brief incident that occurred with me recently. I was at the veterinary hospital & clinic with my dog. I was walking him around outside giving him the opportunity to do what he needed to do, so to speak. There was a side door near where we were walking. Suddenly a middle-aged couple came bursting out of the door, crying. Startled, I said: "How are you?" They said they had just had their dog put to sleep (as it is often phrased) whereupon they began to cry all the harder.

I'm a pretty reclusive person. I seldom have much of anything to do with anyone. So comforting others is not my long suit, as the saying goes. I told them that yes I knew what they were experiencing because I had had a dog put to sleep a few years back at the same clinic. They said they'd be getting another dog & I agreed that the good thing is there's always another dog that's in need of a good home. And that was about it. But I walked away wishing I had walked my dog somewhere else.