We, over the years, have had three dogs "put to sleep" at the end of their lives. It is a very traumatic exprience. I personally prefer to have the deed done at the vets with a chance to say "Goodbye" before hand. Most vets will give you the option to take the animal home to bury in your garden if you wish or have them cremated. As a family of dog lovers, we really feel for anyone going through this. As our current dog (a black lab) is only 18 months old I hope that we won`t be going through it again for many years.