These statements - they're just a bit judgmental. I think everyone has agreed that to put down a perfectly healthy and stable dog is something we wouldn't do. When you are dealing with a dog that has severe issues, it becomes a completely different scenario. It's easy to say "spend what i got too get my dog too a family member, and hire a solid trainer." The reality is that some issues require a lifetime of work, and all the money and trainers in the world won't make a difference if you don't have someone dedicated to doing the work - every day. I don't think you know how hard it is to live with a dog like my Al. His anxiety makes life very frightening for him. It's taken four years of proving to him every single day that he can trust me to keep him safe to see marked improvement. If I loved him less he would have been re-homed long ago. Just because you (me, others on this board) are willing to put in the time, money, and work necessary to keep these dogs doesn't mean anyone else will. People make promises to the people that are dying. They fully intend to keep those promises, I'm sure, never knowing the dedication it takes to work with and live with these dogs. I don't know one person - not one - that would have the patience and tenacity to continue the level of training and counter-conditioning I do with Al on a daily basis. To whom should I send Al if I die? My husband can keep him and he can be kept in a dark house with the blinds drawn 24/7 because my DH's job often keeps him at work for more than 12 hours six days a week. That sure wouldn't hurt the four years of training I've done. My relatives? They'd try for a while and they'd not take his fear seriously and something bad would happen - and Al would be destroyed. And what can I do? Haunt them? Not all situations are equal and it's very close minded to judge others unless you can come up with a better solution than what you have said in the quotes above. I will not betray Al's trust in me by allowing him to go to anyone that will not be able to help him live as happy and fear-free a life as he can.
There's always a possibility the dog will get a good home, live or murder? Whether you have made a promise to someone or not, it's just not right. The dog is physically capable of having a good life, and just because you "own" them, doesn't give you the choice to kill the dog once something happens to the owner. You would be betraying Al's trust by killing him. This is a living breathing dog not a toy.