of animals & mercy killings

am feeling like Not doing anything..for so long I've been sitting here, admiring the comp,.. doing nothing!!...I am sick & tired of answering the same old questions & refuting the same old logic put forward by non-vegetarians regarding vegetarianism..if you really are interested about your questions being logically answered, kindly visit:
http://www.petaindia.com/faq.html
Our conscience are our own, I'm not trying to preach anything people..but please let me live in peace with my ideas & beliefs..and you live with yours..
btw,came across this article yesterday about Arundhati-i dunno how many of you have heard of her..she is this eighty year old elephant who was very popular among tourists @ Rajaji Park, Dehradun. Everything was fine until a few days back when she met with an accident & faced multiple fractures on her right foot. The animal has since then, been under excruciating pain & the veterinarians say that nothing can be done to relieve her of it. Hence, her best friend, the 'mahout' along with the doctors, have decided to put an end to her pains by putting her to sleep forever..however, the citizens & the animal welfare organization People for Animals have protested against it & Arundhati's fate yet now remains undecided.
I don't know how much justified we are in keeping a loved one alive just for our sake when it would be to his/her best interest to pass away..is it not to some extent thinking things only from our perspective??..i know euthanasia or mercy-killing is a debatable issue but then for cases like Arundhati's, what's the point in making it pass away slowly bearing that insufferable pain..is it not better to lovingly put the baby to sleep..??
P.S. one of my friend says that i was surely an animal in my previous birth, most probably a stray!maybe thats true!!anyway, I dont regret that, if that is the reason behind my weakness for these hapless beings, then am more than happy that i was one..