If you think it would help, ask your vet if you can call ahead to make sure they have a quiet room available when you get there. Where I work, euthanasias always get priority; we'll bring chairs and put them in the surgery room or the doctor's office if we have to. Ask also if they'll sedate the dog before they actually euthanize it; a lot of our clients seem to find it helpful if the pet is asleep and relieved of pain and fear so they can say good-bye before it's actually dead.

I know there are a lot of rumors that the euthanasia solution takes a long time to work because some animals' bodies react involuntarily, but they're not true. I work for a vet and have been through more euthanasias that I care to recall, and virtually all of them are gone before the injection is completed.

My parents tried to OD our old cat with tranquilizers but it didn't work and the experience was very traumatic. Personally, I would rather see my dog go quietly even if it meant a trip to the hospital; the thought of trying to drug her (when she might throw up the pills) or shoot her (and have to see her in the resulting damaged state) would be much more than I could handle.