Shoot the Dog: Difference between revisions

* In ''[[Vertical Limit]]'', while trapped in an ice cave on K2, one character murders an injured comrade with a syringe of air, rather than share the drug they need to survive at such a high elevation.

 

* A particularly notable instance occurs in Terry Pratchett's ''[[Discworld]]'' novels. In his later "Witches" books, it is revealed that Granny Weatherwax, a major character of Pratchett's, has had to Shoot the Dog more than a few times in her witching career, with few regrets. In fact, Granny considers part of a witch's job description to be making tough life-or-death decisions so other people don't have to.

** Perhaps the greatest example of this is Granny Weatherwax choosing whether to save a man's child or his wife. Someone told her afterward she should have [[Sadistic Choice|allowed him to choose]]. Her response? "What has he ever done to me that I should hurt him so?"

{{quote|''"Just in case, and without any feeling of guilt, Vimes removed his knife, and... [[Mercy Kill|gave what help he could.]]"''}}

* In ''[[The Dark Tower/The Gunslinger|The Dark Tower]]'', Roland is forced to choose between finally catching the Man in Black (the only one who can tell him how to reach the Dark Tower) and {{spoiler|saving young Jake from falling to his death. As a clue to which he decided on, let's just say he found out how to get to the Tower}}.

** To be fair, in Roland's mind, anything is permitted because Roland believes the entirety of all existence (and, indeed, non-existence) is at stake. And {{spoiler|Jake [[Unexplained Recovery|gets better.]]}} And {{spoiler|Roland's belief happens to be right on the money}}.

* In [[Derek Robinson]]'s ''Piece of Cake'', Barton literally shoots the dog. The dog's master had just been killed, so it was either a [[Mercy Kill|mercy killing]], or he did it to stop the dog howling so he could get to sleep. Or because the dog wouldn't stop pissing on people's legs every chance it got. That's why it's called [[Black Comedy]].

 

* Happens quite a lot in ''[[Charmed]]'':

** The season 1 finale saw the sisters getting attacked by a demon who had a master of time on his side so that whenever the demon himself was killed by the sisters, [[Groundhog Day Loop|the day would rewind and start over]]. The sisters discovered that the only way to stop this was to allow the day to end without vanquishing the demon. Prue cast a spell to fast forward the rest of the day but it meant letting Andy die as he had sacrificed himself to save the sisters in the third version of the day (Phoebe and Piper had died in the previous two versions instead).

 

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[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]

[[Category:Morality Tropes]]

[[Category:Sadness Tropes]]

[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]

[[Category:Dishonor Tropes]]