The head shot at a few yards off is the place to shoot a cat or dog with the shotgun but do not attempt to shoot them with a pistol unless you are a good shot, able to shoot into the ace of hearts at five yards’ distance, aim at the top of the head, or you may break the jaw instead of killing the animal.
People have sometimes been wrongly prosecuted and convicted for torturing a dog when they were trying to kill it instantly and painlessly, but lacked the skill and nerve.
When an animal is in pain, especially if it is crying out and struggling, a man is very apt to lose his nerve and be unable to kill it properly, but will strike wildly.
In killing an animal, in order to do it as painlessly as possible, it is necessary to treat the matter quite calmly and in what looks to be a cold-blooded manner, and to know the vital spots.
Decide the exact spot to shoot at, heart or brain, and hit it in that exact spot and be ready to repeat the shot, if the animal is not instantly dead.
With a horse I find it is best to put some hay or grass down in front of it, and when it puts its head down, with its forehead vertical, it gives a good chance to shoot. There is no use trying to pull the horse’s head into position and get struggling with it. To shoot a horse, do not use a pistol of smaller calibre than .44 with full charge.
If properly done the horse feels no pain.
If several horses have to be shot, do not let them see each other shot, or see the dead bodies or smell them.
A shotgun cannot be used in a crowd, nor for that matter can a pistol.
As soon as a horse is injured everyone runs up to enjoy the sight and they crowd round, so great care must be taken not to shoot until the people are cleared away from the line of fire.