Dealing With Euthanasia.

[raz]

We always advised clients they could park in the back carpark ( staff only ) and they could use the back door afterwards.

It was nicer than having to come back through the waiting room in tears and having to face the reception staff and other clients.

Nice one. When we had to take Cakes to emergency the stupid young vet left the consulting room door open while a young woman was bawling her eyes out. Really bloody distressing for everyone in the waiting room already stressed out about sick animals. Another dog owner turned to me and asked why on earth the idiot didnt just close the bloody door and give her some privacy. Really poor form.

[Kirislin]

I just took an elderly friend to the vets Friday week ago to have his old GSD put down due to bone cancer. My friend cried, I've never seen him show much emotion before and it was very sad. The vet is a wonderful young bloke, incredibly thoughtful. I had to go in to the surgery to pay for it while the owner waited in the van as that's where Magic was t be given her wings. The vet asked me if we had the hole dug, and how we would manage to get her from the van, if we had a blanket to put her on, he thought of everything and was quite prepared to come out to help us if we needed it. I think he just must tell himself, he will do the absolute best by the animal and owner that he can, and he sure did. He comforted the owner afterwards and told him he'd done the right thing. I imagine the worst times would be putting down a healthy animal.

[WreckitWhippet]

There's comfort, empathy and planning ahead and then there's getting caught up in the owners emotions, the later does nothing to help the owner during a difficult time. The staff of a clinic bursting into tears and blubbering, is very unproferssional.

Kirislin, that vet sounds like a great one.

[dogbesotted]

yesterday we helped our Angel to The Bridge.

the vet was kind thoughtful gentle and compassionate.. sweet Angel was ready and just slipped away to meet her friends and relations who await her.. Steve and I were not so ready.. i guess we never are quite ready even when there has been plenty of warning...

H

[Kirislin]

Sorry to hear about Angel.

I dont think a vet would ever find it easy, if they do perhaps it's time they looked for another occupation. I think that they believe they are doing the animal a kindness by ending its suffering, and most of the time they are. Sometimes it's harder for vets with particular animals. My "old" vet, cried when she put Kiri down, but I felt comforted by that in a way, she loved Kiri too, so I couldn't have had a better person to help Kiri on her way.

[MavericksMission]

I work in an animal shelter.

Although we are very low-kill, there are still the ones who need to be given their wings for whatever reason.

I just try and be strong for them, they are in an unknown environment, their owners have left them here, I just try and give them as much love as I can while I hold up their little vein. The worst ones are the ones where the owners have just dumped them on us, not caring at all about their animals, the animals are so loyal and just look up into your eyes as they pass.

When we know that an animal needs to be given their wings, we try and get them out of the cage and let them have to run of our cat enclosure or one of the rooms and we spoil them with fancy feast and other yummy treats.

The dogs get out of the cage and they do for a big walk with the staff, have a huge playtime and get spoilt with treats.

I have worked in the shelter for 4 years, all though you do get stronger, each one still hurts deeply that we just could not save that animal.

[Miss B]

I was suprised when I started my career as a vet nurse, at how quickly it just becomes part of daily life. That's not to say that clients aren't treated with the utmost of empathy, because they are, and I admit I've had a bit of a teary with one or two very special clients. But for the most part you become fairly detached - if you didn't, the overwhelming sadness of it all would weigh you down. That's been my experience, anyway. I once worked with a girl who had to quit because she just couldn't hold it together and every single euthanasia had her bawling.

[lovemymutts]

The most difficult decision I ever made was deciding to get my old boy PTS, I was crying when I made the appt. I still think about him everyday. It was definitely his time.

When I made the appt I chose to make it with one of the vets I'd been seeing for a long while, the other young vet was also great but he love Kaspa & so for some reason I thought I didn't want to put that on him to do it. I always knew it would be difficult to be there with him but he had given me 12.5 years of his life so I owed it to him & I'm glad I was with him & he didn't die in a strangers arms. When I got there I just sat out on the front lawn with him under the tree near the carpark, I was already crying, I didn't care if people saw, I couldn't help it anyway. Then the vet came out & said she could do it there but it would be easier inside. So we went straight down to the back room & I held him in my arms while they did it, it was strange how calm Kaspa was & he just went to sleep as I cuddled him. It was so quick. Afterwards the vet just left me there & said take as long as I need. I bawled for about the next 10mins & patted him, then we wrapped him in blankets, went out through the back & the vet helped us load him up. The vets had seen me in tears before but never so heartbroken. They were very empathetic which was lovely & I too wouldn't have cared had they been crying & to be honest I really don't remember. After everything I actually felt quite relieved, it surprised me as well how peaceful it was.

I think if I worked in a Vet Clinic I would be able to handle those cases where the pets are old, yes it would be sad but I could deal with it better I think than having to PTS a perfectly healthy animal.

I used to want to be a vet nurse but then realised I didn't have the guts/gumption. My friend did some work experience for a vet clinic & while she was there she had to take in 6 puppies for euthanasia, nothing wrong with them at all, they had just been dumped. She said as she carried them down the corridor into the room she was bawling & as she entered the room she said each one knew something bad was happening & seeing their siblings bodied wouldn't have helped . Now I know there is no way I would have been able to do that, I think I would have grabbed them all & somehow rehomed them.

I'm sure it would completely depend on which practice you worked in as to whether you would have to assist with euthanasias & the different circumstances involved.

[tdierikx]

I too didn't want to ask one particular vet that was particularly attached to my heart dog to have to help give her her wings - but Woosie had other ideas. When it was her time, she picked the only day that the vet clinic only had a locum on with our favourite vet... and there was no way on the planet I was having a stranger give her her wings.

I was a complete mess when I rang the clinic to make that appointment - incoherent in fact - but the staff member who answered the phone worked out pretty quickly who I was and what I was calling for... and handled this total blubbering mess (me) with complete compassion and empathy. A big shout out for all the staff at Mortdale Vet Clinic - they all rock!

Oh crap! Guess what's playing on the radio right now... and I'm bawling like a baby...

Sometimes When We Touch - Dan Hill

You ask me if I love you

And I choke on my reply

I'd rather hurt you honestly

Than mislead you with a lie

And who am I to judge you

On what you say or do?

I'm only just beginning to see the real you

And sometimes when we touch

The honesty's too much

And I have to close my eyes and hide

I wanna hold you til I die

Til we both break down and cry

I wanna hold you till the fear in me subsides

Romance and all its strategy

Leaves me battling with my pride

But through the insecurity

Some tenderness survives

I'm just another writer

Still trapped within my truth

A hesitant prize fighter

Still trapped within my youth

And sometimes when we touch

The honesty's too much

And I have to close my eyes and hide

I wanna hold you til I die

Til we both break down and cry

I wanna hold you till the fear in me subsides

At times I'd like to break you

And drive you to your knees

At times I'd like to break through

And hold you endlessly

At times I understand you

And I know how hard you've tried

I've watched while love commands you

And I've watched love pass you by

At times I think we're drifters

Still searching for a friend

A brother or a sister

But then the passion flares again

And sometimes when we touch

The honesty's too much

And I have to close my eyes and hide

I wanna hold you til I die

Til we both break down and cry

I wanna hold you till the fear in me subsides

T.

[Gayle.]

When we had to let Benson go, the vet was absolutely wonderful but I could see she was visibly upset and said that he was the second one that day. Both dogs had been operated on and were found to have conditions that weren't compatible with life so had to be let go while on the operating table. She was so, so sensitive to our feelings but gee, some days are just shit no matter what you do for a living.

[Hafhafa Hounds]

I was away from home when Sally slipped into a comatose state overnight. She was very old and very sick and would not make it home. My mum called her vet for me and also had one of her friends come over to drive me there. There was no way Sally was leaving my arms 'til she was gone.

I did have to wait a little while, but the vet was off for the day and came in especially for me. She was really caring and kind, gave me all the time I needed with Sally to say goodbye.

I settle the account as I left and 5 days later received a sympathy card, handwritten, from the vet. Dealt with very professionally, yet in an empatheic and caring manner. I'm very grateful to the vet and staff.

I called my own vet when I got home a few days later and got the vet nurse - she cried with me on the phone as I explained what had happened and when I spoke to my vet later that day about another dog, he expressed his sympathies as well.

[JulesP]

I would be really freaked out if the vet or staff started crying. A friend took me when I went in with Fern. He started crying! That did not help me at all.

I've never been asked to pay the bill at the time.

I got really upset when I went to pick up Fern's ashes and the receptionist mucked around for ages with the bill etc. I find the picking up ashes bit quite upsetting and don't want to be standing around for ages.

Was waiting for a script the other day and the nurse passed a little bundle to a waiting man. Think that could have been done more discretely as it made me cry.

[Ruffles]

When I had my old Cat pts as he had Effusive FIP, the Vets were lovely at the time, compassionate but did not cry. They helped me take my incredibly heavy cat to the car wrapped in blankets, I said I would clear the bill up on the spot because I didnt want to have to think about it again. Now, I was distraught, my cat was my best friend. I got him home, and I didn't know what to do with him!? I felt upset that the Vets allowed me to take him home without asking if I had thought about cremation or anything, and I was left with the corpse of my cat on top of a dog crate while I called cremation services in my area and tried to arrange it myself. Then, a week later I recieved a phone call to say they had stuffed up my bill and can I come down and pay another $300 for the Euth. I was furious. I had been going to this Vet for 8 years. I was so dissapointed.

My new vet, only do Euths (unless for emergencies) in the last hours of the afternoon/evening, and they book your appointment so that there will not be anyone in the waiting room when you arrive, or leave. They are excellent like that.

[Belljari]

I have had to euthanaze all but 2 of my Rott's it was the hardest decision I have ever had to make. But make it I had to as all of them had various illness although mainly it was some form of cancer. The way I looked at was they are my dogs my responsibility to make sure they still had quality life when that became an issue well then I had to make a decision to end the pain for them as hard as it is to do this. I stayed with all them told how much I loved them and what great dogs they were, my vet would just leave them with me until I got myself under control, Iam crying now thinking back. all them were then taken back to the clinic and the cremation people picked them up from there. I never had any problems.I have also had to euthanaze my cat but I think she was already dying and it was to get her out of the pain she was in. I buried her for some reason.

[JulesP]

When I had my old Cat pts as he had Effusive FIP, the Vets were lovely at the time, compassionate but did not cry. They helped me take my incredibly heavy cat to the car wrapped in blankets, I said I would clear the bill up on the spot because I didnt want to have to think about it again. Now, I was distraught, my cat was my best friend. I got him home, and I didn't know what to do with him!? I felt upset that the Vets allowed me to take him home without asking if I had thought about cremation or anything, and I was left with the corpse of my cat on top of a dog crate while I called cremation services in my area and tried to arrange it myself. Then, a week later I recieved a phone call to say they had stuffed up my bill and can I come down and pay another $300 for the Euth. I was furious. I had been going to this Vet for 8 years. I was so dissapointed.

My new vet, only do Euths (unless for emergencies) in the last hours of the afternoon/evening, and they book your appointment so that there will not be anyone in the waiting room when you arrive, or leave. They are excellent like that.

Sounds like a horrible experience.

$300 is a heap of money. I've never paid that not even for a home visit.

[OSoSwift]

I recently had to have my British Shorthair cat euthed. When I went into the vets, he said "we have done a few of these together haven't we". He has euthed my 2 Dobes, my horse and now my cat. We have a very old Stafford who will no doubt be another in the next little while.

I did have one cat whohad been seeing the vet for a month and went downhill quite quickly. Went from being quiet to being comatose overnight. I rang to book him for euth. When i walked in the vet who was on wanted to know if I wanted him checked over before deciding to euth. If he had of read the notes he would have known what was happening, what I had discussed with the normal vet. And also if he had of taken any notice he would ahve seen the cat was totally non-responsive. I was annoyed about that one!!!

[huskies4life88]

im crying reading this thread

[Aetherglow]

I have had or known people who have had all kinds of behaviour from vets surrounding euthanasia. Having to put to sleep a newborn kitten with a cleft palate was devastating, followed by two more littermates in the next week, and my vets were absolutely fantastic through the whole sad situation. However, I knew one vet who so hated doing it that he left a friend's dog with what turned out to be a broken back live a week in pain, something I cannot ever forget. I also had the horrible experience of having a rescue cat with a previous severe injury to a back leg escape from a high window, over a 6 foot gate and out onto a busy road, where she was hit by a car. It being a Sunday evening, I took her to an emergency vet and left her there for observation overnight with strict instructions to put her to sleep if she deteriorated. They rang later that evening and said she had gone downhill, I repeated that she was to be to pts, the next morning the vet on duty rang me to ask me why I was torturing Sudu by keeping her alive - the night vet had put her on oxygen rather than put her to sleep, and she was in a very bad way, and obviously dying by the time I got there. That was not at all professional in my opinion, on the part of either vet. And yes, I had to pay the bill directly after the euthanasia, to the vet who accused me of torture, as well as having to pay for a completely unnecessary and unwanted charge for an intervention that I did not want and would not have authorised had I known.

Having said all that, my parents had to have their elderly boxer put to sleep a couple of weeks ago, and the vet this week sent them a lovely note to say that it was very clear that Kostya had obviously had a happy life and been well loved and cared for. That was pretty special.

[Daisys Mum]

Me too Huskies ????

When my flatmate had his husky pts last year our vet was amazing.... His assistant was there too and the respect we got was amazing.We were taken into a empty consult room and we were able to spend as much time with Kira as we wanted to, there was no pressure to rush us out. After she was pts we both fell apart so we were given time to spend saying our last goodbyes and our vet had a tear in his eye but he held it together very well.

And for that reason we will always go to this practice because now with the other animals they are so good with them ????

[Roguedog]

As a vet nurse it is always hard to assist euth's but in the case of the older or really sick pets, its almost a relief to know they arnt in any pain anymore, some give you that look that tells you they are begging for it... there are always a few that get me teary but I always wait until after the client has left before I let the tears flow, doesnt help the client if you are being unprofessional... only time ive seen my boss cry during a euth was when my boy Neo had to be PTS, she had known him for 8 years and he adored her, gave her a lick just before she put the needle in, I think the whole clinic was in tears that day (I was a mess!!!)...