Vets And Euthanasia

[Janba]

My new child is smarter, happier and more fulfilled than the average pet because he is given every opportunity to be human. He is also completely calm and not anxious because he has been brought up so well.

I think by anthromorphizing dogs you miss out on what wonderful animals they are as dogs. My dogs are my life but they are not human and never will be, nor would they want to be human. I can't move a sheep with my eyes, track a person by scent alone or even tell which cupboard in the kitchen is being opened from outside and I definitely don't enjoy the smell of dead things but my dogs can. My dogs are happy being dogs and they do sleep on the bed, lie on the lounge and are with me most of the time.

My dogs are also calm, not anxious, know a what I mean when I say a large number of words and can read a huge amount of my body language but they are dogs and it is learnt behaviour.

[rusty&biscuit]

Dogs are not children, and children are not dogs. In much the same way that I am neither a pony or a dinosaur, a dog is not a human child. That's just reality.

This has to be the BEST three lines I have read on DOL this year. Absolutely gold, but so true.

Second that!! Sooo funny!!!

[Danois]

I'd like to think this was just a wind up but am not so sure...

You will never find a vet who will treat your dog like it is a child. Vets are intelligent and well educated people - they will treat a dog like a dog as that is what it is. You know what they say. - if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it's a duck!

As for unfeeling vets - sorry but I don't want a vet who is sobbing and wailing as they administer the final injection. I expect them to be professional and composed. Just like my clients don't want to see me getting cranky when I don't get my way - they want me to be professional and not let personal feelings cloud that professionalism.

I think the OP needs to reassess her relationship with her DOG.

[Janba]

Dogs are not children, and children are not dogs. In much the same way that I am neither a pony or a dinosaur, a dog is not a human child. That's just reality.

This has to be the BEST three lines I have read on DOL this year. Absolutely gold, but so true.

Second that!! Sooo funny!!!

Me 3

[asal]

I have heard & seen people ask for "all to be done" to save their pet... sometimes in the face of a situation where the pet has died and the pathology/treatment bill has been drawn that they believe the vet has 'ripped them off". Apparently such costs are only considered payable when a pet survives its illness.

A vet is a business like anything else and there are plenty of businesses who can't legally charge when the job is unsuccessful and have to absorb their losses, why is a vet exempt from the same rules of business is what people are referring to?

But what is 'successful'? To me, successful is doing what the owner requests. If you take an animal that has been hit by a car to the vet and ask them to do everything they can, which they do but the animal doesn't make it, surely they have done what was asked of them, by giving whatever treatment they possibly could at the time?

One has to be realistic in that nothing lives forever. So to say that you shouldn't have to pay if the Vet was unsuccessful in keeping an animal alive is crazy.

LOL

never forget taking our dog neiger to the vets after a horse had kicked his head in. we were so shocked we certainly left him there in the belief the only option was putting him down.

imagine the shock when the next day a thrilled vet phoned to say.eurika we saved him...2 hours picking bone fragments out of his head and a hole the size of a 20 cent piece.

he lived another 8 happy years before developing a tumour. there are many wonderful vets. even downright amazing ones. dont forget that

[asal]

I have two dogs, my darling Weim who I've had for 11 years (I swear she understands everything I say) and my livewire of a crossbreed pup. Both are much loved family members who share our homes and lives. But they aren't children...they are dogs and are appreciated just for their doggy selves.

They like to do doggy things, like roll in detestable things if given the chance and sniff other dogs butts by way of greeting. They will happily scarf down their own vomit if they wolf down their dinner too fast and delight in the odd snack of chicken poop if the chance presents itself. The young pup likes to hump his bed and is obsessed with dirty socks and my Weim will steal and eat used tissues.

I also have a child. Thankfully, she doesn't behave like that and neither do my dogs like to play Barbies or knit.

Dogs are not children, and children are not dogs. In much the same way that I am neither a pony or a dinosaur, a dog is not a human child. That's just reality.

thats not "just reality" IT IS REALITY.

gee i would totlly freak if my child brought me home a nicely rotting carcase after she had rolled in it?

[Simply Grand]

Oh art imitating life! There's a Dr Doolittle movie on channel 10 right now, Dr Doolittle's 17 year old daughter can talk to animals so thinks she doesn't need to do the years of study to become a vet as the animals can just tell her what's wrong. Her "love interest's" dog (a gorgeous Sheltie!!) got sicker and sicker over a few days, she explained her symptoms but Maya thought it was nothing serious, eventually the boyfriend takes the doggy to the vet, who quickly and easily diagnoses bortadella (??) from the symptoms, confirms and treats, full recovery. Without the treatment, doggy would have died. Maya learns the value of vets in really helping animals :)

Ah life lessons from kids movies.

[Maddy]

Finally, pets are the new children. And I avoided using the word earlier because this is my most important point. My new child is smarter, happier and more fulfilled than the average pet because he is given every opportunity to be human.

He's not a human, why would he be happy with you forcing that on him?

I don't want to sound like a bitch here but I think you need some major reality checks-

Dog =/= human

Vaccinations come with risks. Not vaccinating comes with bigger risks.

It sounds like you're blaming the vet for your own choices. Perhaps you'd be better off accepting that you may have made the wrong choices. Buried guilt probably doesn't help when trying to cope with grief.

[newfsie]

Having owned a lot of dogs and having to have had some PTS, my personal experience has always been caring.....I have held all of my dogs as they have been PTS......In my experiences, my dogs have just literally gone to sleep in my arms. It has been peaceful for them. Maybe your dog was in pain from whatever the problem was....Maybe your dog was in pain.

We did have one difficult cannulation and it took some time, because he was dehydrated......but there still was no pain.

You can never blame all vets for one experience with one vet. Most vets, even though some charge enormous amounts, are there to help our pets.

[Janba]

Having owned a lot of dogs and having to have had some PTS, my personal experience has always been caring.....I have held all of my dogs as they have been PTS......In my experiences, my dogs have just literally gone to sleep in my arms. It has been peaceful for them. Maybe your dog was in pain from whatever the problem was....Maybe your dog was in pain.

We did have one difficult cannulation and it took some time, because he was dehydrated......but there still was no pain.

You can never blame all vets for one experience with one vet. Most vets, even though some charge enormous amounts, are there to help our pets.

Dogs also pick up from our emotions. If you are stressed, angry or upset about something a dog will pick up on that and react accordingly. When I have had a dog PTS it is because the time is right and it is the best option. I may have been devestated but I have known it it best and my dogs have gone peacefully.

[Gretel]

Dogs are not children, and children are not dogs. In much the same way that I am neither a pony or a dinosaur, a dog is not a human child. That's just reality.

This has to be the BEST three lines I have read on DOL this year. Absolutely gold, but so true.

Yes indeedy!!!

I would think that the OP could use some help in the form of talking to someone in a professional manner to help her overcome the grief and move on with her life with her new dog :)

[espinay2]

If your dog is human then problem solved. Just take it to a doctor instead of a vet.

Edited April 7, 2012 by espinay2

[crazydoglady]

I don't know what to say. I am gobsmacked by the ignorance the OP is displaying.

The replies have been heartfelt, informative and right. Every dog, thats right, DOG, will have to see a vet at some point. So when my dog tears ligaments in her other leg, should I just hold her til it goes away??

I'm truly sorry about what happened, but one bad experience should not condemn your future pets to a life of potential pain with no medical care.

I wish you luck, and I hope that you are taking in what the others are trying to tell you. I have learnt so much from these forums, and I hope you do too.

[RiverStar-Aura]

I'm wondering if perhaps Percy wasn't a healthy dog to begin with. The OP has stated that he needed to go to the vet often and just comparing that to Poochie, Zeus and now Kirah, they've only ever needed to see the vet for their annual check-up.

Oh and now I'm humming the Mister Ed theme song: A horse is a horse of course of course ...

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

It is nearly a year to the day we asked our vet to euthanize our beloved Percy who was only over a year old and we don’t know what was wrong. The handling of our child’s illness and the final injection has left us scarred and concerned for our new child, also a 1 year old Maltese.

Percy was suddenly ill at the start of Good Friday 2011, and we took him to the nearest available vet a few suburbs away considering the long weekend is the time that everything is closed. Over 3 days the vet basically did nothing but put him on a drip. I now think the vet simply was covering for the long weekend and didn’t care much at all. What I would like to discuss is how uncaring vets are.

Firstly, we should never have left Percy overnight. The back of a clinic has no comfort, nothing is familiar in fact it’s downright creepy and a highly bonded pet like a Maltese is going to be in such distress that overnight stays cannot possibly be good.

Secondly, we asked for euthanasia because Percy was not even drinking, did not really recognise us and we did not know what to do. But we attended the injection and were horrified – we held him while the vet flushed the drip and then our child screamed in terror with the green injection. I can never remove from my mind the honest truth that our Percy’s last moment was terror. The vet didn’t even seem to notice. In my view, Percy knew what the injection was for and I feel I did not give him the most compassionate treatment even though I had intended a calm gentle passing away.

I can’t overstate that I am sickened about the veterinary profession. Our new adopted child will never go to a vet. Far better to pass away in my arms than days of distress with strangers.

We have moved on without erasing Percy from memory, and our new one is all that Percy was and more. I have much more to say if anyone is willing to discuss their experiences.

Kind regards, especially to those who have loved and lost.

P

I haven't read all the pages but as someone who has owned and had to put to sleep many dogs due to illness (sadly for me none of them went to sleep in their baskets, I had to make the decision), I can't believe what you have written.

I owned an Italian Greyhound for 9 years, I can't tell you how many times he wouldn't eat or drink and ended up in the vets on a drip for up to 5 days at a time. Sometimes he went to a specialist vet. He had been diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease early on but we never knew why these episodes of him stopping eating/drinking came on.

After a few days on the drip he would come home and he'd be back to normal. Naturally my vet bills were enormous but I do trust the vets that I've seen apart from 1 that I'm not 100% convinced is right sometimes.

It sounds to me like you have little experience and YOU made the decision (I'm interested to know if you have any medical training) to euthanase your dog. The treating vet followed your wishes, as the legal owner.

I'm sorry you lost your dog - no matter how many times I lose dogs I adore, it never gets any easier but I keep owning dogs because I love them. They will always have the best I can give them and that includes vet treatment - it's about being a responsible dog owner.

I think you need to get some counselling because it sounds like you have really not come to terms with your loss and blame the vet - eventually this may happen to you with people - will you blame the Drs then?

[Topoftheheap]

It is nearly a year to the day we asked our vet to euthanize our beloved Percy who was only over a year old and we don't know what was wrong. The handling of our child's illness and the final injection has left us scarred and concerned for our new child, also a 1 year old Maltese.

Percy was suddenly ill at the start of Good Friday 2011, and we took him to the nearest available vet a few suburbs away considering the long weekend is the time that everything is closed. Over 3 days the vet basically did nothing but put him on a drip. I now think the vet simply was covering for the long weekend and didn't care much at all. What I would like to discuss is how uncaring vets are.

Firstly, we should never have left Percy overnight. The back of a clinic has no comfort, nothing is familiar in fact it's downright creepy and a highly bonded pet like a Maltese is going to be in such distress that overnight stays cannot possibly be good.

Secondly, we asked for euthanasia because Percy was not even drinking, did not really recognise us and we did not know what to do. But we attended the injection and were horrified – we held him while the vet flushed the drip and then our child screamed in terror with the green injection. I can never remove from my mind the honest truth that our Percy's last moment was terror. The vet didn't even seem to notice. In my view, Percy knew what the injection was for and I feel I did not give him the most compassionate treatment even though I had intended a calm gentle passing away.

I can't overstate that I am sickened about the veterinary profession. Our new adopted child will never go to a vet. Far better to pass away in my arms than days of distress with strangers.

We have moved on without erasing Percy from memory, and our new one is all that Percy was and more. I have much more to say if anyone is willing to discuss their experiences.

Kind regards, especially to those who have loved and lost.

P

I am truly sorry that you had such a horrific experience with your much loved pet. Myself I have had to make the extremely hard decision you found yourself in a couple of times and the making of the decision is bad enough. However, I have found all the vets that have performed the procedure to be comforting, understanding and very professional.

Despite this, I too am disallusioned with some in the vet profession. Some seem more about money than empathy towards animals. We had one vet who was cold to the animals, and barely touched them, or calmed them, in fact barely noticed thier prescence. My sister worked for her as a Vet Nurse, and one night we had an emergency with my sisters dog . He had ingested human medication, and was basically unconcious by the time we got to the clinic. The vet was there on her own, as it was after hours at this stage, and began to tell us about how the dog might die, and what dire straits he was in. We were frantic, and crying inconsolobly (???spellling) - she told us she could give him some medications and put him on a drip and keep him in overnight. We told her whatever was needed, the dog was insured, and we would of spent almost anything to save him. We kept waiting for her to do something as he lay lifeless on the table, and she casually said that our credit card would need to be put through for a deposit of $500 before she could start work. She left the dog unattended on the table, and even made comments about insurance companies and joked with us, went to another room, turned the eftpos machine on (which took several minutes) then ran the credit card through. My mum made a mistake with the pin, so it had to go through twice, all the while we were hoping he would be ok. As soon as she got the reciept that said 'approved' she ran out the back and began treating our dog. It was disgusting. We were regular customers of hers, my sister was employed by her, so it wasn't like we would skip out on the bill or anything, and it still took a good ten minutes before she would treat her employee's dog.

He survived, thankfully, and my sister continued to work there for a couple of months, but after witnessing so many instances were the vet was cold, unhelpful, and uncaring, and in some cases let dogs die in difficult, and painful circumstances, and charging people thousands of dollars when she knew the animal had no chance and the operation would in fact kill them, and subjecting abandoned animals to 'practice surgeries' my sister left. We have never taken an animal there again, and never will, and would suggest no one else did either.

In saying that it makes it sound as though I am against vets in general, but I am not. We have since found a lovely vet, who is caring and kind, and is in fact cheaper than the one mentioned previously, and I feel actually CARES.

[Flick_Mac]

I think we need to save our breath... nothing is going to make vets good people in the OP's eyes and apart from feeling incredibly sad for the OPs dog and any future animals they own I think any further advice is pointless.

Makes me wonder why i'm becoming a vet sometimes.

[Erny]

Makes me wonder why i'm becoming a vet sometimes.

Considering all the posts expressing acknowledgement in this thread that there are Vets who do good work, that Vets are needed, you should be pleased you're becoming a Vet . Whilst any one of us and everyone might not always agree with what Vets do at one point or another, there generally is a stage where a Vet is needed and helps our dogs. Chin up. Ya know we lub ya :D.

Edited April 7, 2012 by Erny

[Flick_Mac]

Thanks Erny. It does seem that a lot of the time, in real life and on DOL all you hear about vets and the veterinary profession is complaints.

[Erny]

Thanks Erny. It does seem that a lot of the time, in real life and on DOL all you hear about vets and the veterinary profession is complaints.

Lol - I could spin you a few stories of my own that would curl your toes. But to find a good Vet is like finding gold and you know that when we find those good Vets, we hold on to them like there is no tomorrow. You'll see the smiles on people's faces when you help their animals. You'll see the relief on animal's faces and in their eyes when you help them. You'll know when you're doing good stuff :).

My most favourite Vets are the ones who have the animal's welfare as #1 priority, who think outside the square and who know when they don't know something and aren't afraid to tell you.