Dear Editor,
Yesterday, my sister had a visit from the veterinarian to put down her cat, Jake. Jake had suddenly become ill with kidney failure. But yesterday, was a good day where he was interested enough to look out the window and even played a little, making the whole process even more difficult. My sister previously had to have a cat put down and remembered that it had taken two injections before the sweet girl had died. That was not a very positive event. So yesterday, she asked the veterinarian to be sure to really give enough for one injection to be effective. Three injections later, including a totally freaked out cat trying to escape through a locked cat door, Jake died. As a pet owner, this is a totally traumatic event and for the pet, a totally undignified way to exit life. What are veterinarians taught at school about euthanizing an animal I have to wonder?
Please, all veterinarians take note of this totally positive experience I had a couple of months ago when it was time for my 15-year-old Standard poodle to be put down. The veterinarian came into the house with a pre-prepared syringe of a sedative and in the wink of an eye, my Ella had a calming injection. While this injection took full effect, the veterinarian talked to us about research on the death of a pet (how others minimize the loss, how it is a larger trauma than losing an immediate family member who does not live in the same home). When Ella was fully sedated with me holding her head in my lap, she was unaware as the veterinarian shaved her arm and made the fatal injection. Ella slipped away from our lives with grace and dignity. I was traumatized by her loss but healed by the kind, compassionate, and ethical manner in which she was euthanized.
I hope you publish this letter so that veterinarians, especially new veterinarians, can learn about how to better euthanize pets — so that the pet goes with dignity, and the trauma to the owner is minimized.