So we were discussing this briefly at work. I still don't understand anyone's reasoning behind this.
First, we have one client that does not believe in euthanasia. Instead, she brings her pets in to us when they're about to die, and WE have to watch them suffer their final moments. Both of the animals of hers that I've witnessed dying have died very slow and painful deaths due to organ failure. I think that if she's not willing to euthanize, then she should be there to witness those death. They really aren't easy to watch at all.
Then there's another client that has the means and the desire to do everything he can for his animals. He really does have the best of intentions. However, last year one of his dog went through a long, painful process of loss of function. There was really no hope of getting the dog back to any quality of life, and the dog really was in great pain despite being on numerous pain medications. He could not care for this dog himself (he's elderly), so he left her at the clinic for the week or two leading up to her death. He did eventually choose to euthanize, but in my opinion it was a month or two late. He recognized this and said he didn't want to do it again. Now he has another dog that has a lot of problems and has lost a lot of functioning. There really is no hope of the dog recovering to any real quality of life, and the dog appears to have given up himself. Yet he's trying his hardest to find something to fix this dog. He has no quality of life, and can't even eat on his own. I feel it was time to euthanize 2-4 weeks ago.
So, why do people put their animals through this? Do you think it's pure selfishness? Do you think they just don't recognize the agony their animals are going through? Or do they honestly believe that they are doing the right thing for their animals by not euthanizing?
First, we have one client that does not believe in euthanasia. Instead, she brings her pets in to us when they're about to die, and WE have to watch them suffer their final moments. Both of the animals of hers that I've witnessed dying have died very slow and painful deaths due to organ failure. I think that if she's not willing to euthanize, then she should be there to witness those death. They really aren't easy to watch at all.
Then there's another client that has the means and the desire to do everything he can for his animals. He really does have the best of intentions. However, last year one of his dog went through a long, painful process of loss of function. There was really no hope of getting the dog back to any quality of life, and the dog really was in great pain despite being on numerous pain medications. He could not care for this dog himself (he's elderly), so he left her at the clinic for the week or two leading up to her death. He did eventually choose to euthanize, but in my opinion it was a month or two late. He recognized this and said he didn't want to do it again. Now he has another dog that has a lot of problems and has lost a lot of functioning. There really is no hope of the dog recovering to any real quality of life, and the dog appears to have given up himself. Yet he's trying his hardest to find something to fix this dog. He has no quality of life, and can't even eat on his own. I feel it was time to euthanize 2-4 weeks ago.
So, why do people put their animals through this? Do you think it's pure selfishness? Do you think they just don't recognize the agony their animals are going through? Or do they honestly believe that they are doing the right thing for their animals by not euthanizing?