I walk alone...
A golden retriever came into the clinic today around 5. I figured she was just boarding, but Lee told me that she(her name is Susie) was getting put to sleep."Why?" I wondered because this dog looked happy and healthy(old, yes, but healthy other than the fact that she was very skinny).
I walked her to the backroom where euthanasia is always performed and Dr. Gill took a look at her and said, "Just give her a bowl of food...wait until morning." He could have either been ready to go or he saw what I saw...I am really not sure which.
So I walked her to the kennel room and Cade was already opening a can of food for her. She got in her cage and sat there, panting, but looking happier than most dogs in a cage. Cade left, I sat there and petted her for a few minutes, growing closer to tears as the minutes passed.
Eventually, I just sat there and cried. This dog isn't unhappy, it isn't suffering, it's fine. Just old. Do you kill an old person for being happy? Hm. No.
I was walking out to go mop the clinic and I guess my eyes were red or something because Cade passed me and went, "Meredith, what's wrong, what's the matter?" I was like, "that dog..." and he went, "what dog?" and I waslike, "susie..." and he went, "aw...she's 15 years old!" and I went, "don't try to comfort me. she just doesn't look like she is suffering to me." I was trying not to cry for that little convesation.
May I just add that this was not the first dog I have cried over for euthanasia?
I don't think I will be a good vet. I just...it honestly breaks my heart every time I see a dog that I do not think deserves to die.
Yes, we put my cat to sleep last year. I can understand putting an animal to sleep if it is suffering. My cat had just gotten over pneumonia and had a blood clot break off and paralyze its bottom half. I can understand if an animal has cancer that will just prolong an imminent death or if it is just absolutely miserable. You can see it in an animal's eyes if it is miserable. Don't believe me? Work at a veterinary clinic for a week.
So Susie is being put to sleep in the morning, completely out of my hands. It just saddens me to no end to see a dog like that be put to sleep.
One more thing. NEVER EVER EVER TRY TO AMPUTATE YOUR OWN DOG'S TAIL!! We had a dog come in today whose idiotic owners had put a rubber band around its tail and it was just hanging off. Stupid idiots. That never works, morons. A dog does not have to have a shortened tail even if its breed says it does. Look, if you can't afford to get your dog's tail cut, DON'T DO IT YOURSELF. You'll mess it all up and end up having to pay to get your dog's tail amputated anyway or else it will get infected and the dog will die. We had a dog come in...this puppy must have been about six weeks old with its tail just hanging on. HELLO!! THERE IS A REASON THAT PUPPIES GET THEIR TAILS CUT AT 3 DAYS OR SO. NOT SIX WEEKS, MORONS!! I don't even understand three days...the puppies are just screaming. Six weeks...gah. Three days are supposedly so the puppy won't remember. Ha, I love the people that asked that dog if it remembered. Think about six weeks, lord, the puppy has its eyes open, ears open, is walking. People completely and utterly suck.
Stop treating your pets like crap.
-Meredith
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