Sure, it can be very hard to see your pet put to sleep but coming to the decision to have it done in the first place takes a lot. Veterinarians all over the world are forced to see the end of many amazing pets and with that, they learn just how cruel humanity truly is.
A post that has been circling the internet for quite some time now is making its rounds again and the more you think about it the more you’ll want to cry. In this post, a vet goes over why we as owners should not leave the sides of our pets when they’re being put to sleep no matter how hard it is to see. When we leave animals who are at their most vulnerable who have most likely spent their whole lives with us, we are causing them to become afraid and making their last moments less than amazing.
The veterinarian office that shared this heart-melting post was Hillcrest Veterinary Hospital in South Africa and they said as follows:
“When you are a pet owner it is inevitable, the majority of the time, that your pet will die before you do. So if and when you have to take your pet to the vet’s office for a humane pain-free ending I want you all to know something. You have been the center of their world for THEIR ENTIRE LIVES! They may just be a part of yours but all they know is you as their family. It is a crappy decision/day/time/event every time, there is no argument against that it is devastating for us as humans to lose them. But please I beg you DO NOT LEAVE THEM. Do not make them transition from life to death in a room of strangers in a place they don’t like. The thing you people need to know that most of you don’t is that THEY SEARCH FOR YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE THEM BEHIND!
They search every face in the room for their loved person. They don’t understand why you left them when they are sick, scared, old, or dying from cancer and they need your comfort. Don’t be a coward because you think it is just too hard for YOU, imagine what they feel as you leave them in their most vulnerable time and people like me are left to try our best every time to comfort them, make them less scared and try to explain why you just couldn’t stay. From a tired broken-hearted vet.”
These words reign truer than most anything I’ve seen online lately and are well worth sharing. While opting to leave the room while your best friend loses his or her life might seem easier overall but think about what you’d be putting him or her through. Our pets want us to be there with them through all of the things they have to face in this life and death is one of those things.
Our pets give us all they have to offer throughout the time we are able to spend with them and it is only fair that we especially, in the end, are able to give something in return. Many are excited to see this kind of thing shared online to bring more attention to the issue at hand and some are noting how doing the right thing by our pets might hurt but in the end, it is well worth it, we could not agree more.
You’d be surprised at the number of people who simply drop their pets off only to never see them again. They treat things as if they are ‘nothing’ and are merely doing themselves a favor in the long-run. If you’re not going to be there when times get rough, please don’t bother getting any kind of pet in the first place. Dogs, cats, and everything else all run the risks of becoming ill for many different reasons and no one is off-limits. Cancer doesn’t care if you’ve been through some of the most painful experiences and shared 12 years of life together and it damn sure doesn’t care if you’ve only managed to make it to a few months together all the while relying on one another to help make the stress of life itself a little less awful.
Some of the comments on Facebook under this posting go as follows and were well worth mentioning here:
Doris Williams Webb – “Time is soon approaching for me and my Riley to do this. No way would I leave him. I will hold him in my arms even after the end has come. I love my fur baby so much. Tearing up as I write this.”
Heather Tomczyk – “Yes! Omg, there was a man that did this when I was a vet tech.
Shortly I quit after, then years later as my family came together to say goodbye to my old husky a man came and dropped his off to be euthanized. I couldn’t believe it, he just walked out.
Cowardly man, I remember you. Our pup did look at everyone in the room directly in our eyes and she was smiling and happy. Then she quickly and peacefully went. It was one of the saddest but happiest days. She was 15 and ready to go we had done everything to save her. I just hope I have as many people around me as she did.”
Sasha Heath – “Oh my word, I’d never leave one of my fur babies on their own at this time. Had to put both my beautiful girl puddies to sleep a few years ago and we cuddle them as they went. Absolutely broke my heart but they knew they were loved right to the end.
My partner even slept on the sofa next to our older cat whilst she was in her litter box waiting for her in my dad’s garden. He and the dog stayed with her all night. My daughter wrote her a lovely letter and put a daisy chain around her neck before. We had the little ceremony. Unfortunately, my dad didn’t have a garden when my younger cat died so we had to leave her with the vet to be cremated, broke my heart and I still feel guilty.”
What do you think about this topic? Do you think it is okay to have a pet put to sleep all the while staying out of the room or do you believe they need to be surrounded by those who know them best? I for one believe the latter through and through.