All I know is what I heard the receptionist say to the person on the phone, so I have no specifics or idea what the exact situation is. ALL I can go on is what I heard the lady in the office said. I am sure there is more to the story, but... I have no idea what it is.
The person calling initially sounded perhaps as though they were needing to bring in one of their pets. No idea whether it was a dog or a cat or some other animal. But when the receptionist asked if that was the case, apparently she was corrected. The caller was apparently interested in having the animal put to sleep. A sad situation, but someting that is not without question as an animal's health can be in jeopardy. Who knows what reason the caller has for needing to bring in their pet. But the part that got my mind racing is the apparent wish by the caller to simply drop off the animal at the vet to be taken care of. No idea if there would be plans to pick up the remains afterward, or simply pay to have it done and allow the vet to dispose (bury) the remains.
Which made me wonder..... being there for a pet if you're having it put to sleep. I've had countless numbers of pet mice and rats that I've had to have put to sleep by someone I know who works at a local animal shelter that I am very good friends with. And each and every time I've had it done - yes, even the mice - I've been there to comfort the critter as it's put under and finally put to an eternal sleep. I will say that EVERY time it's been done has been because of health reasons - 99% of the time it being because of a tumor growth. When I was younger - maybe 3 or 4 - I had a pet cat that apparently got sick and had to be put to sleep. I barely remember this or knowing what was going on. I do know that I missed the cat and it's lead to one of the most amazing occurances ever in my life that one of my cats that I have now, Whiskers, I do believe is the re-incarnation of... well, Whiskers. My old cat was named Whiskers, and one of my current cats is named Whiskers. (The new one - as I like to call him "Whiskers 2.0" sometimes - was named by shelter staff before I actually adopted him.)
At first I wanted to be angry at the caller I was overhearing for simply dropping off their pet and not being there for the pet as it is euthanized. But after some thought as the day went on, I could not jump to that conclusion not knowing the situation. Perhaps they were simply careless and had no interest in 'being there' for a pet that is supposedly a family member. Perhaps it is an animal with no known health issues and they are having it put to sleep because it is no longer wanted. (Not without question that it has happened before that people do this to an otherwise healthy pet but because its not wanted by anyone). Or perhaps the animal is truly sick and they felt that it would be incredibly hard on them while the animal is euthanized. That I would not blame someone on as having a loved one - whether it be a pet or a human (!) - is incredibly hard. Though it would not be a human relative that is put to sleep by euthanization, but I hope people know what I mean when I say that. I mean when a family member is terminally ill and they are basically dying before your eyes. Yes, it has happened to me before and it IS difficult.
If you had a pet (cat, dog, rabbit, etc) that you needed to have put to sleep for whatever reason...would you choose to be there at the vet while it's put to sleep? Or would you go the route of the caller that I overheard who would prefer to have the procedure done while not observing or being present at the time? (Negate the reason for having the animal put to sleep; illness, injury, old age, no health issues but simply unwanted, etc).
(feel free to also participate in my blog poll back on the main page)
No comments:
Post a Comment