Ten days ago, while my wife and I were driving our small
motor-home through the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, “Debby” called to
request a home visit to euthanize her 13 year old dog. She explained Sunny was
having more and more trouble getting around and that she and her husband had
finally agreed this was the time. He was taking Tramadol which helped some, but
he was an old, arthritic dog and he had had a long, good life. I explained that
I wouldn’t be back for another week and we set up an evening appointment for the
day after I planned to return. I asked
Debby to leave a brief message on my home phone with her address and said I
would call once we were in town. A few days later she called again. Her husband
wanted to wait until after the weekend and we postponed the visit till the
following Monday. I was surprised that once we returned to Tucson, there was no
phone message. I thought maybe they’d changed their minds or decided not to
wait so I called to check. She apologized; she thought she had called and left
a message. What bothered me most about this exchange of phone calls was the obvious
lack of urgency. Typically, if I am traveling and someone needs their pet put
to sleep, they can’t wait a week for me to return. They simply call someone
else. Something about this house call wasn’t quite right, but we set up a date
and time, and I headed to her home on Monday morning.
When I’m greeted by a bunch of pets wagging their tails, I
always assume (and pray) that the pet I’m here to see is not waiting at the
door with everyone else, but instead, painfully confined to a comfortable bed in
another part of the house. I should never have to wonder, “Am I putting to
sleep one of these?” When I’m going to someone’s home to euthanize their pet, I
want to walk in the door and easily recognize the pet that will be much more
comfortable once I’ve done my job. He is ready to go to sleep and will
appreciate this final rest.
Once Debbie had identified the biggest (and slowest) greeter
as Sunny, I gently petted this old dog and tried to visually evaluate him
before carefully asking, “Do you want me to first examine him and then we can
talk about what we might be able to do to make him more comfortable so he can
spend some more time with you? Or, have you and your husband already made up
your minds that this is what you want to do?”
With no hesitation she responded. “We’ve had this big dog
for 13 years and it is time. My husband said goodbye to Sunny when he left for
work and for days we have been preparing ourselves for what we know needs to be
done. Let’s get it over with.”
Her estimate of Sunny’s weight seemed pretty accurate and I
asked when the vet had last weighed her. Most people aren’t good at guessing
their pet’s weight and can’t easily weigh an 80 pound dog in their own home.
“I just guessed his weight because my son’s dog is almost as
big and he was just at the vet. Sunny hasn’t been at the vet since we got him
from the Humane Society.”
I innocently asked when that was. “That was when we got him
13 years ago.”
I always ask if the pet owner has seen this done before.
Most have, but I still go through the procedure step by step so that they will
know exactly what to expect. Debbie made it clear that she and her husband had
already talked about this quite a bit and they wanted no further discussion.
Once Sunny was resting comfortably on his bed, I placed a tourniquet on his leg
and put him to sleep.
Lesson: a pet needs a yearly examination. As he gets older,lab tests and other diagnostics need to be added to his workup. Proper exercise, diet and pain management can add quality years to our pets’ lives.
These previous blogs include additional information for keeping your older pet healthy:
These previous blogs include additional information for keeping your older pet healthy:
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Thanks so much for your interest and comment. I'll be back to you as soon as possible.
Ken