The Hardest Goodbye
Losing a pet is never easy. Neither is losing a patient.
Euthanasia is part of my job. It is a difficult part of the job, but it is one that I have to do frequently. In my first year of practice, one of my family members asked me whether I had performed a euthanasia yet. I had been working for about a month or two at that time, and I recall laughing awkwardly before responding that I’d performed at least a dozen since starting. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on their face when I answered.
I work for a small animal general practice that sees urgent and emergent appointments as well as general wellness and vaccine checkups. So, I see a great deal of sick pets. Their illnesses are often expensive or complicated to treat, and sometimes there is no treatment at all. When people bring a pet in to see me they often do not realize quite how sick they are. They may not realize that their pet has been hiding the signs of severe disease for weeks or months. I hate being the one to break the news, but it is my job. It then becomes my job to work out a treatment plan that will not only address the illness but will also fit in the owners’ budget. If there is not an option that checks both of these boxes, then severe illness often leads to humane euthanasia.
I feel grief, empathy, and sometimes anger with…
