When our beloved pets begin to lose the battle against old age or disease it falls to us as their custodians to put our own needs aside and dispassionately assess their quality of life.
There are fates worse than death. The word euthanasia is derived from the Greek eu thanatos, meaning good death.
One wants to ensure that the procedure will be carried out with the highest degree of respect and the least possible degree of pain and stress.
I have adopted many elderly rescues, and the last year has been a harsh one of loss.
While dreading the inevitable one has to submit to a selfless commitment to ending the suffering.
Procrastination may result in the suffering of a worse decline when a vet isn’t available, and yet there are days when the animal seems to have a new lease on life.
When I take an animal into my home I commit to preventing their suffering avoidable pain, abandonment, hunger, abuse or isolation.
Animals are good at hiding pain, so their state of health isn’t always easy to assess.
It is helpful to set guidelines such as when she doesn’t seem happy to go for a walk previously enjoyed, goes off food, seems disorientated or scared of being alone.
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These can signal that the time is coming to put our own wants away and allow a dignified end.
I can’t stress enough the importance of arranging this traumatic procedure in advance with a vet you know and trust, one who will perform the procedure with care, empathy and skill and allow you to be present if this is your wish.
For the sake of the animal and vet, it falls to you at this moment to exercise the utmost control of your grief until the animal has passed.
Susan Henderson© (Accredited Behaviourist, Animal Behaviour Consultants of South Africa)
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