Dog to be euthanized UPDATE: Euthanasia went BAD (pg 3)

[heatherindeskies]

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Thanks, I did need to hear this. I'm sure it is hard to find a vein on a struggling dog. I'm lucky to have found a vet place that is reasonable and doesn't require exams and tons of shots b4 a cat gets spayed, etc. They do as the owner requests. They are cool with basic care.

 

[EweSheep]

I was studying pre vet classes and classmates and I had experienced it a time or two when we could not find a vein...it would frustrate us but our teacher was calm about it and encouraging us to keep going, maintaining composure while we were putting animals down (large livestock, not pets).

 

[Cetawin]

Oh Heather I am so so sorry what a STUPID vet. You do not give a large animal or dog that size "the Shot" without sedation first, there is no struggling, easier to take time to find a good vein and there is no pain. Good thing that was not a horse the vet would have been killed or kicked senseless. Idiot. Thank God I was not there with you because your Vet would have been turning red from the blistering he/she would have gotten. *sigh* I am saddened that the experience was so much harder than should have been for both her and yourself but she is at peace. Heather

big squeeze.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

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I am so, so sorry. That must have been hard.

 

[heatherindeskies]

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If I hadn't been such a mess the entire time i would have asked about that no sedative thing. didn't sound right to me but i figured they must do the one shot thing all the time and knew what they were doing. It must go well for them most of the time or sedatives would be the norm for them.
I think the basic bullet in the brain would have been easier.

 

[JustPeachy]

As a licensed Veterinary technician with 10+ years experience, most of which is in emergency & critical care medicine, I would have to disagree with the comments regarding your vet being stupid. Sedation can be warranted in some cases, but if your pets blood pressure was already low giving a sedative could drop it even further making it even more difficult to find the vein. What I have found to be the best way to humanely euthanize is to place an IV catheter first, that way if the pet struggles you don't have to look for the vein again after giving part of the dose of the solution, which is also going to drop the blood pressure severely making it very difficult to find a vein again. I am so sorry the OP had a bad experience, it is very difficult for me when a pet struggles during those last moments and it's not even my pet, I can imagine the grief you are feeling. Oh, and just so you know it is VERY common for owners of old/debilitated pets to become agitated with them, you shouldn't beat yourself up about it, you obviously were a great owner if your pet lived so long that you needed to put her to rest to end her suffering. I only wish we could be so kind to our own species in times of great suffering.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Not all vets give the sedative. I demanded it with Pogo as I knew he would bite someone. With Thunder, he wasn't himself...I don't think he even knew where he was when we took him to the vet. He did not receive a sedative. He was too weak for it and I'm sure the vet would not have been able to find a vein after the sedative.

I am sorry you had to go through that. The difference between your experience and a shelter experience, is that the dog's there do not have an owner that they know and trust to make the right decisions. Your dog trusted you and loved you. She is playing without a care in the world and will wait for you.

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

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But you know what? It has occurred to me that into every life comes an awful lot of suffering once or twice. I have been a nurse for 18 years, and I am with suffering an awful lot, so maybe I'm jaded about it, but honestly, if she struggled an hour before leaving, I think you have done a great job of providing everything she needed for a great life up until that moment. When, how and how long our suffering is a mystery until it happens, but in my experience none of us get to leave without an awful lot of suffering once or twice in a lifetime.

I think you did a great job. It was a hard job to do, and you stuck with her until it was done, just as you always promised you would. You never did let her down.

 

[Cetawin]

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I expected this and I can tell you from seeing first hand a vet get his neck broken by being kicked by a horse when the "needle slipped"....somehow I imagine if he were alive to tell the story, he would have opted for sedation first ya think? I would think the risk would make them smarter. Sedating gives the vet and tech time to find a vein, it is painless for the animal and it is no fuss no muss, one shot that saves all parties from harm ...regardless of blood pressure.

Heather don't you worry about it....she is resting and her suffering is over and that is what is important.

 

[FireTigeris]

I had an experience just like this with a cat, I demand sedation now- even at additional expense.

My vet was mortified that it happened, she was more then 'a day late' (rather a week early then one day late) - he apologized profusely, it was his second 'bad' PTS in 40 years.