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by dogshome9 on 23 June 2010 - 03:06
I arrived at work yesterday just in time to hold a beautiful sleek black Greyhound as he was to be PTS. Of course I asked the question WHY and the answer was " He can't win ". How sad was that ???
I was the one to hug him close and stroke his lovely long neck and whisper the soft words all dogs need to hear as he slowly went to sleep and slipped over the bridge to run free on those long slender legs.
He was only young. He should have been put through rescue, he would have made such a lovely pet but he belonged to a syndicate and non of them cared about that. He was just another dog that could not earn his keep.
I was the one to hug him close and stroke his lovely long neck and whisper the soft words all dogs need to hear as he slowly went to sleep and slipped over the bridge to run free on those long slender legs.
He was only young. He should have been put through rescue, he would have made such a lovely pet but he belonged to a syndicate and non of them cared about that. He was just another dog that could not earn his keep.
by hexe on 23 June 2010 - 04:06
You have my empathy; I believe that the day such a thing stops tearing me up inside is the day I know my soul has died.
Although it doesn't ease the sadness of these events while we're still here, try to find some degree of comfort in the knowledge that you DO give these dogs a loving, gentle escort as they make their crossing, and therefore you will be greeted equally lovingly by them, along with your own pets who are waiting for you, when it is time for you to join them. Meanwhile, there is a special place in hell for all those who would treat an animal as merely a commodity to be discarded when they're no longer profitable.
by Doberdoodle on 23 June 2010 - 04:06
Maybe you work for the wrong vet, because they have the right to deny at-will euthanasia. If I were a vet I would not be euthanizing dogs "just because", I would have had them sign the dog over and adopted it out
by dogshome9 on 23 June 2010 - 04:06
Hexe thanks for that. I just needed to vent.
It is hard enough to hold the ones that can't be helped but when they are young and healthy it burns me up.
I sold a GSD puppy last year to a lady that has 2 greyhound resues and they are truely lovely dogs and so easy to deal with.
It is hard enough to hold the ones that can't be helped but when they are young and healthy it burns me up.
I sold a GSD puppy last year to a lady that has 2 greyhound resues and they are truely lovely dogs and so easy to deal with.
by JulieM on 23 June 2010 - 05:06
I am sorry I was a vet tech nearly 17 years. I would never walk in and work at a place where this was acceptable practice. Then come and ask for sympathy for the hard job I had to do..... poor you. I could not willingly participate in any practice or for any vet who supported this form of disposal. Somebody has to do it?? Okay that could be an argument but who? You are just as much the pusher of the euthanasia as the one holding the syringe.
by hexe on 23 June 2010 - 05:06
Doberdoodle and JulieM, to be blunt: Screw you.
You have no right to slam this tech, or the veterinarian who is at least seeing to it that the animal isn't shot, bludgeoned, poisoned or abandoned because these owners don't care HOW they get rid of the animal, they just want to be rid of it. Period. There are places in the US where vets can get away with refusing to do such euthanasias and not have to fear that the dog will be destroyed in a non-humane fashion; the areas surrounding the dog tracks aren't those places. What's next--are you going to deride people who work in the animal shelters that have to euthanize as well, as if these people ENJOY having to do that?
If you want to crusade, take up the fight with the racing Greyhound breeders who produce litter after litter of disposable dogs in their pursuit of just one 'winner'. Convince your states to put an end to greyhound racing--good luck, though, since those tracks provide revenue to the state governments, and they're hardly likely to turn their back on income, especially these days. While you're at it, why not take up against the Thoroughbred race horse breeders who are doing the same thing, since their discards are just as frequent--the only difference being that there's a market for their castoffs as human food, even with the banning of horse slaughter for human consumption in this country.
You have no right to slam this tech, or the veterinarian who is at least seeing to it that the animal isn't shot, bludgeoned, poisoned or abandoned because these owners don't care HOW they get rid of the animal, they just want to be rid of it. Period. There are places in the US where vets can get away with refusing to do such euthanasias and not have to fear that the dog will be destroyed in a non-humane fashion; the areas surrounding the dog tracks aren't those places. What's next--are you going to deride people who work in the animal shelters that have to euthanize as well, as if these people ENJOY having to do that?
If you want to crusade, take up the fight with the racing Greyhound breeders who produce litter after litter of disposable dogs in their pursuit of just one 'winner'. Convince your states to put an end to greyhound racing--good luck, though, since those tracks provide revenue to the state governments, and they're hardly likely to turn their back on income, especially these days. While you're at it, why not take up against the Thoroughbred race horse breeders who are doing the same thing, since their discards are just as frequent--the only difference being that there's a market for their castoffs as human food, even with the banning of horse slaughter for human consumption in this country.
by dogshome9 on 23 June 2010 - 05:06
I have done this job for almost 20 years and only 18 months at this clinic and this is first time in many years that I have been asked to assist with something like this. The last time I was asked to assist with the euthanasia of a young animal he ended up living with me for 13 years and there was another that I had for 10 years. Believe me if I could have brought this dog home then he would be here right now curled up in front of the fire.
The vet I work with just rescued a Bernese Mountain dog that was to be PTS so in reality I don't work for people that don't care about these sad cases. I do not know of any vet or vet nurse that does not have atleast 1 animal they have saved from being PTS.
Sometimes we simply have to do the job asked of us.
Yes the usual thing to do is to ask them to surrender the animal to the clinic and if we fail to rehome it then we will surrender to a no kill rescue, unfortunately Greyhounds are what they are and depending on how they were trained to chase the lure would also depend on how they can be rehomed.
Had we refused then this dog would have been disposed of by some other means. I know that is fact because I previously lived in a town with a greyhound track and have heard the stories of what happens to the dogs that do not attack the lure.
From what I have heard this dog was brought to the clinic by it's trainer and the owners required proof of him being PTS.
The clinic I work for rarely even sees Greyhounds except for a few rescues within our area.
AND I WAS NOT ASKING FOR SYMPATHY I WAS JUST VENTING, ANGRY THAT IT STILL HAPPENS.
Any Nurse, Vet tech out there trying to tell me that they have NEVER been in that position is not being honest !!!!
The vet I work with just rescued a Bernese Mountain dog that was to be PTS so in reality I don't work for people that don't care about these sad cases. I do not know of any vet or vet nurse that does not have atleast 1 animal they have saved from being PTS.
Sometimes we simply have to do the job asked of us.
Yes the usual thing to do is to ask them to surrender the animal to the clinic and if we fail to rehome it then we will surrender to a no kill rescue, unfortunately Greyhounds are what they are and depending on how they were trained to chase the lure would also depend on how they can be rehomed.
Had we refused then this dog would have been disposed of by some other means. I know that is fact because I previously lived in a town with a greyhound track and have heard the stories of what happens to the dogs that do not attack the lure.
From what I have heard this dog was brought to the clinic by it's trainer and the owners required proof of him being PTS.
The clinic I work for rarely even sees Greyhounds except for a few rescues within our area.
AND I WAS NOT ASKING FOR SYMPATHY I WAS JUST VENTING, ANGRY THAT IT STILL HAPPENS.
Any Nurse, Vet tech out there trying to tell me that they have NEVER been in that position is not being honest !!!!
by Doberdoodle on 23 June 2010 - 06:06
Hexe you have confused blutness with rudeness. My post was not "slamming" anyone. I personally believe it is unethical. The vets I know refuse to do at-will euthanasias! Just like they won't do other procedures they don't agree with, like declawing or debarking. These vets are fully aware that the customer can go down the street to another vet and have it done. But that does not change their own integrity. I don't care for the excuse of lesser of evils. I would tell them go somewhere else, I'm not going to kill your healthy dog. What kind of sick owner would deny the dog a home, I would have contacted them and offered to take the dog and neuter and re-home, or call up the Greyhound rescue to take the dog into foster.
The retired Greyhounds are quite popular, they hold adoption events frequently here, and I have trained a few. In fact, many of the race courses have declined in popularity and closed; recently a large track, Dairland, in Wisconsin closed and some 900 dogs were retired and adopted out.
If an animal is sick, suffering, or mauled someone, euthanasia is understandable, but nobody has the right to murder (kill, murder, euthanize, whatever word you choose) a perfectly healthy young dog just on a whim. I'm blaming the owners here more than anyone.
PS- there have been vets who have taken dogs/cats in for euthanasia and told the owners ok (these type of people rarely stay for the procedure), then saved them. Not sure if that's right, but they did what they felt was ethically right.
The retired Greyhounds are quite popular, they hold adoption events frequently here, and I have trained a few. In fact, many of the race courses have declined in popularity and closed; recently a large track, Dairland, in Wisconsin closed and some 900 dogs were retired and adopted out.
If an animal is sick, suffering, or mauled someone, euthanasia is understandable, but nobody has the right to murder (kill, murder, euthanize, whatever word you choose) a perfectly healthy young dog just on a whim. I'm blaming the owners here more than anyone.
PS- there have been vets who have taken dogs/cats in for euthanasia and told the owners ok (these type of people rarely stay for the procedure), then saved them. Not sure if that's right, but they did what they felt was ethically right.
by JulieM on 23 June 2010 - 06:06
Exactly. I have worked for many vets who would simply refuse to euthanize a healthy animal. Its a matter of ethics......and in doing so is only supporting it further. I would never have held off a vein for a dog that was perfectly healthy and home-able as the OP clearly stated in the initial post. And I have worked for countless vets who would not have euthanized this dog under those circumstances either. No better than the one bringing the dog in as far as I am concerned.
by Nans gsd on 23 June 2010 - 14:06
Boy I had to cry over that one; but I have to say; to all of you who do vet tech work: THANK YOU... there are times when we all need your assistance and this is not easy work. Thank you all. Nan
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