Animal euthanasia

Hello LG people, I am currently going to be getting my euthanasia certification as I work in an animal shelter and I would like to hear what you guys think about the whole "animals getting euthanized" topic. And if there are any questions I can answer I will do.

i think it's really sad. i don't want any kind of animal to die, while i understand it can definitely be needed. sometimes shelters are too crowded (i work at a cat and a homeless shelter, but we don't tend to euthanize the homeless people) and there really isn't any other option, or they're sick. it isn't the fault of the people who have to euthanize them, it's just sad in general imo. good luck getting it though!!

makaiouji wrote:

i think it's really sad. i don't want any kind of animal to die, while i understand it can definitely be needed. sometimes shelters are too crowded (i work at a cat and a homeless shelter, but we don't tend to euthanize the homeless people) and there really isn't any other option, or they're sick. it isn't the fault of the people who have to euthanize them, it's just sad in general imo. good luck getting it though!!

Yeah for the most part we only will put them down if they are sick but I'm sure you might know if you keep a cat in a small cage for a week without taking them out really they are bound to get sick and it doesn't help with we have these little kids that go around touching ALL the cats and cross contaminating... But yeah it's sad and all but with the amount we really do euthanize there would be a massive over population of cats/dogs/other animals.
Thanks for the reply

I think it's alright if your pet is sick. We had to put my cat down a while back. She wasn't gonna make it anyways, so it was best to not let her suffer. Sometimes people just can't afford to treat their animals if they get sick or injured, I think euthanasia is better than them having to suffer in a shelter.

Well, if the animal is sick and suffering then Euthanasia seems the best way to go. They have feelings like humans, and most humans would opt for a quick and painless death rather than a smaller percentage whuld die slowly. Better it be quick rather than tormentingly long. In cases where there isn't enough space though, it shouldn't be used. Transferring the animal(s) to another shelter with more space seems like a good idea, instead of killing them.
Perhaps you can get visitors to wear disposable gloves when they are going to handle the animals? A couple of pairs of gloves, each group reserved for one animal, would greatly reduce cross-contamination. You could also encourage local action like hosting a school and family to come round and check out the animals, interact with them and take them outside. This would also introduce some families to potential pets that they could adopt instead of buying ones at the pet shop. Even if they don't take the animals home, they get some air outside the cage. Seems like a good idea, but the costs aren't very clear.

MimaTheOnryo wrote:

Well, if the animal is sick and suffering then Euthanasia seems the best way to go. They have feelings like humans, and most humans would opt for a quick and painless death rather than a smaller percentage whuld die slowly. Better it be quick rather than tormentingly long. In cases where there isn't enough space though, it shouldn't be used. Transferring the animal(s) to another shelter with more space seems like a good idea, instead of killing them.
Perhaps you can get visitors to wear disposable gloves when they are going to handle the animals? A couple of pairs of gloves, each group reserved for one animal, would greatly reduce cross-contamination. You could also encourage local action like hosting a school and family to come round and check out the animals, interact with them and take them outside. This would also introduce some families to potential pets that they could adopt instead of buying ones at the pet shop. Even if they don't take the animals home, they get some air outside the cage. Seems like a good idea, but the costs aren't very clear.

Yes we do transfers to New Mexico, they don't have terriers/chihuahuas like we do here in California. We do let public interact with the animals if they are first hold on the animal because the animal isn't legally ours until 1 week after it has been in the shelter. We also have schools come and do a walk through. Yeah that's another thing is the cross contamination little kids just touch all the cats/kittens. And we can't give gloves to the public but we do provide hand washing stations but you know they don't use that.
Sorry for the randomized post I was reading different parts of your post each time and replying xP

Everything breaks my heart.
This is why I wouldn't be able to become a vet.

I suppose euthanizing animals might be alright if there's absolutely nothing else that could be done to help them at all, and they're in pain.
I feel the same way about people, though either way it makes me a little sad.

Vesparia wrote:

Everything breaks my heart.
This is why I wouldn't be able to become a vet.

I suppose euthanizing animals might be alright if there's absolutely nothing else that could be done to help them at all, and they're in pain.
I feel the same way about people, though either way it makes me a little sad.

Vet's actually don't do animal euthanasia (where I work)...
They make the people that clean the kennels/cages (Animal Care Technicians) are the ones that euthanize.
In 2011 my shelter had 17,641 animals euthanized. 5606 of those were dogs, and 12035 were cats.

I understand that, but if I can't help the animals in any way I feel useless and sad anyway.

That makes me sad.

i recently lost a pet, he fell ill and the only option was to put him down or watch him suffer until he passed away anyways.
euthanasia is a wonderful thing for us to have available, though it it never easy to lose a companion it was really easy to make the decision for my pet seeing the state he was in. he could barely lift his head and i don't think he knew where he was.

as well, some people also simply do not have the finances to treat an animal when it becomes sick (and i do think you shouldnt get a pet if youre struggling with money in the first place, but situations change), so its not always possible to provide medical care, in which case euthanasia is probably the best option to prevent suffering.

If an animal is suffering to the point where medicine really can't help then there's really nothing else you can do but put them to sleep. For some people it's the only thing they can do for their animals since most medical treatment is horribly expensive.

I've had to put two dogs down in my life so far. The first was a boxer who'd lived to 13 years. He was a character, but he had tumors in places that prevented him from digesting food. The doctors did what they could, but in the end life was just to painful for him.

My second boxer was barely 5. Someone he'd ended up paralyzed. We hadn't even realized it since he'd been laying down and sleeping.