Please Stay with Them Until the End

Disclaimer: this article is based off of my own opinions and may differ from other veterinary professionals.

There is one thing in my profession makes me cry every time it happens. It isn't the euthanasia on an old or sick dog, and it isn't having to diagnose a young dog with cancer. Those things will definitely upset me, but nothing comes above this one other thing.

The thing that chokes me up every time is when a family comes to put their dog to sleep and drops them off for the procedure. I always try to do whatever I can to make that animal feel comfortable and try to convince them that I am a safe person. I hate to think that the dog's last moments are stress and anxiety because their trusted family members left them with a stranger, or worse yet the vet who gives them vaccines.

I understand the heartbreak that a pet parent feels when they are losing their best friend and family member, but I do feel that we need to put our emotions aside for the comfort of our pets in those last moments. Staying to the end doesn't necessarily mean needing to stay until they have taken their last breaths. All the veterinarians that I know have a standard of care for euthanasia, which includes heavily sedating them prior to their final injection. Once the animal is under heavy sedation, they likely do not know what their surroundings are.

I know this may be controversial or seem like I have lack of emotion for the humans losing their family member, but when you see what happens when a dog's family steps out of the room, it would break your heart as well. I'm not sure that the people who choose to drop their pets off for euthanasia understand what it looks and I beg them to reconsider leaving the room in the future for their animal's euthanasia.