The decision on if, or when, you should euthanize your pet is one of the hardest decisions a pet owner has to make. But sometimes we make that decision too soon, such as convenience euthanasia. Sometimes we are too late, letting our pet suffer from an incurable disease or trauma.
The last two dogs I had to euthanize were difficult decisions. Chipper, my cocker who passed on last November,
and Cassie, my springer who died in 2015, both had a very serious illness and were suffering. It was humane to euthanize them. My vet agreed.
But what about convenience euthanasia
Convenience euthanasia is the term used when the pet owner requests euthanasia for his healthy animal. Sometimes the pet is a young dog that is too aggressive especially if there is a new baby in the house, or the owner is moving, or can’t care for the dog –these animals should go to a shelter where they may find a new home, but sometimes the owner tells the veterinarian to “put the dog down.”
But is it convenience euthanasia when a senior dog starts peeing in the house a lot, or has a prolonged bought of diarrhea, or is ill and costing too much money? Or is it getting rid of a “problem” dog that is not likely to get any better?
I hate to admit this but I did this once. My mother did it multiple times. I actually write about my situation in detail in my memoir, which I plan to have completed by the end of this year, with the title, My Broken Dog.
- Acha was a cocker spaniel that a neighbor pushed upon me when she moved in with her daughter. I owned him for several years, and when he was about 12, he started peeing in the kitchen almost every day when my husband and I were away at work. The vet prescribed a special dog food for his kidneys. His accidents happened more often. My husband and I fought a lot about Acha. He never wanted Acha in the first place. To maintain peace in the house, and also encouraged by my mother, I had him put down. I remember my vet asking me if I was sure I wanted to do this. Other than his frequent accidents, he was a healthy dog. I felt guilty for a long time—especially since Cassie seemed to know what I did.
My mom with Pepper (left) and Spot (right) - My mother put down numerous dogs often because they developed some health problem when they were around the age of 12. She used to say, “He’s an old dog and not going to get any better.”
- Pepper stands out in my mind as a convenience euthanasia. He was a 12-year-old cocker spaniel who developed a severe case of diarrhea at the same time when Mom was suffering from an extended bought of sciatica. She said she couldn’t go up and down the stairs to let him outside all the time, and he had too many accidents. She put him down. I couldn’t believe it. She didn’t seem to feel guilty. She had two younger dogs and soon bought a third to replace Pepper.
How do veterinarians feel about convenience euthanasia?
Pets are legally the owner’s property so there isn’t a lot a veterinarian can do when the owner demands euthanasia. They could refuse and suggest a shelter. This is happening a lot more today than it did a few decades ago.
Moral stress affects many veterinarians due to many aspects of their positions, one of which is having to euthanize pets, especially healthy ones, or one’s that develop an illness that the client can’t afford (or won’t) treat, like many of my mom’s dogs.
Depression affects many veterinarians.
One in six has considered suicide.
Most people go into the veterinary field because they like animals and want to help them. I know that’s why two of my nieces did, one as a vet tech and horse nurse, the other is just entering a vet tech program.
Should we encourage people to become veterinarians or vet techs? The statistics suggest we shouldn’t, based on a questionnaire sent to 10,000 veterinarians from a collaborative study that was published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in 2014. Here are the most alarming statistics:
- 8% of males 10.9% of females in the profession have serious psychological distress compared with 3.5% and 4.4% of U.S male and female adults.
- 5% of males and 36.7% of females in veterinary medicine have experienced depressive episodes since veterinary school, which is about 1.5X above the prevalence in U.S. adults throughout their lifetime.
- 4% of males and 19.1% of females who are veterinarians have considered suicide since graduation. This is 3 X the U.S. national mean.
Notice that women are at a higher risk than men, but women are dominating the veterinary field. Women represented 79.6% of those enrolled as veterinary students during the 2014-15 academic year.
Another survey from 2014, involved 500 veterinarians in Australia. They found the risk of suicide was 4X higher for veterinarians working in low income communities than those in high-income area—likely because they couldn’t afford their pet’s treatment.
Although there are other potential causes for depression for veterinarians such as feeling isolated in the decision making process (especially for single-vet practices), stress, money concerns, plus running a business, and more, too many veterinarians have few personal interests totally unrelated to work or helping pets.
My veterinarian is a one-vet practice. So she works six days a week. When she had knee surgery she had to try to reschedule appointments after only a few days of recuperation. I’ve known her for fifteen years. Once I asked a vet tech if she ever takes a vacation. She told me only the occasional long weekend, that was it. Her office is still open, but only for things that the techs can handle. My vet loves her work. After researching this issue, I’m surprised she hasn’t burned out.
Be nice to your vet
- Don’t be a difficult client
- Buy pet health insurance so you can afford treatments.
- If you are not sure of what she is recommending, ask her to recommend someone for a second opinion—she may even be relieved.
- If your vet did a good job, then praise her on social media.
- Personally thank your vet—they need it.
For more information read:
https://www.care2.com/causes/why-is-the-suicide-rate-for-veterinarians-so-high.html
https://www.vmdtoday.com/journals/vmd/2017/october2017/modernday-plague-understanding-the-scope-of-veterinary-suicide
http://articles.latimes.com/1989-04-26/news/vw-1731_1_jerrold-tannenbaum-veterinarian-ethical
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-euthanize-pets-dogs-cats-animals-0615-20180613-story.html
Wow this is alarming. I honestly have never heard of “convenience” euthanasia. This is very upsetting and offends me. I mean if a baby wets itself or an adult for that matter , no one sends them to be euthanized. Why don’t people think this way when it comes to animals. I don’t think folks realize that a pet is a lifetime commitment, for better or worse. A pet is not a handbag you can disgard when done. They are living breathing beings. I also didn’t know about the high level of stress and incidents of suicide in many veterinarian practices. I’m sure the job is very rewarding but like you said it has it’s downfall too.
I can’t even imagine performing some of the tasks carried out by vets. Our vet is amazing and is sad that he has to jab our little Reese once a year. Such a kind and gentle soul – I guess that’s what makes some of them so compassionate.
Aaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhh – don’t even get me started on convenience euthanasia! I would hope most vets would not perform this and know of at least one practice that intervened and rehomed a beautiful, sweet, young dog who’s owner’s were separating and could not agree on who would have her. So, they were going to have her euthanized!!!
Those statistics are scary. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have to put down animals that could be saved.
This is a very difficult topic because I had to put down my two elderly dogs due to sever cancer and illness their quality of life was very bad and I had no choice. I have always have thought I did wrong. My faith doesn’t allow this. My husband has always told me was the best because they were suffering but I would not be able to do a convenience euthanasia. One of my cats peed everyday for three years in the furniture we lost all our furniture. She had a behavioral issue. Now she is fine but not even that time I would have had the courage to put her down due to the peeing issue and how costly it was. I do not criticize nor judge you I respect you decision but I just could not have been able to do a convenience euthanasia for a pet that still is healthy. I think vets have it tough, and they do feel. My vet is very compassionate.
Taking a life must be hard on everybody unless it is an act of compassion.
This is heartbreaking on so many levels. I wanted to be a vet but got “weeded out” by organic chemistry in college. At this stage of my life, I am grateful because I still get to work with animals as a behavior consultant, but it’s on my terms. Convenience euthanasia would be so stressful – it’s very difficult when the vet disagrees with the client. It’s not hard to imagine why depression is so common. I agree – we all need to be much nicer and more grateful to the veterinarians out there helping us, supporting us, and helping to keep our critters healthy.
Thank you for this thoughtful article. Euthanasia’s are hard on vets, as well as the other veterinary staff. Many the time I have gone in back and wept over the loss of a beloved client’s pet. I would argue, though, that quality of life considerations have to apply for a family and not just the pet. If a “healthy” pet is consistently acting in ways that cause the family stress, then it may be the right decision for that family. Such as a case where a cat is always urinating on a child’s bed…once medical issues and eliminated and meds haven’t worked, sometimes the stress the behavior is creating can really hurt the whole family. This is a tough topic to talk about, and you did it well!
I have read about the suicides and it is so sad, I think they are amazing people and have to put up with so much. I so respect them in so many ways. My vet calls me the Jewish Mother and we always joke about me and how I worry about Layla. He was the one that was with me when we had to put Baby down and he was just fantastic. I cannot to this day thank him enough for helping me through the ordeal.
When our beloved 18-year old Miss P reached the end of her life, our vet came to our house. He cried with us. I can’t imagine how they do this but I’m grateful for their compassion and willingness th help our beloved fur kids cross the Rainbow Bridge as easily as possible.
Really interesting read. My husband and I spent 4 months in Spain last year, and we had the chance to take Red to a holistic vet. He was an incredible man who we saw twice a week for about 3 months for her acupuncture. He was such a kind soul, and felt so sad at the way animals were treated there. He told me of many cases where a person would come in and want him to kill a healthy animal or an animal for no good reason. I know many vets would do it anyway, but he refused in every case. He told me he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he had agreed, and always told them to go elsewhere.