The contents of this blog are personal and opinions, but anyone in the industry knows what I am talking about. I am not mentioning this to make anyone feel bad for deciding it is time to let their pet go, but just to allow people a look into the life of a veterinarian. Euthanasia season, this is a real thing in the veterinary field. I believe in euthanasia and I truly believe that death is better than suffering for animals and humans. But at the end of every year and beginning of the new year, there are an increase in the amount of euthanasias being performed. The old dog that has been failing for a long time, that the owners finally decide it is time to let them go. I am still not sure why this happens. Do the animals know it is the end of the year and start to decline faster? Is it something to do with the cycle of the moon? Do pet parents decide it is just too much to watch their declining family member any more? I hear regularly that families do not want to leave their geriatric dog with a pet sitter or at a boarding facility and to put them down is a better option than to have an issue while the family is away. The euthanasias in January are typically the pet parents that just wanted to spend one last holiday with their beloved pet. I am not one to say the reasons are not legitimate, but it does make the holiday season at the vet hospital a little heavy on the hearts of the staff. We feel the pain of the heartache that a pet parent feels when they have just lost their best friend/family member.
This is my stack of sympathy cards to sign for just the past week.
Each one of these cards equates to animal that has passed.
This blog goes along with the mission to help stop suicide within the veterinary profession. I hope to educate, to make the profession seen, so maybe one day suicide is not something I hear about regularly. A study funded by pet food brand Royal Canin showed nearly 70% of veterinarians have had a colleague or peer die by suicide, and close to 60% have experienced work-related stress, anxiety or depression so severe it required professional help. So if you notice your veterinarian or veterinary nurse is not smiling as big as they normally are, treat them with kindness, as they may be struggling to deal with the dog they just diagnosed with cancer or the prior appointment may have been a euthanasia.
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