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Hard Day at Work
Ugh, yesterday was a hard day at work!
Every job has those situations that really test you as a person and yesterday really tested me. Here's the background story:
Wednesday afternoon a client came in with her 6 year old golden retriever saying that she had a lump near her rectum. We at the office think it is probably an abscessed anal gland, nothing to really worry about. The dog comes in, we get ready to check her anal glands and find out that she has about a baseball size tumor within her rectum. These tumors are generally nothing to worry about, we remove them and the dog can continue to live her happy, healthy life. We explain to the client what was needed to be done, we talked with her about the cost of the surgery and about recovery time and the woman was all set to do the surgery on Thursday (yesterday). About an hour before we closed on Wednesday, the woman called and said they were going to cancel her surgery. OK... Not really a big deal but we explained that eventually that tumor does need to be removed.
So yesterday afternoon we get a phone call from the woman's husband, who said that they want to just put the dog down!!!! I was shocked! I could not believe that they would be willing to put their practically healthy 6 year old dog down without even trying! We explained to them that if it were a money issue, we could work with them on a payment plan (they've been coming to the office since the dog was a puppy, we're just as invested!), anything to get them to not make that decision. Nope, the husband just wanted the dog put down! I could not and still can't believe that was their decision.
There are a lot of offices that will not do convenience euthansia, which I completely understand, we however, are not one of them. I've never been more pissed off walking into an exam room than I was yesterday and the part that pissed me off even more was that when I walked in the husband (who came alone) was all smiles. I wanted to do nothing more than to punch him in the nuts (real professional, I know)! I wanted to beg him to not do the euthansia but thats not my place and sometimes you just have to know when to bite your tongue and yesterday I could have bit mine off! It's days like that that truly test me at my job. I felt so awful for putting down a healthy dog, and still do! It breaks my heart to know that a simple surgery could have given her 5 to 6 more years of a happy life...
Re: Hard Day at Work
It really boggles my mind that someone would do that to their family member. I think I would get it if the dog had cancer or something incurable. It really makes you wonder for sure, and I hope these people do not get another pet. I know that if it were me, I'd figure out a way to pay for the surgery. If it wasn't a matter of money, I wonder why they were so quick to put the dog down?
I'm so sorry you have to deal with things like that. It can't be easy and you showed great strength to not kick the guy in the nuts.
This makes me sad. I just don't get people sometimes.
Kudos to you for being so professional. I don't think I could have held it together.
omg! I'm crying I'm so upset about this!!! I would have refused to do it, but that's just me, and I'm sure you probably don't actually have that option. Ugh, it just makes me SICK to think about that.
I'm sorry you had to deal with this at work, this is why I don't work with the public. I work in a cube with other antisocial engineers lol
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I'm sitting at my desk in tears reading this. It was the hardest decision I've ever made to put down our 14 year old golden Lab last year. She had cancer and one morning we woke up and she'd had a stroke. We called a vet to come to the home, and I held her in my arms as they put her down. Watching them carry her away was one of the worst moments I've ever experienced.
For someone to end an animal's life over something as simple as this is maddening and heartbreaking all at once. You're so brave to work in your field. Thanks for the wonderful things you do for animals, and sorry for days you have to deal with inconsiderate a$$holes.
Wow, that's really sad. You must have more willpower than I, because I would have asked him in my most passive-aggressive, sarcastic as hell judgmental voice if he was completely sure that he wanted you to kill his healthy dog because it was cheaper than surgery. And I don't even have/want any pets and this still makes me mad!
That is so sad! I cannot believe that he came in smiling, I would be devastated. When the cat I had had from the time I was 7 until I was 21 was really sick and needed to be put down while I was at school (she got sick really fast and there was no time for me to travel the 4 hours home to say goodbye) my dad had to take her and I will never forget him crying on the other end of the phone telling me they had to put her down
my dad is not a cryer either, but a man who loves his pets.
I am so sorry that you had to witness that
How terrible! You have a tough job and I applaud you for handling it so professionally-that couldn't have been easy. I can't even think about my dog dying, let alone putting him to sleep when she is perfectly healthy. I swear, some people shouldn't be allowed to have pets!
Omg...I would have not been able to control myself....I love animals to death and working in the animal trade too...thats just sickening...:( I couldnt even read this without crying..and sadly it happens alot...we get so many stories at my work of people who know people who have done this..or laugh and think its funny that they did it.....
my dog didnt match my furniture so i told my spouse/partner to get rid of it..haha...*smack*!
do you sell debarkers? can i get my dog debarked?? *smack*!! and sadly I had a customer who did this to all her dogs and smiled about it and was like there nothing wrong with it..I just wanted to snatch her doggy and run away...
You have way more strength then me
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So I purposely skipped this post for a few days because I knew you worked at a vet's office so I figured it was a really sad story. But, honestly this is worse than I imagined. That is horrible, pets are part of a family. How can you just decide one day to kill your dog? This is so sad.