What would you do if your kid came home from day-care or school with lice? Among the various options available to you at that point, probably “mercy-killing” would not rate very high would it? How about a really bad, contagious stomach flu? Take them to the doctor and pull them from school for a week or so until it subsides or would you use mercy-killing as a first line of treatment here also?
I’m being flippant here for a reason. Too often, I mean WAY too often, when it comes to our animal companions, euthanasia is the treatment of choice. Well, there’s absolutely no doubt that an overdose of Pentobarbital will eradicate even the most stubborn case of mange (which is caused by mites) or eliminate Parvo (essentially a stomach flu) symptoms but, speaking strictly as a dog, that’s not what I’d choose for myself were I asked.
For the record, I have to say that, given that pets can’t rationalize intense pain or suffering to the extent humans do or see it as a sometimes transient thing with a light at the end of the tunnel and better days ahead, mercy killing can sometimes be the most humane option. The key word here is sometimes. Primarily, GARD pulls from several Georgia county Animal Controls’ “death row” and you always find a good number of dogs who wound up there due to having mange or some other skin condition. If a dog poops funny just once, it’s deemed to have Parvo and, of course, we all know that the landfill is the only known cure for that right? The basic problem here is that people (even many vets) equate mange with leprosy and Parvo with the plague, that is, incurable, contagious, deadly diseases. Sure, they’re no picnic but aren’t you glad y’all didn’t take that approach with Polio or Tuberculosis years ago?
There are several varieties of mange, all of them caused by various mites. These mites are everywhere. You probably have some on you right now. Seriously! Dad’s got a little half-growed girl that sleeps on his cheek. She came in here ‘cause she was going to be euthanized because of mange. She’s the sweetest little thing, thinks I’m her Mama. We’re treating her for mange and, in the meanwhile, dad still finds the need to shave regularly, if you get my meaning. I just hate to think that this adorable little puppy was going to die at the hands of a vet (and vets are usually the first ones to play the paranoia card) because she had mites. For the sake of accuracy here, there are some rare, very rare, instances where a dog’s immune system is so compromised that some of your nastier varieties of mange will hang on forever or keep recurring. This can cause such quality-of-life issues that euthanasia can sometimes be the kinder option but, like I say, this is very rare. On the other hand, most can be cured forever (without the Pentobarb cure-all) with readily-available and relatively inexpensive treatments and go on to lead healthy, happy lives. We see it all the time. You can get any of these treatments from your vet or order most of them online cheaper. If we can get this little girl from off my dad’s cheek for long enough, she’ll get a good home and make someone an adorable companion, enriching their life for years to come. This, to me, seems much preferable to the landfill.
Now Parvo’s a little trickier because it’s so virulent and great care must be taken to keep from spreading it but, in reality, it’s nothing more than a really bad stomach virus. The reason it kills so many puppies is because it attacks immature, rapidly growing cells but it is treatable. Most dogs that die from Parvo die from dehydration and many a puppy has been saved by nothing more than subcutaneous fluids (or even Gatorade by mouth), Pepto Bismol and antibiotics to fight off the secondary, opportunistic diseases like pneumonia. Our Lil was one of the worst Parvo cases ever, technically way beyond saving, but you’d look at her now and never know it, she’s healthy as a horse and my second-in-command. She’s such a little sweetheart, our family wouldn’t be the same without her and I’m so glad my folks cared enough about her to not just write her off and bury her.
When and if your pet develops a medical condition, before you condemn your friend to death, ask questions. Get a second opinion, or a third. Vets are not all the same and some are actually more prone to try to save the dog rather than kill it. I don’t mean to be excessively hard on vets here, we have a good working relationship with several (ones that are all for keeping the dog alive) but most vets tend to look at the world from the perspective of their sanitized stainless steel and ceramic examination room rather than the real world in which we all live. All too often we find a person or entire family devastated after having their beloved pet put down at the vet’s suggestion (or sometimes insistence) only to learn later that it could have been saved and had been killed needlessly. This experience usually comes with a ten-fold revisitation of the devastation. Be aware that there is a huge prejudice against rescue dogs within the veterinary community and, due to this, many are too quick to reach for the needle with the cure-all. We’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of dogs rehabilitated to go on to to be cherished as a valued member of the family and just don’t believe that all this killing can be in anyone’s best interest.
Be sure to watch for my next couple of posts where I will further alienate certain members of the Veterinary community. My next post is entitled “Don’t let the vet murder your new puppy!” and is a must-read for anyone who has, or is getting a very young puppy. It could well save your puppy’s life.
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