There will forever be this ongoing debate on whether euthanasia of animals is justified or not.
While most animal-lovers agree wholeheartedly that it is not right to enthanise healthy animals or those who have a chance of recovering from their illnesses, but the question begs on those animals who are suffering very badly such as those with terminal illnesses, are in great pain or the accident victims.
I know of a vet who has no qualms about putting down animals, but then again, he says he also wished euthanasia was legal for humans as he had seen his suffering uncle (and wished he could have put his uncle down). He also said if he were suffering, he would wished someone could euthanise him and end his misery. This vet totally believes in alleviating suffering, even if it entails the practice of euthanasia.
We are not here to judge others, and we are certainly in no position to say what is right or wrong. But we definitely disagree on euthanising healthy animals (due to overcrowding in shelters or for whatever reason), sick animals who have a chance to recover, old animals and very young animals.
Our worst cases so far were Kaiser, a little kitten whose legs were broken after being stuck in the engine of a van, and Joanie, who was dying of unobstructed labour. Kaiser was given painkillers to relieve his pain but passed away before his scheduled surgery. Joanie underwent an almost impossible surgery to remove her decomposed uterus and was nursed back to health in three weeks. We have also lost a few animals due to dehydration, worm infection (in very young kittens, rescued too late) and parvo puppies, but none of these were put down. We exhausted all avenues and gave them every possible treatment.
I have heard of at least three animal rescuers in the Klang Valley who have no qualms about getting pregnant animals spayed. Now, that is killing unborn babies. While abortion is legal in some countries and humans have a conscious choice to opt for it, animals don’t. By the same token, euthanasia for humans is also legal in some countries and humans who opt for it do so willingly. Animals are never given this choice.
Almost every religion tells us that it is wrong to kill. Euthanasia is killing; like it or not – it is. But people often justify euthanasia for animals because they say it is more “merciful” to end the suffering than prolong the agonising pain the animal is going through. If that is the case, have you ever wondered why this “merciful way of ending suffering” (ie. enthanasia) is illegal for humans in most countries in the world? Euthanasia for humans is illegal in Malaysia, that, I’m quite sure.
Isn’t this a case of double standards then?
When euthanasia (for animals) is made so readily available, many people, unfortunately, opt for it, sometimes, out of convenience. That is very, very sad. In Thailand, Bali, Sri Lanka and India, euthanasia is not readily available. So, people have no choice but to learn to nurse sick animals back to health, or to let them die naturally.
Would it be possible, I wonder, for vets to say “no” when their clients request for them to euthanise animals out of convenience (moving to an apartment, pet having skin disease, pet being sick, pet is too old, etc.).
I have personally seen a doctor instruct the vet to euthanise his poodle just because the poor dog needed an eye innucleation and the doctor did not want to keep a one-eyed poodle. I offered to take over the poodle, sponsor the surgery and get him rehomed but my offer was turned down.
Having one eye isn’t so bad. Jackie is blind. My own dog, Bobby, is almost blind too (cataracts in both eyes – he is 13 years old). The other day when Mandy came to my house, Bobby was barking at Mandy when she was sitting on the couch. After Mandy moved away, Bobby was still barking at the couch. So we think Bobby is already blind. He gets around by his sense of hearing and smell, which incidentally, is also pretty bad. He can’t even hear my car coming back home anymore. I have to get into the house and nudge him to wake him up. He can’t even smell his food sometimes. I have to lead his snout to his food bowl. It’s old age. We’ll all get there one day, won’t we? And we can only hope that our loved ones would be kind enough to be patient with us then.
Most religions advise us not to kill. Let us live by this guiding principle in our life and in our interactions with all beings, human or animal.
Let’s do everything we can to save lives.
All lives are precious.
All beings fear death.
Put yourself in the place of another,
Do not kill,
And do not cause others to kill.
Comments
2 responses to “The ongoing debate on euthanasia”
This is a very difficult question in deed.
I believe in euthanisation but only as a final resort when all treatments have been exhausted and the animal is suffering without any hope of recovery and has reached the point that it does not want to eat or drink.
I had to put a dog to sleep a few years ago. She had skin cancer on her face which was inoperable. I got three vets' opinions and they all gave the same prognosis. I didn't want to give up hope and fed her the best foods and took the best possible care of her in the last few months while doing research on cancer treatments and trying to make the best of the time with her.
Eventually, she didn't want to eat and when she refused to drink, I had to make the painful decision to put her to sleep. It was horrible and terrible and I cried for two weeks after that but I also knew that when she was not even able to lap water to drink, she was suffering. It was only my refusal to accept the inevitable that was prolonging her suffering. It could have taken her another three or four days to die from the combined dehydration and starvation or I could end it for her now. The decision was difficult but simple. I am sure there are others who won't agree.
People who put their pets to sleep because they're old or because they have lost interest in their animals or because they're moving to a condo are brutal and selfish and devoid of love for their pet.
There is definitely something disturbing about people with that mentality as well as a vet that could perform the deed knowing that there are no sound veterinary grounds to euthanise an animal.
As for animal rescuers who would abort puppies, I know of one who called me to discuss a dog I had rescued. She tried to pressure me to hand the dog over to her. Why she wanted this dog so badly I don't know but I didn't like her tone. She tried to impress me with her credentials as an animal rescuer but when she told me with pride (repeated twice more) about how she'd had the unborn puppies of a pregnant dog aborted, I knew I was dealing with a person devoid of a moral compass. No, I did not hand the dog over to her. I still have it with me.
Euthanasia is not allowed in most countries for humans because of the concern that the relatives of a person would murder them under the guise of a mercy killing when their true motive is financial – to inherit or to be rid of a financial burden – or personal. I would hope that people who make the decision to euthanise their fatally ill pet do it for compassionate reasons because they gain nothing from the death of their beloved companion.
Yes, it IS such a difficult question, and I truly empathise with the decision you had to make for the dog with the skin cancer who had refused to eat and drink. That usually means the animal too has given up.
A spiritual teacher once told me this: Ask the animal. Look into his/her eyes and ask him/her. You will know the answer.
I had a friend who had to make this difficult decision when he rescued a cat with punctured lungs due to an accident. The cat was really suffering. He held the cat throughout the procedure and he cried his heart out. Even writing about it now makes me want to cry. It must have been such a difficult and heart-wrenching thing to do.
I think I know which well-known animal rescuer you are talking about. Yes, she boasts of getting pregnant animals spayed even at an advance stage of pregnancy. One wonders how she could bear to do this, being a woman at that.
There are three of such women animal-rescuers around. Or, are there more?
There is suffering in this world. We can only hope that humans, having the capacity to reason and to feel (and most importantly, to love) would make decisions based on the universal moral values of love and kindness.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.