Thread by @SportGenerosity

WRITTEN BY A VET:
“I have been writing this post in my head for nearly 3 yrs & until today I've never been brave enough to post it. But recently some ppl doing similar work & facing much the same reality have used social media to speak up about a topic that for so long has not

been discussed. Their bravery has given me the courage to finally share my thoughts & experiences about something that I’ve needed to for so long.

Today I euthanized 5 dogs. This is not an uncommon task for a vet to perform & getting into the profession you are well aware of the

fact that this is something you will have to do in your chosen career. However, the dogs I put down today were not sick, they were not injured, they were not old & they were not unhealthy. They were not untamed & they were not aggressive. They were perfect, healthy & normal dogs.

There was no reason for them to lose their lives today other than that they were failed by humans because of the current overpopulation crisis of domestic animals particularly dogs that so few people are prepared to accept and try to understand.

The euthanasia of healthy animals by animal welfare organizations & shelters across the world is something that we need to start talking about but it is not an easy topic for someone who is in this line of work to discuss. One, bc how can you possibly put into words something

that is so deeply personal & difficult to come to terms w/ in your own mind & two, how can you risk the possibility of losing such important funding that keeps welfare organizations& shelters alive by drawing attention to something that the public at large simply know very little

about&so few understand

The dogs that I put down today were so excited to see me. How lucky they were to have someone in their kennel giving them attention&maybe just maybe they'd even be so lucky to be taken out for a walk-their tails were wagging & everyone was jumping for joy

One of them was nervous & scared of me. This was a dog that had likely never had much in the way of attention or love from a human being. I have tried everything possible to make the task easier for myself & for those who assist me. I have tried doing it in their kennels,

I’ve tried doing it on the grass outside so that the dogs can walk for a bit to experience one last bit of freedom & fresh air. I’ve fed them last meals, I’ve done it in the clinic & nothing makes it easier.

The only thing that makes it bearable for me is to sedate them first so that they are sleeping when their lives end and not wagging their tails looking at me – I know this is a luxury that many other people doing this work do not have access to.

Today I chose to put them down in their kennels after I’d sedated them. Letting them leave on a bed&blanket that they have used for comfort for the past few wks or sometimes even months. I take care to make sure that no other dog or animal is a witness but still the others around

them must know. Usually the dogs bark endlessly at any small movement or sound but there is nothing more deafening than the silence of nearly 100 dogs while ending the life of one of their neighbours/friends. They must know& I so often wonder if they are thinking if they are next

or when their time will come.

In their final moments I tell each of them that I am sorry and for those who leave behind friends, puppies or siblings I promise them that I will take care of them & do my very best to find them homes or see that they are cared for properly.

These are trivial words compared to what I should be saying to them but it’s hard to give them the apology they so deserve in the short time it takes for the life to leave their little bodies. What I should be saying to them is that I’m sorry you never got the opportunity to

experience what it’s like to sleep on a couch & I’m sorry that those who did get to sleep on a couch have ended up being unwanted/failed by the humans who took them into their homes in the first place. I’m so sorry that they were born into a world that didn’t have space for them.

I’m sorry that they weren’t pretty enough or the right breed to be one of the chosen ones & I’m sorry that for months or for some nearly a year, countless ppl walked past their cage & decided not to choose them or to leave & rather choose to buy a puppy somewhere else instead.

I have tried my best to cope with it as I know many others do too - by doing what I believe is everything humanly possible to find unwanted dogs & cats homes. I spend hours of my time holding them while they pose for photos, writing posts for Facebook, advertising them & putting

their stories & personalities into words as best I can all in the hopes of someone deciding to choose them. I talk to people and encourage them to #adopt but this does not always work. I have spayed until 10pm at night before because if I can just do one more spay it might help.

Like so many others in this line of work, I have done hrs of work behind the scenes & out of the public eye for no benefit other than hopefully having to euthanize one less healthy animal. I have done my fair share of adopting too having adopted 8 dogs & regularly contemplate

whether I could take on another 1 or 2 despite my home already being near overrun

But it is still not enough &the burden of this crisis/war that we are fighting against over population is not to be borne by only a small group of ppl across the world who are prepared to sacrifice

so much because they are not ignorant to the reality of what is going on around them. It is something that everyone who has ever loved an animal has to accept as their fight too. Which is one of the reasons I am writing this post and have been trying to write it for so long.

Everyone has a way in which they can contribute to this fight & many are simple.

- Volunteer - spend time at a local animal shelter or organization so you have a better understanding of what is happening out there. The animals in shelters love attention & walks even if it is only to make their time there more comfortable until it must come to an end.

- Donate if you can and especially towards sterilisation programs. We must stop these animals at their source – the more puppies and kittens we can prevent, the fewer healthy dogs need to be put down.

- Adopt if you are in a position to get a new pet. There is no reason to go out and buy a dog or cat when there are such perfect ones looking for homes. If everyone who could did choose to adopt, the world would be a much better place for it.

Thank you to those who continue to support me & my work especially through donations towards my sterilization programs. Every donation that helps me do a spay gives me the strength to face another day and I have a lot of hope that we can change the world one spay at a time.

I only wish to create more awareness about the crisis we are facing and I hope that those working in this line of work feel that my words here have done this important topic justice.

I do hope that in my lifetime I could live in a world where no healthy animal is euthanized due to lack of space, lack of homes or lack of resources available. I’m not sure if I will ever get to see that be a reality but I think we all know that I will never give up trying!”

📷 : Photo by Kate Jackson-Moss

The dog featured here was a dog I euthanized last year. I was very fond of him but sadly had to let him go. I still think of him often & wish things were different for him and so many others #AdoptDontShop #volunteer #animalshelter #vet #volunteer