Deep thoughts (unfortunately)

There’s a blog written by someone who works in animal rescue, and while I used to enjoy reading it, I had to stop a couple of years ago because it just became too much.  The woman who wrote it was always inflammatory and angry.  She would never listen to anyone else’s experiences or opinions.  She was sure she was right about everything, and she make statements like, “Landlords should be forced to allow renters to have pets!”, and then she’d tear your throat out if you disagreed with her.  Not only did she hurt my feelings more than once, I started to figure she was mentally ill, and it wasn’t doing me any good to stay and be abused by her.  I removed her from my blogroll and haven’t been back in two years.  One of her favourite subjects to lecture about was her claim that euthanasia technicians are the people who carry a lot of blame for the animal deaths in this country.  If those people would just refuse to do their jobs, then the country would get together and figure out a new solution to the overpopulation problem (her solution would include banning all breeding).  She never, ever look at the tech as “good guys”—she figured they were all animal haters.

I know there must be a handful of techs who chose their line of work to get their jollies.  They are few and far between, however, and obviously in short supply because if you look at the “jobs available” list on the HSUS website, there are euthanasia tech jobs available all over the country.  I’ve read that on average, a tech works for two years and then can’t take it anymore.  I’ve also read that many of the people who take the job are animal lovers, who want to ensure the animals a comfortable and safe passing. 

All the above came to mind today when I stumbled across this article from the Alabama Press Register.  It’s about euthanasia, why it’s needed, and how the people responsible for doing it deal with the emotional side of things.  It’s really sad, but I think it’s good to be reminded that these good people are out there every day, facing a job neither you nor I could probably do.  And I don’t think the pet overpopulation problem would disappear if they walked off the job, either.  I’d last one day on the job, and I’d forever be able to tell you the name and description of every single animal I helped depart.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 11/21 at 05:42 AM

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  1. I don’t know how anyone can do it more than once.  It has to be the most depressing job in existence.  I don’t think there’s enough money to pay me to euthanize animals, especially when there’s nothing wrong with them and they’re friendly.  I’m sure that I would end up using lots and lots of drugs, just trying to cope.  The people who do it, who aren’t sickos, deserve to be paid huge sums of money and to get the very best mental health help available.

    I don’t know, maybe it should be like jury duty, and we all should be required to do it once...to share the pain, and to teach the ignorant among us how important spaying & neutering is.

    Posted by Flippy  on  11/21  at  08:38 AM

  2. I’ve wondered before what that job must be like. I cry when I imagine ONE adoptable animal being euthanized and what it must be like for them. To actually experience it, on a regular basis? I’m certainly not capable of such a thing.

    PS You and I “met” through that angry rescue person’s blog!

    Posted by jg  on  11/21  at  11:15 AM

  3. I assisted in the euthanasia of two cats when I volunteered in San Francisco.  One cat was very old and had cancer… the other had been horribly abused and was full of infection and broken bones that the vet on call felt it was kindest to put it to sleep.  I held both cats, I guess to provide comfort, but they were both pretty far gone and not too aware.  I can still picture everything about those two incidents, however.  The nice thing for me is that I felt like I was doing something good, not something bad.  If I was forced to euthanize healthy, happy animals, I’d end up adopting the first half dozen and then quitting.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  11/21  at  02:12 PM

  4. JG, I don’t miss the “angry” persons blog at all.  I checked back there once to see if there were any good conversations, and it was just the same old anger.  Maybe some of it is justified, but I can’t listen to constant, humorless, anger.

    On other note, I like Flippy’s idea that we do euthanasia as jury duty.  Or, another idea would be that you make people watch euthanasias if their unneutered pet escapes and is picked up by animal control.  A day of watching euthanasias might be enough to impress on them the importance of fixing their pets.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  11/24  at  03:38 AM

  5. I could not do that job, they couldn’t pay me enough, either. Would be so sad and so horrible.

    Posted by Cynthia Blue  on  11/24  at  04:31 PM
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