This is a tough topic to discuss but an important one, especially for those outside of the veterinary profession. A convenience euthanasia is generally thought of as a euthanasia that is not done to alleviate suffering, but rather because an owner decides they cannot care for an animal anymore.
When I was a technician I got into a heated argument with a vet because she euthanized a cat because it was peeing outside of the box. I promised I would never do something like that and would always find an alternative.
Shortly after becoming a veterinarian I had an elderly woman and her son bring their dog in for a check up. The dog was also elderly and had diabetes, but otherwise ok. The son told me I needed to euthanize the dog because the mom could not properly care for it and he was too busy caring for her. We talked about re-homing the dog and he told me he had tried but nobody wanted an elderly diabetic pet, he had tried. I called a few rescues, none could take the dog. I put my foot down and said I would not euthanize a dog that was basically healthy, they just needed to continue caring for the dog.
A few days later a neighbor of the woman brought the dog in as an emergency. The son had tried to kill the dog by overdosing it with insulin and when that didn’t work, he had attempted to beat the dog to death. The dog was badly beaten and had multiple skull fractures, a broken leg, and numerous bruises. I had to euthanize. I did a necropsy and found that the spleen had ruptured, likely due to blunt trauma.
I will never forgive myself for not euthanizing that dog when the owner asked. I stood on a high horse and refused to look at it from his point of view and because I was stubborn, that dog suffered a horrible death. This isn’t an uncommon story either. Many of my veterinary colleagues have similar stories about refusing a “convenience” euthanasia, and finding out later that that animal was drowned, suffocated, strangled, beaten, or overdosed on medications, or left outside in the wild.
I had a cat patient once that was urinating outside of the box, constantly. The owner was trying to sell her house and couldn’t because it smelled of cat urine. She had ripped out carpets, wood flooring, torn down walls, etc. We tried multiple things including new boxes, pheromone plug ins, medications, and more. No one wanted to take a cat that urinated outside of the box. The shelters were completely full. What could we do? My technicians mutinied, they refused to assist with the euthanasia. When I asked if any of them would take the cat they said no. They already owned too many animals. Their significant other was allergic. They couldn’t have pets. Multiple valid reasons. Would anyone donate money so we could care for the cat? Nobody had any extra money. This owner wasn’t a bad person, she had done all she could. We forget that owning a pet should be enjoyable, not a misery. No one should be stuck caring for a pet that makes them miserable because then the pet suffers too.
Before casting stones, ask yourself what you can do to help. Can you adopt an unwanted pet? Can you give money to support the pet? If not then you are armchair quarterbacking and not helping anyone. I still make attempts to find pets new homes and give owners resources, but I don’t push back anymore if they truly decide to euthanize a pet. I let that dog down and I can’t do it again.
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