Posted by R on 2/13/2002, 8:24 pm It is a fact that euthanasia is VERY emotionally draining to those who have to perform the task. And it is a fact that those doing euthanasia are often stigmatized, being called cold hearted killers, murderers, heartless, etc. In most cases, nothing could be further from the truth! Unless someone has "walked in our shoes", they cannot begin to know what it is like. I used to go home at night crying and angry, after having to euthanize countless numbers of innocent, healthy animals that irresponsible pet owners brought in. These animals were sentenced to death because there were no homes and the owners didn't care enough to spay or neuter. The hardest part of all for me, was the litters of puppies and kittens. Litters consisting of 6, 8, 10 babies each, being brought in day after day and the shelter only having room for 2, or on a "good" day, maybe 3 or 4 from each litter. I had to choose which lived and which died and I would go home at night and always think about how unfair it was that I had to play "God" and make the decision of life and death. How I wished there was some way to make the owners choose which lived and which died! To this day it sickens me that irresponsible owners can walk into a shelter with a litter and act as though they are doing you a favor. And, just as bad, walk in and surrender a pet they own and not be honest as to why they are giving it up. Most owners don't even bother to tell the shelter the pet's name. I still don't understand how they choose to surrender these animals and then be one of the first to condemn someone that kindly euthanizes those same animals, not because we want to do it, but because those irresponsible owners force us to have to do it.... To those of you that cringe at the thought of euthanasia, trust me, there are often things worse than death for many of these animals. Cruelty, abuse, neglect, sickness, starvation, to name a few. I used to want to keep as many alive as I could. Now my priority is the quality of life for the ones I can help save, not the numbers I can save. There are still times that I have to take a rescued animal in to be euthanized and am asked "How can you do that?" I can do it because of my love for the animals. I know that animal will never again suffer or want for anything. Most Now that I have finished "venting" you can find the article below Barb We DESPERATELY need foster homes! "Don't want anymore." If you think it's enough to drive one to despair, you're not far from the truth. Many people involved in euthanasia report headaches, irregular eating habits, trouble sleeping, work-family conflicts and difficulty enjoying daily activities, according to the Bowling Green survey of 212 shelter workers. A more comprehensive study involving 60 shelters is under way, said Steven Rogelberg, a professor of industrial and organizational psychology at Bowling Green. "It's the first comprehensive effort in the country to look at this," Dozens of states require shelters to ensure the sterilization of
As some of you know, I have personally euthanized (injected) thousands of animals while working as a shelter vet tech/euthanasia tech. I can totally relate to the following newspaper story included below. I am passing this article on in
hopes of helping to educate people in general.
importantly, I can sleep that night knowing that I was with that animal at the very end, holding it, loving it, and quietly talking to it as the tears streamed down my face, while it took its last breath. I know it didn't die alone .... 
Intake Coordinator
Lab Rescue of North Carolina
Helping to save lives, one Lab at a time.
Website: http://labrescuenc.org
Email: LRNC@labrescuenc.org
Animal euthanasia a paradox of killing, kindness
By HUGH MCDIARMID JR.
Knight Ridder Newspapers
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. -- Dana Atnip injects a cat with a lethal dose of
sodium pentobarbital. She opens a cooler later and is horrified to find the
animal still alive. "I have bad dreams. I just had that one again a little while ago," said Atnip, 30. She is one of about a dozen Michigan Humane Society workers whose duties include euthanizing sick, old and unwanted dogs and cats. "If I literally concentrate on what it is I'm actually doing, I just can't do it," said Atnip, who works at the Rochester Hills shelter. But she does. Day after day after day -- 26,788 times last year -- MHS workers watched life drain from dogs, cats and other animals. The work is excruciatingly stressful for many animal-shelter
employees, according to a nationwide survey conducted last year by psychologists at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. The findings are no surprise to those who live with it daily. Jennifer Sherian cooed to Max, a black domestic longhair cat with a penetrating stare, as Jennifer Rowell prepared an injection. Sherian, 30, assistant manager at the shelter, gently restrained the
squirming feline on a steel table covered with a pink towel as Rowell, 24,
applied a black rubber tourniquet to the cat's thigh. "It's all right sweetie, good kitty," purred Sherian. Euthanasia is Greek for "easy death." The pair try to make it so. Seventy seconds later Max was dead. A nearby clipboard contained a one-page history of Max's life. He was a neutered male given up by a family with 8- and 13-year-old children. Scrawled in a box asking the reason the pet was surrendered was a simple notation:
Rogelberg said. "It is a caring/killing paradox. "These people go into this line of work because of the love of animals, but the euthanasia is a tragic reality. These people are often stigmatized by society. It's a real moral stressor." Some workers handle the work for years with few problems. Others leave for lunch their first day on the job and never return. Sandy Gay, director of Michigan's Oakland County Animal Control Division, said it's something she has never gotten used to. "I've been here 33 years, 27 at animal control, and I still cry," she said. Reliable national statistics are not available, but anecdotal evidence suggests that aggressive informational campaigns about the importance of sterilizing animals during the past decade has made an impact. Sterilization fees at MHS clinics cost between $47 and $80, depending on the size of the animal. The cost may be higher for pregnant or obese pets. A nationwide referral service for low-cost sterilizations is available at www.spayusa.org or by calling (800) 248-7729.
adopted pets. Still, an estimated 4 million animals are euthanized each year in the United States. And the people who administer death continue to struggle with their jobs and with a public that often fails to understand. "People know this goes on, but they don't want to have to deal with it personally. If they see it in the paper they will raise hell with us," said a shelter administrator who asked that her name not be used. Rogelberg said that's just the sort of reaction that
makes the job so tough. "The need for the jobs these people do has been created by society, and many of them keep doing it out of a fear that someone who doesn't care about the animals will do it instead," said Rogelberg. "Then, to be stigmatized by society is incredibly unfair and compounds their stress even more." Sean Layow used to be a medic with an ambulance company. His friends and co-workers relished stories about his old job, but no one wants to hear about his work with the Humane Society. "I find it hard to talk to people about it," said Layow, 31. "I fence, I drum, I go for walks. I let it go there." The same workers who administer the lethal injections also do animal assessments -- gauging the temperament and health of animals to determine whether they are too aggressive or sick to adopt. Rowell said she has made peace with her role of
administering death to animals. "At least I'm there to give some comfort in the end," she said.
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