[On Mondays (Luna's Day) we share reflections about animals and their meaning in our lives. Thanks to my friend Joan, who here shares some of her experiences from the days she worked in a veterinary office - LPC]

The first thing I did on my very first day of work was help put a beagle named Happy to sleep.  I learned to hold the leg as the vet injected the euthanasia. I learned to hug the wriggling dog. I learned to cry for a stranger.

Happy was happy as he died.  He was wagging his tail and he even licked my face as I drew near to him in my task.  I held him until he passed.  It didn’t take long to kill him. Though I knew we were doing a good thing–Happy was suffering–it was tremendously difficult to take a life.

Mrs. Arder had never had a child, excepting her dog named Maggie.  Maggie ate dinner with her every night. Mrs. Arder prepared dinner for two. Chicken, peas, carrots, whatever she was ate that night, Maggie did too.

Several of our clients were childless and had instead formed a maternal bond with their pet. The devotion to Fido or Kitty was deep.  Their pets had become more than part of the family; they were their family.

Not only did we treat small animals, but also the occasional seagull, hawk, opossum, raccoon. I even helped neuter a pig once.

Deer were the most difficult.  The doctor had a huge, fenced in backyard. The deer we saw had been hit by cars.  We would stabilize the animal with fluids and medicine take care of the injuries then release it to her yard.  Once the deer could jump the fence it was well enough to go.  Sometimes they never made it outside.

A deer had been hit and lay by the roadside.  Approaching, we saw a police officer on the scene. Explaining that we could euthanize the struggling animal meant nothing to him.  He sent us on our way.  As we drove off we heard two gun shots.  I pondered which was more humane…a bullet to the brain or medicine to stop the heart?

I learned about handling specimens in the lab, how to identify parasites under the microscope and I learned how to assist with surgery, give subcutaneous fluids, how to sterilize instruments, how to take and read x-rays, and many other things.

Ms. Flander’s Great Dane, Scott, proved interesting.  Getting the dog on the x-ray table was a challenge. He was cooperative (thank goodness!) but BIG. I measured his abdomen and set the machine.   I developed the resulting films.  One did not need a VMD degree to see the Parmesan cheese bottle top stuck in his stomach.  It was large and round and full of symmetrical holes. A perfect picture.

Scott was followed by Barney.  Barney ate his way through clothing like some people shop for it.  Barney always passed his inedibles. Socks, pieces of shirts, bras, you name it.  And Barney was followed by Molly.  Molly was a cat who had eaten a penny.

There were many lessons in that office. Sometimes having to inflict pain to heal, finding humor in the midst of illness…but the hardest was learning that we could not save everything.

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    Last reviewed: 14 Jun 2010