31/12/2023
Heartbreaking 💔
Our thoughts are with all our colleges in rescue and all veterinary practice.
This has been written by a vet, we don't know which vet but it could have been any of many across the country.
On the 31st of December, myself and colleagues across the country will be obliged to humanely destroy dogs for the way they look.
Imagine being presented when a friendly, happy dog, who wags its tail as you talk to it and stroke its head. You have to restrain it, for an intravenous catheter to be placed in its leg. Some will just sit and patiently let you perform the task, others will wriggle and fight the restraint. Sometimes, we have to sedate them, because they get stressed and won’t tolerate being held. Sometimes, they’ll bark, scratch you, growl and snarl, bare their teeth, or worse case scenario, bite.
This is done with no malice, or because they’re evil, it’s because they’re frightened. They have no idea what’s going on, where they are, or who you are. Their actions are not premeditated, pre-planned. They happen in the moment, as a reaction to the environment and what’s happening to them.
Any dog breed can have these reactions, not just large Bully breeds.
However, because our government has deemed Bully Breeds (who fit certain criteria) dangerous, they will become a banned breed. This means they cannot be rehomed or sold on. So what happens with all the bullies in rescues that haven’t been rehomed in time? What happens to all the bullies that are abandoned by their owners because they don’t want to comply with the rules?
They’re bought to us, as a profession, to be euthanised.
As vet nurses, we hold these beautiful creatures, whilst they are either sedated or have an intravenous catheter placed. We tell them how good they are, that they are loved and that we are so so sorry. We offer them some food, no one wants to die on an empty stomach. And when the time comes for the lethal injection, we’re there for them, holding them whilst they take their last breath, feeling the weight of their body press into ours as they become limp. We stand back, and look at the lifeless body on the floor, of a beautiful, friendly dog, who’s been destroyed for how it looks.
That’s it. Deed done.
It’s soul destroying, tears are shed for a dog you’ve never met before, but have fallen in love with and feel so desperately sorry for. No words describe the feeling you experience in this moment, and it’s something I wish I could protect others in my profession from, but I can’t.
New years this year isn’t something I’m looking forward to, so rather than judge me for that, please try to understand. As a profession, we have the most harrowing time upon us.