# Pet Vet euthanizes her six pets and herself. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 15, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279 "2013-01-15T13:48:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/1 "2013-01-15T13:48:03Z")
Such a shame. The vet, and her 4 dogs, 2 cats all gone. > **[Pelham vet commits suicide at clinic, remembered by clients](https://www.walb.com/story/20587042/clients-remember-pelham-vet-who-euthanized-animals-committed-suicide/)** > > Investigators say it's possible a Pelham veterinarian injected herself with a fatal dose of drugs after doing the same thing to her pets. Thats just messed up. ☹ Odd that there weren’t any other animals there. Most vets I’ve used kept sick animals that they were treating or even boarded animals for a fee. > **[Vet suicide at clinic in Pelham leaves clients stunned](https://www.walb.com/story/20585463/vet-suicide-at-clinic-in-pelham-leaves-clients-stunned/)** > > A veterinarian and her animals are found dead in a clinic in Pelham. According to Investigators the veterinarian euthanized her personal animals and then killed herself. > [@](#): > > Deputies with the Mitchell county sheriff’s office responded and immediately started their investigation. Officials say a motive is not clear at this time however they do believe financial problems involving the business could have played a part. There were no other employees or animals in the clinic at the time of the incident all six of the animals found dead were her own. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/2 "2013-01-15T15:03:50Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Odd that there weren’t any other animals there. Most vets I’ve used kept sick animals that they were treating or even boarded animals for a fee. That may be an indicator of how poorly her business was doing. I’ve read that there is a growing oversupply of veterinarians, and times are tough for them. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/3 "2013-01-15T15:25:59Z")
I have sympathy for her plight, but why on earth did she kill her pets? However can that be justified? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/4 "2013-01-15T16:10:03Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I have sympathy for her plight, but why on earth did she kill her pets? However can that be justified? :mad: Maybe she feared that they would be impossible to place with some other owner? That they would end up euthanized anyway? I don’t know, just speculating. However, if she was depressed enough to kill herself, she may have been depressed enough to think that her pets’ future was dire. It smells to me like she was very depressed. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/5 "2013-01-15T16:31:33Z")
In my experience vets own animals that others consider difficult, either because of behavior or medical needs. I’ve never known a vet without a houseful of half-broken animals. If this was the case - and I don’t know if it is - She probably (and very likely, correctly) felt they faced a very uncertain future without her. I can understand it completely, the worry that comes with owning a difficult animal. My horse died of natural causes but if I were dying I would have had her euthanized before risking my parents selling her to some numbskull when I was gone. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/6 "2013-01-15T17:46:18Z")
Not the first time I’ve heard of a suicidal person killing/trying to kill their pets as well. I think it follows a similar thought process as the cases where a suicidal parent also kills their children. I don’t think this vet wanted to hurt her animals. I think she thought she was doing the kindest thing for them. The reality is that it is hard to find homes for animals who are not cute puppies or kittens. Even puppies and kittens sometimes are euthanized at shelters because there are so many of them that there aren’t enough homes for all of them. This vet surely was aware of that sad reality and probably figured that she would prefer to euthanize the animals herself than let them get euthanized after being alone and afraid in a shelter. It’s terrible that she felt that this was necessary. It sounds like the animals were probably all that she had (it sounds like she probably wasn’t married, and it sounds like she was new in town so probably didn’t have many friends yet). ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/7 "2013-01-15T17:51:59Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > That may be an indicator of how poorly her business was doing. I’ve read that there is a growing oversupply of veterinarians, and times are tough for them. Getting a DVM is as difficult and can be more expensive than getting an MD these days, and yes, there is an oversupply in most moderately-sized towns. Like it was for MDs at one time, the only way to have a practice is to join a corporate practice and take a modest salary, or go open a private practice in the sticks (and likely for even less money). With probably $250-300k in loans crushing you. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/8 "2013-01-15T20:08:48Z")
:(☹ That’s so sad. A couple of months ago someone here in Michigan heavily involved in dog rescue was losing her home, and had a house-full of dogs. She ended up (apparently) euthanizing many of them. I’ve followed the story and it didn’t seem like a hoarding situation or wilfull cruelty so much as a mix of shame, depression and helplessness. [News story](http://hastingsbanner.com/citizens-ask-for-a-full-investigation-into-animal-cruelty-p4518-84.htm). > [@](#): > > According to the police report, Tepper admitted to having too much pride to call anyone for help. The officer reported that Tepper said she has not had heat or electricity in the house for two years. Tepper said she was using portable propane heaters and had two operational circuit breakers to run the well for water. > > She told the officer she was so embarrassed of her actions and was afraid anyone to find out, especially Sheriff Dar Leaf because she had been representing him on the animal shelter’s advisory board. She said she wondered how she could tell the Sheriff she was living out of her car. > > Deputies received an authorized warrant from the Barry County Prosecutor Nov. 9 to pick up Tepper on animal cruelty. > > Animal Control officers again went to the Finkbeiner Road residence Nov. 16, in reference to a bag containing the body of a dead dog. Reportedly, several other bags were found, but were not opened until authorities arrived. Animal Control staff wore protective gear and air-filtration masks. As they approached the site, three dead dogs and a dead bird were discovered lying uncovered. According to the report, more plastic bags were found underneath that contained animals in various states of decomposition. Eleven bags were reportedly collected that day. > > “I observed at least one more dog, what appeared to be a calf, and four bags were decomposed too far to identify the species,” reads the report. “Those bags did have hair, fur and/or bones in the soupy contents.” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/9 "2013-01-15T20:15:51Z")
If I ended up in desperate financial straits and faced losing my dogs to get shelter or help, I can’t say my actions would chalk up on the sane end of the spectrum. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/10 "2013-01-15T20:21:12Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I have sympathy for her plight, but why on earth did she kill her pets? However can that be justified? :mad: If you remember the story about all those wild exotic animals that got loose in southern Ohio last year sometime (it happened in my hometown, so I heard a lot of details on the story) - that was the sole result of the animal’s owner killing himself _after_ not only releasing the animals from their cages but also damaging the latches on the cages so that they could no longer be locked. Thus meaning that all of his exotic animals - tigers, monkeys, etc. - were almost certainly destined to be killed. He had to have known this would be the outcome, and he did it anyway. (A few animals survived and were taken in by the Columbus Zoo.) I don’t understand the justification for this either. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/11 "2013-01-15T20:29:45Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > If I ended up in desperate financial straits and faced losing my dogs to get shelter or help, I can’t say my actions would chalk up on the sane end of the spectrum. I can’t see myself doing that either but OTOH I do understand crippling depression and can see how it could happen to otherwise well-meaning people. I am NOT making excuses for this behaviour, mind you. But I find it more terribly sad than rage-inducing. Cruelty or neglect is dog-fighting and using bait animals, leaving dogs chained with no food, water or shelter until they die, leaving your house with animals left inside to starve, having your dog get hit by a car and never seeking medical attention for broken bones and the resulting injuries until the dog finally dies, not spaying your dog so it gets pregnant every six months or so, then drowing the puppies in a five-gallon bucket when you can’t sell them - or letting them be used for bait for dog fighting. All things I have personally witnessed when I was more active in rescue than I am now. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/12 "2013-01-16T01:01:04Z")
That is so sad ☹ I hope that poor lady is at peace now. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/13 "2013-01-16T01:42:45Z")
There’s a short follow-up that she left a note on a chalkboard: > [@](#): > > The note she wrote read, quote: “I simply could not find homes for any of my babies so bear with me.” And a small detail on how she acquired the animals: > [@](#): > > The employee tells us Klein adopted those four dogs and two cats, because they were disabled and their owners had dropped them off to be put down. > Klein apparently couldn’t bear to do that and took them in as her own pets. This just makes me have more questions. And if she really took these pets home after the owners originally signed euthanasia papers rather than surrender of ownership, then she had questionable ethics to begin with. Just sad all the way around. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/14 "2013-01-16T01:58:44Z")
It is also possible that originally the owners wanted to drop off and euthanize the animals, but she may have convinced them to surrender the animals to her, so that she would take care of them. It is still a sad situation. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/15 "2013-01-16T02:00:30Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > There’s a short follow-up that she left a note on a chalkboard: > > And a small detail on how she acquired the animals: > This just makes me have more questions. And if she really took these pets home after the owners originally signed euthanasia papers rather than surrender of ownership, then she had questionable ethics to begin with. > > Just sad all the way around. My vet has legally-solid forms that people fill out when relinquishing an animal to be “surrendered” or “euthanised” that basically gives him ownership of the animal so he can _not_ euthanise it. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/16 "2013-01-16T02:57:30Z")
Assuming she put them down properly, i.e. with something such as pentobarbital (sometimes charmingly marketed as “Fatal Plus” amongst other names) then while she has deprived the animals of life she has certainly not made them suffer and honestly I really feel we should focus on her suffering here. I find the emphasis upon the animal suffering distasteful myself. Somehow society has caused her to feel that her business failing is a reason to kill herself. While this is not a “remarkable” death, each and every one of these suicides should lead us to wonder what we can do for these situationally depressed people. Are we too harsh to those whose businesses fail? Is there not a sufficient flexibility in the job market for those whose jobs are perhaps becoming obselete as people here say (although I am extremely skeptical that is really the case for vets)? While I am one of the most pro-suicide rights people you can meet, I don’t think you can characterise this as a particularly needed one. Let’s try to improve society some more so the next Edit Klein chooses differently. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/17 "2013-01-16T03:36:58Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > Assuming she put them down properly, i.e. with something such as pentobarbital (sometimes charmingly marketed as “Fatal Plus” amongst other names) then while she has deprived the animals of life she has certainly not made them suffer and honestly I really feel we should focus on her suffering here. I find the emphasis upon the animal suffering distasteful myself. I think people fixate in the animals because they had no say in their fate. She decided that they’d die, assuming no one would step up to care for them. Although it was probably a loving act on her part, they still had no choice in the matter. StG ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/18 "2013-01-16T04:25:38Z")
They can feel free to do so but they should be more rational if they want their opinions to have any legitimacy. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/19 "2013-01-16T06:24:27Z")
like it or not, the only reason this thread is here at all is because of the pets. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279/20 "2013-01-16T06:37:29Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > like it or not, the only reason this thread is here at all is because of the pets. No it isn’t. Pets are euthanized in great numbers every day with no notice taken. A veterinarian putting herself down, in the office, with the pets, on the other hand, is a story. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pet-vet-euthanizes-her-six-pets-and-herself/647279.md?page=2)