The vet’s office we have used for the past 8 years takes in unwanted/abandoned cats and rehomes them or lets them be “office” cats.
The two current ones are a male DSH orange tabby named Jr and a long haired grey tabby named Angel. They got another just last week.
I don’t know its name or sex, but I do know HOW they got it.
This cat is morbidly obese, wider than it is tall. Its owners brought it in to be euthanized because, wait for it, the “cat is too fat”.:smack::mad:
I KNOW it was probably just an excuse to get rid of the cat (shelters here are filled to the brim with cats), but STILL. To want an animal KILLED and say it is because said young and otherwise healthy animal is FAT, is beyond insane!
The cat is under the senior vets supervision and has lost two pounds already.
My mom had someone come into the vet office she worked at, asking her vet to put the dog to sleep because “they were going on vacation and didn’t want to pay for pet-sitting.” They figured they would just get a new dog when they got home.
No clue. The vet just told me they said the cat was “Too Fat.”
“Sorry Johnny, but since Mommy and Daddy are going on vacation, you’ll have to go live in foster care and grow up with serious mental and emotional issues.”
Heartless people like this are out there, believe me. When I got interested in greyhounds and volunteering for my rescue group I decided to educate myself about “the real story” of dog racing. Well, the dogs are basically treated like livestock, that’s true. Most of the kennel people adore them, but the money people who actually own them consider them just property. And sometimes liabilities. Like the asshat who felt that the dogs were better off dead than fat and lazy in somebody’s home as a pet. Another jerk who didn’t want to take the chance that his retired dogs might bite someone after it’s adopted out, and the adopters might sue him for whatever reason, so again… shotgun.
You know, just when I think I can’t read anything more horrible about what human beings are capable of, this comes along. There are no words for people like this.
I knew a couple who gave away their cat because he was clawing at their new area rug.
As disgusting as this is – what then becomes the ethical or professional obligation of the vet?
If the vet refuses euthanasia, then the pet is presumably either set out into the street, or left in a garage or basement to starve while the owners are gone.
Does the vet have a right, or even an obligation, to refuse to return the animal to the owners? Presumably at the very least that would make the vet responsible for the future care of the animal.
Is there a state or local government agency that can take action before abuse has taken place, because the vet knows that it’s all about paying a boarding fee? And can euthanasia be considered as abuse in a legal sense?
This, believe it or not, was one of the reasons the shelter was given when they received one of our current dogs. I, myself, tend to think it was actually because she was blind and they didn’t want to deal with her, but for some reason “we’re going on vacation” was what they said. :mad:
Just today, I saw a post in my feed on FB from a friend-of-a-friend. Apparently, this guy is engaged and he and his fiance are “exploring options that might not be the best environment” for the dog. So he posted a picture of his beautiful, young Rhodesian Ridgeback and asked if anyone on FB wanted to adopt it.
Who the fuck considers giving up a family member as a viable option?
Frankly, I wouldn’t even consider marrying someone who would even entertain that idea. Oh, well, okay, a 2-bedroom apartment is more expensive than a 1-bedroom, so let’s just save money and put our toddler up for adoption. I get that dogs < people, but still. This guy adopted the dog, presumably with the intent to accept and fulfill his responsibilty for it, including food, shelter, water, medical care, and I dunno, affection and companionship. I mean, why would you even adopt an animal in the first place if you aren’t prepared to make accommodations for its position in your life? To me, it ain’t the perfect home if it’s not also perfect for the dog as well as the humans.
I thought this person was a decent, kind fellow, but I might have to de-friend him because that is despicable to me. I’m sure that dog is bonded to his owner and re-homing him would be traumatic. But these selfish assholes are, whatever, can someone else finish raising my dog because I want to live in some fancy hut where dogs aren’t allowed or where the dog won’t have a fenced-in backyard? I can’t even think up a reasonable, rational explanation for re-homing. If your living conditions aren’t conducive to pets, you shouldn’t have gotten one in the first place. But now you’ve taken on the responsibility so you have to see it through.
None of the examples here are economic. (In fact, I know friends where both spouses have lost their jobs and they still fed the dog without any hesitation).
We’re talking about people who can afford a pet, did indeed adopt a pet, but now don’t want the inconvenience.
When I swoop in and win the Presidency (as The Candidate Who Doesn’t Care Enough To Lie To You), I’m invoking The 101st Amendment: If you’re too big a douche to raise a dog, you don’t get to have kids.
A lot of people don’t see it that way. They’re just buying a thing they want until it’s no longer amusing or becomes inconvenient. People surrender pets to shelters every day for reasons like:
[ul]
[li]scratching furniture[/li][li]peeing on rug (even one time!)[/li][li]scratched child[/li][li]pet getting old[/li][li]can’t afford vet care[/li][li]human got pregnant and don’t want the animal around the new baby or won’t have time for the animal[/li][li]got divorced and no longer want the pet[/li][li]moved and new place doesn’t allow animals[/li][/ul]
I’m not a vet but have heard of many anecdotes from my rescue work days, so here is what I understand. Vet’s don’t have a clear-cut legal obligation to do the euthanasia. I have heard of vets who refuse to euthanize and offer to take the pet off the idiot’s hands, and then work to rehome them. This happens fairly often. I’ve also heard of vets who refuse to euthanize and don’t offer to take the animal, so the people take the animal elsewhere to be disposed of.
Since animals are personal property, the owners are within their legal rights to have them humanely euthanized at any time and for any reason. Animal welfare laws only come into play if the owner tries to kill the pet using inhumane methods.
I’m well aware that people have different priorities and values than I do. I am not going to debate the what ifs. My opinion is my opinion and we all have one. Personally, I’d rather starve to death living in a cardboard box rather than not feed or give up my pet. But I get that other people would not make the same choice. I just can’t put myself in the head space of other people who make those very different choices from what I would make.
Two of my cats became my cats when a friend lost her home to foreclosure and had to move, and couldn’t take them with her to her new place. They are happy, healthy and spoiled. My friend is happy because she knows they’re happy, healthy and spoiled. (They were supposed to be temporary fosters at my place just to give her time to find a new home for them, but they took one look around and declared that my house was their new home.)
What should she have done? Lived out of her car with the cats, rather than accept the housing she could find within her budget and re-home the cats with me? I think she was quite reasonable and rational to re-home them, and I’m sure they would agree if they could talk.
