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For an intravenous injection, they would have shaved his fur, most likely, in order to see and access a vein in his foreleg; intramuscular would just be in his shoulder or thigh.
Pre-planned shouldn't matter. None of mine were planned, all were emergencies or the aftermath of an emergency. All the dogs were sedated first by injection; some already had a catheter in place due to the emergency so no new "stick". I'm not sure gas anesthesia would be any kinder or quicker...probably stressful for a sick and frightened pet to have a mask with strange smelling substances put over their face. If this was a planned euthanasia maybe the drugged treat would have benefit but not in an emergency. You would have to wait for it to be digested...if it even could be, and the pet would still be suffering all that time.
When my cat had gas administered they didn't strap a mask on him; they put him in a very large plexiglass box and delivered the gas through a portal. He could see me until he fell asleep, so he was pretty calm. Then they took him out and I held him for a while up to and after they administered the final shot.
None of mine have been "planned" deaths; there's generally been a crisis of some sort out of the blue, then the dire prognosis, then the unenviable choice of either treatments that would torment the animal while not curing them OR ending their lives then and there. Never have I felt that going home to think it over calmly or say goodbye at leisure was an option. I just feel there should be something in between the alternatives of a cold, calculated, clinical death in an office and dying a natural but possibly distressing death. Perhaps the home visit is the closest we have to it but, again, that would have to be "premeditated" and scheduled ahead.
My parents last dog, and my in-laws, and my brother, all have had dogs in the last four years that they knew were terminally ill, and that surgery would have been invasive and of questionable benefit in a dog that was 13-14 years old, and took the dog home with that knowledge. They took home pain killers to help the dogs be comfortable, and enjoyed what time they had.
One dog lasted several months, one lasted 6 weeks or so, I don't recall the time from diagnosis-death of the third.
The call for euthanasia isn't planned months or weeks in advance. You know its time and you make a call and they do it, usually that day or the next. One was brought to the vet, since he was a friendly oaf who liked the vet, one was a home euthanasia service, the third was a longstanding relationship with the vet where the vet came to their home.
I've also seen where a formerly more or less healthy dog (even a very old one) declines extremely quickly, and you're forced to make the call in the moment. That's part of pet ownership sometimes, BTDT.
I've also seen a Senior Citizen dog fall over and die within a couple minutes; one moment she was sniffing in the yard, then she apparently had a stroke, we saw her lying down, walked over to check on her and she died, within three minutes. But rarely are we that lucky.
Maybe it's a regional thing? I suppose the idea is that it's supposed to kill immediately but, as you can see, that's not always the case. With all my pets, and I'm talking only four here, they did give me time alone with them to say goodbye and stay with them until they were gone, but you can only get so comfortable (either of you) standing in an examination room.
I had one I had to put down recently and they sent it in the same line (sedation, then sent the barbiturate.)
They also gave me the option of taking the dog home to bury, or cremating the dog. I know personally one person whose pet passed at home spontaneously, and she then took her to the crematorium and picked up the ashes. In my case I buried her, since cremation cost extra and I felt it a poor use of the rescue's resources (I was fostering her.)
I had one I had to put down recently and they sent it in the same line (sedation, then sent the barbiturate.)
They also gave me the option of taking the dog home to bury, or cremating the dog. I know personally one person whose pet passed at home spontaneously, and she then took her to the crematorium and picked up the ashes. In my case I buried her, since cremation cost extra and I felt it a poor use of the rescue's resources (I was fostering her.)
I, too, was given the option of taking mine home for burial or leaving them for cremation, but not taking them home (for the other pets to say goodbye) and then bringing them back for cremation.
A friend had an experience similar to the one you describe; the elderly dog was happily sniffing in the yard and then fell over dead. It happens!
Last edited by otterhere; 05-18-2020 at 01:53 PM..
For an intravenous injection, they would have shaved his fur, most likely, in order to see and access a vein in his foreleg; intramuscular would just be in his shoulder or thigh.
May depend on the specific drugs being used and whether the pet already has an IV established. This might be an informative (but sad) read:
My last two dogs had to be cremated. The ground at home had been frozen several feet deep for weeks and there wasn't any freezer space to store them until spring.
For an intravenous injection, they would have shaved his fur, most likely, in order to see and access a vein in his foreleg; intramuscular would just be in his shoulder or thigh.
My boy got both shots in his hind leg. They did not shave his fur. I don't remember where in the hind leg, but it was lower on his leg.
As Ralph Kirk said, while my dog did fight off the "going to sleep" part, because he really wanted to keep interacting with all of us, especially the tech who was feeding him peanut butter, he eventually did fall asleep - probably about 20 or 30 seconds after the vet gave him the first shot.
Once the vet knew, for a fact, that he was sleeping, that's when she administered the second shot - also in his hind leg.
Well, it's very weird that I was never given the option of having my pets put to sleep (literally) before having them "put to sleep" (figurately); I certainly would have elected to do that to save them any fear or pain. But that will never happen again...
I, too, was given the option of taking mine home for burial or leaving them for cremation, but not taking them home (for the other pets to say goodbye) and then bringing them back for cremation.
A friend had an experience similar to the one you describe; the elderly dog was happily sniffing in the yard and then fell over dead. It happens!
The end run around that would be you bringing the dog to the pet crematorium near you. I know people that have done that.
I did, with my lab Sadie. Her cancer had spread quickly. They said nothing more could be done. I took her home and babied her. One night she was dozing on the floor, I laid down beside her and fell asleep. In the morning she was gone. Still upsets me. I think it was better though. At the vet the dog knows something's going on, the stress of being there, knowing "mom" is upset, then the needle. For my part, I don't want to feel like the vet is waiting, yes, they give you some time with your pet, but you're aware they're waiting....it's aggravating, it's stressful. I now have a diabetic dog and so far we haven't been able to get his numbers regulated so, it's a waiting game, I guess. They've called for him to go back for the usual fructosamine/glucose tests, but I'm thinking why....it will stress him out, and so far he seems to be ok at home...I mean, I know he's not ok, but he has a routine here and he seems happy. I'd just rather have him here at home then continually going back and forth to the vet. They don't really seem to know any more than I do, just raise the units, lower the units, testing every two weeks. Too much stress all around.
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