Shownotes Transcript
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There's a video on Instagram about the final day in the life of a dog named Jax, a very good boy who'd been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. His owner had made the difficult decision to put him down, and she wanted a final reminder of the life they'd shared. The video shows his final walk to a local coffee shop, one last lick of a pup cup, and a trip to his favorite creek where he once ran healthy and off lead. It ends with footage of his owner cradling him on the floor.
We don't see what came next: a vet delivering the intravenous injection that put him to sleep forever. That video has been watched more than 22 million times. It's just one of countless social media clips that capture the emotional turmoil owners face when deciding when and how to say goodbye to a sick pet. Advances in veterinary science can extend the life of an animal when they're ill, and that complicates an already difficult question: when is the right time to put down a sick pet?
On today's episode, we're going to hear from Yvette about the medical, emotional, and ethical factors that people need to consider. I'm William Lee Adams, and this is What in the World from the BBC World Service. ♪
Here to tell us more is Julia Brown from BBC Brazil. Julia, hi. Hi, William. Thank you for having me. So, Julia, this is a very heavy, very emotional topic. I'm curious, what led you to bring it to us? So, it's honestly kind of a personal topic for me. I have had to euthanize a dog a couple of years ago. She was a dog that my mom and I adopted and that got very ill with a neurological disease.
And it got to a point when Meg, that was her name, would barely walk anymore and we had to hand feed her. And we went to at least three different vets, I think, trying to find different treatments because she was only five years old, so quite young. But the vets really said that they were doing everything they could. So eventually we came to the euthanasia talks and after a difficult decision period, we
We realized it was for the best of her to put her down. But I have to admit that it was not easy. I many times had thoughts about keeping her treatment just because I was not ready to let her go.
So I understand why some people might go too far in cases like this and postpone euthanasia for too long. And euthanasia, of course, is assisted dying, doctors putting animals to bed forever. It's difficult to accept the end of your pet's life, right? That's really common around the world. Yes, and especially in Western societies and in places where people have better means to treat their pets.
And I actually interviewed this professor at University of Vienna, and she specializes in veterinary ethics. Her name is Svenja Springer, and she told me how owners normally face three big challenges when facing that decision. Emotional challenges, moral challenges, and also practical challenges. So the emotional challenges, of course, are pretty straightforward. Everybody that has a pet can understand and relate.
The moral challenge comes more when thinking about whether or not you should be the one making that decision for them. And the practical part is often very connected with money. So if the owners have financial means to keep paying for the treatment or not. And also the decision about when and where to perform the procedure if it eventually comes to it.
There are a lot of factors there. I want to hone in on the ethical consideration. My mother had a dog for many years, more than a decade, and it was my father's favorite animal. He loved that dog more than he loved his children. And then after my father passed away, many years later, the dog became ill. And my mother said, oh, if I put Jack...
the dog down, it's like killing your father again. And she didn't want to do that. So this poor dog, in my eyes, suffered unnecessarily. She could not let go. So, Julia, I'm curious, of the factors you've just named, which one influences the owner's decision the most? So according to the research conducted by this professor at University of Vienna in several European countries, definitely the emotional factor is the biggest.
Here is Svenja Springer, assistant professor at University of Vienna. Emotional closeness
can have a positive and a negative because when we have owners and we know that there is an increasing emotional closeness to our pets we have at home or companion animals and this can lead that pet owners say of course I would like to go on with you I would like to provide the best care and I will spend a lot of money for that and this is of course is a positive effect however there
There are animal owners, and this is something which, of course, is human also, that we have such close bonds to our animals that it's very tough to say, well, now it's enough. Now it's more over-treatment. This is not treatment, which is in the best interest of the animal patient. And then we are falling on the negative side, which means that here emotional closeness can have a negative impact on such end-of-life decision-making processes. And Julia, how much of the decision comes down to the owner?
It depends a lot from country to country. Some countries have more strict laws about it and some not so strict. But according to the vets, it's normally 100% the owner's decision.
So the vets can't enforce any decisions on the owners, but they can advise and help them make the best decision. I want to zoom out for a moment because the pet industry around the world is huge. People pamper their pooches, they get their hair done, they give them nail treatments, they have doggy daycare, etc., etc. And, of course, another expense is end-of-life care. How much are people willing to spend on their pets?
Yeah, so it depends a lot on the budget each person or family has available. But I was looking at this Bloomberg report that shows that the global pet care sector is currently valued at $320 billion and could exceed $500 billion by the end of this decade. This is basically equivalent to Norway's GDP, so it's quite big. And Norway's a rich country too. Yeah.
This report from the government about pet healthcare here in the UK shows that like a basic consultation in an emergency out of hours type of situation can get to 300 pounds. And of course, there are some top hospitals that provide cutting edge procedures and things like relaxing classic music to help pets recover.
that can easily charge £10,000 for an entire treatment, including a surgery. In this process, the vet's offering advice, but it doesn't always mean that the person who brought their pet in is willing to accept it. It may be time, in the vet's eyes, to euthanize an animal.
How do they deal with owners that are not ready to choose euthanasia? I spoke to this vet, Sarah Cortright. She works in a clinic in California. I have asked Sarah this exact same question. My job, first and foremost, is always to advocate for the pet. And I think sometimes, naturally, people get really used to how their pet looks. They, you know, become comfortable with...
how uncomfortable their pet is. So my job is, again, to advocate for the pet, inform them that, you know, maybe that their quality of life is really not there anymore. They're suffering every day or, you know, maybe it's a condition where we just cannot manage any longer. My job is really just to help guide them through that process in a non-judgmental way.
And so she mentioned that some people leave it too long. But what about people on the other end of the spectrum who are perhaps too eager to euthanize an animal who may not in fact need euthanasia? Yeah, according to what she told me, some people actually do that, unfortunately.
She told me that sometimes some owners see their older pet as an inconvenience or see minor issues as a reason for euthanasia. I would say majority of people take it very seriously. There have certainly been a few cases, both that I've seen, stories from my colleagues where, you know, you have...
What we kind of refer to as a convenience euthanasia, for example, someone may come in and say, I'm moving and my new place where I'm living, I can't bring pets with me. So I just want you to euthanize the pet or my pet sustained a broken leg, something that is completely treatable and has an excellent prognosis, but they don't want to pay for it. So they want you to euthanize.
And those are situations where, as veterinarians, one, we absolutely say no to those. We are, again, in no way forced to do that, the same way we cannot force an owner to euthanize. But in those situations, often we are, you know, making reports or calling appropriate authorities because we feel that this owner could potentially be a danger to their pet. Julia, a lot of people are familiar with how euthanasia works in people.
But what about in animals? What does that look like? Yeah, Professor Svenja Springer explained me that. Here she is again. Typically, sedation is administered first to help the pet relax.
And this allows the pet to feel calm and comfortable before the euthanasia solution, for example, is given. And then afterwards, the pet is sedated. The veterinarian administers here a euthanasia solution. This is usually an overdose of an anesthetic. So this is typically given through an injection.
leading to a peaceful passing. So it acts rather quickly and the pet usually loses consciousness within a few seconds. And she also told me that the owners can be with the pet during the procedure if they want to.
But it's also a totally personal decision. So if they don't want you, they won't judge you or anything. Oh, you know, there's a viral clip on social media and it's from the perspective of a cat and sometimes of a dog. And it says, I've been with you my whole life. Please don't abandon me in my final moments. It really tugs on heartstrings. And my friend recently told me he did not have the courage to go in and see the animal put down and he regrets it now.
Julia, are there people who are opposed to vets carrying out euthanasia on animals? So when it comes to vets, most understand that euthanasia is often necessary for the well-being of the pet. But from what I've heard, there are vets who might not feel comfortable doing it themselves, so they could ask another vet to do it. But there is also another part of this discussion that normally comes from animal rights activist groups,
So, on the one side, there are groups who campaign against euthanasia as a method to control animals overpopulation. They also tend to protest "kill shelters" that are basically shelters that might euthanize animals because they don't have the space for all the pets they receive. But on the other hand, there are some who are against euthanasia in no cases.
They sometimes give religious motives for that or believe in taking the no-kill advocacy to the extreme. There are also groups that are called animal rights purists, and they argue that animals should have the same right to life as humans.
But I should say that this is a small movement and the vast majority of NGOs and reliable vet professionals see euthanasia as the kindest act if the animal is suffering. Julia, thank you so much for explaining that. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
So what advice is there on how to approach this topic, aside from thinking about what you would do in advance and planning ahead? Here's the vet Sarah Courtright again. In my experience, I do feel as though people generally wait too long. So there's always a concern about, am I making this decision too soon? That's something that I hear from so many pet owners when they're finally making the decision to euthanize their pets.
But I feel majority of the time people generally will wait too long. Really taking inventory of what your pet's day-to-day looks like, especially in these cases where we're managing chronic conditions. Are they still doing things that they enjoy? What is their appetite like? What clinical signs are they experiencing? And are they still having good days or at least positive moments there?
and joy and happiness throughout the day. If they're not and we're really just medicating them and they're suffering and they are having all these clinical signs, again, there's no right or wrong answer with what to do. But when the pet's quality of life really appears to be diminished,
that's when I would consider making that decision. It is a decision that we make over several weeks to months potentially in some of these chronic cases if we're fortunate enough to have that. But again, my heart goes out to any pet owner that's experiencing that.
That's all for today. If you're interested in hearing more episodes about animals, we've got several in our back catalog. Some of my favorites are Should Zoos Exist? and Does Mudang Have Pretty Privilege? You can download those episodes wherever you're listening to us now. This is What in the World from the BBC World Service. I'm William Lee Adams. We'll see you again soon.
I'm Zing Singh. And I'm Simon Jack. And together we host Good Bad Billionaire. The podcast exploring the lives of some of the world's richest people. In the new season, we're setting our sights on some big names. Yep, LeBron James and Martha Stewart, to name just a few. And as always, Simon and I are trying to decide whether we think they're good, bad or just another billionaire. That's Good Bad Billionaire from the BBC World Service. Listen now wherever you get your BBC podcasts.