0:01

There's a video on Instagram about the

0:03

final day in the life of a

0:05

dog named Jax, a very good boy

0:07

who'd been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. His

0:10

owner had made the difficult decision to put

0:12

him down, and she wanted a final reminder

0:14

of the life they'd shared. The video

0:16

shows his final walk to a local

0:18

coffee shop, one last lick of a pup

0:20

cup, and a trip to his favorite

0:23

creek where he once ran healthy and off

0:25

lead. It ends with footage of his

0:27

owner cradling him on the floor. We

0:29

don't see what came next, a vet

0:31

delivering the intravenous injection that put

0:33

him to sleep forever. That

0:36

video has been watched more than 22

0:38

million times. It's just one of

0:40

countless social media clips that capture the

0:43

emotional turmoil owners face when deciding

0:45

when and how to say goodbye to

0:47

a sick pet. Advances

0:49

in veterinary science can extend the

0:51

life of an animal when they're ill,

0:53

and that complicates an already difficult

0:55

question. When is the right time

0:57

to put down a sick pet? On

1:00

today's episode, we're going to hear from

1:02

a vet about the medical, emotional, and

1:04

ethical factors that people need to consider.

1:06

I'm William Lee Adams, and this is What

1:08

in the World from the BBC World

1:10

Service. Here

1:14

to tell us more is Julia

1:17

Brown from BBC Brazil. Julia,

1:19

hi. Hi, William. Thank you for having

1:21

me. So, Julia, this is a very heavy,

1:23

a very emotional topic. I'm curious, what

1:25

led you to bring it to us? So

1:27

it's honestly kind of a personal topic

1:29

for me. I have had to euthanize a

1:31

dog a couple of years ago. She

1:34

was a dog that my

1:36

mom and I adopted and that

1:38

got very ill with a

1:40

neurological disease. And it got to

1:42

a point when Meg... was

1:44

her name, would barely walk anymore

1:46

and we had to hand

1:48

feed her. And we went

1:50

to at least three different vets,

1:52

I think, trying to find different

1:54

treatments because she was only five

1:56

years old, so quite young. But

1:59

the vets really said that they

2:01

were doing everything they could. So eventually

2:03

we came to the euthanasia talks

2:05

and after a difficult decision period, we

2:07

realized it was for the best

2:09

of her to put her down. But

2:12

I have to admit that it was

2:14

not easy. I many times had thoughts

2:16

about keeping her treatment just because I

2:19

was not ready to let her go.

2:21

So I understand why some

2:23

people might go too far

2:25

in cases like this and

2:28

postpone euthanasia for too long.

2:30

And euthanasia, of course, is

2:32

assisted dying, doctors putting animals

2:34

to bed forever. It's difficult

2:36

to accept the end of your

2:38

pet's life, right? That's really common around

2:40

the world. Yes, and especially in

2:42

Western societies and in places where people

2:44

have better means to treat their

2:46

pets. And I actually

2:49

interviewed this professor at

2:51

the University of Vienna, and

2:53

she specializes in veterinary

2:55

ethics. Her name is Isvenia

2:57

Springer, and she told

2:59

me how honors normally face

3:01

three big challenges when

3:03

facing that decision. Emotional challenges,

3:05

moral challenges, and also

3:07

practical challenges. So the emotional

3:09

challenges, of course, are

3:11

pretty straightforward. Everybody that has

3:13

a pet can understand

3:15

and relate. The moral

3:17

challenge comes more when thinking about

3:19

whether or not you should be

3:21

the one making that decision for

3:23

them. And the practical part is

3:26

often very connected with money. So

3:28

if the owners have financial means

3:30

to keep paying for the treatment

3:32

or not, and also the decision

3:34

about when and where to perform

3:36

the procedure if it eventually comes

3:38

to it. There are a lot

3:40

of factors there. I want to

3:42

hone in on the ethical consideration. for

3:46

many years, more than a decade. And

3:48

it was my father's favorite animal. He loved

3:50

that dog more than he loved his

3:52

children. And then after my father passed away,

3:55

many years later, the dog became ill.

3:57

And my mother said, oh, if I put

3:59

Jack, the dog, down, it's like killing

4:01

your father again. And she didn't want to

4:03

do that. So this poor dog, in

4:05

my eyes, suffered unnecessarily. She could not let

4:07

go. So Julia, I'm curious, of the

4:10

factors you've just named, which one influences the

4:12

owner's decision the most? So

4:14

according to the research

4:16

conducted by this professor at

4:18

University of Vienna in

4:20

several European countries, definitely the

4:22

emotional factor is the

4:25

biggest. Here is Svenja Springer,

4:27

assistant professor at University

4:29

of Vienna. Emotional closeness. can

4:31

have a positive and a negative because

4:33

when we have owners and we know

4:36

that there is an increasing emotional closeness to

4:38

our pets we have at home or

4:40

companion animals and this can lead that

4:42

pet owners say of course i would like

4:44

to go on with you i would

4:46

like to provide the best care

4:48

and i will spend a lot of

4:50

money for that and this is of

4:53

course is a positive effect however there

4:55

are animal owners and this is something

4:57

which of course is human also that

4:59

we have such close bonds to our

5:01

animals that is very tough to say

5:03

well now it's enough now it's more

5:05

over treatment this is not treatment which

5:07

is in the best interest of the

5:10

animal patient and then we are falling

5:12

on the negative side which means that

5:14

here emotional close -knit can have a

5:16

negative impact on such end -of -life decision -making

5:18

processes. And Julia, how much of the

5:20

decision comes down to the owner? It

5:23

depends a lot from country to country.

5:25

Some countries have more strict laws about

5:27

it and some not so strict. But

5:29

according to the vets, it's

5:32

normally 100 % the owner's

5:34

decision. So the vets can't

5:36

enforce any decisions on the owners, but

5:38

they can advise and help them

5:40

make the best decision. I want to

5:42

zoom out for a moment because

5:44

the pet industry around the world is

5:46

huge. People pamper their pooches. They

5:48

get their hair done. They give them

5:50

nail treatments. They have doggy daycare,

5:53

et cetera, et cetera. And, of course,

5:55

another expense is end -of -life care.

5:57

How much are people willing to spend

5:59

on their pets? Yeah,

6:01

so it depends a lot on

6:03

the budget each person or

6:05

family has available. But I was

6:07

looking at this Bloomberg report

6:09

that shows that the global pet

6:11

care sector is currently valued

6:13

at $320 billion and could exceed

6:15

$500 billion by the end

6:18

of this decade. This is basically

6:20

equivalent to Norway's GDP, so

6:22

it's quite big. And Norway's a

6:24

rich country too. Yeah. This

6:26

report from the government about

6:28

pet health care here in the

6:31

UK shows that, like, a

6:33

basic consultation in an emergency out

6:35

-of -hours type of situation can

6:37

get to 300 pounds. And, of

6:39

course, there are some top

6:41

hospitals that provide cutting -edge procedures

6:43

and things like relaxing classic music

6:45

to help pets recover that

6:47

can easily charge 10 ,000 pounds

6:49

for an entire treatment, including a

6:51

surgery. In this process, the

6:53

vet's offering advice, but it doesn't

6:55

always mean that the person

6:57

who brought their pet in is

6:59

willing to accept it. It

7:01

may be time in the vet's

7:03

eyes to euthanize an animal. How

7:06

do they deal with owners

7:08

that are not ready to choose

7:10

euthanasia? I spoke to this

7:12

vet, Sarah Courtright. She works in

7:14

a clinic in California. I

7:16

have asked Sarah this exact same

7:18

question. My job first and

7:20

foremost is always to advocate for

7:23

the pet. And I think

7:25

sometimes naturally people get really used

7:27

to how their pet looks.

7:29

They, you know, become comfortable with

7:31

how uncomfortable their pet is.

7:33

So my job is, again, to

7:35

advocate for the pet, inform

7:38

them that, you know, maybe that

7:40

their quality of life is really not

7:42

there anymore. They're suffering every day

7:44

or, you know, maybe it's... where we

7:46

just cannot manage any longer. My

7:48

job is really just to help guide

7:50

them through that process in a

7:52

nonjudgmental way. And so she mentioned that

7:54

some people leave it too long.

7:56

But what about people on the other

7:58

end of the spectrum who are

8:00

perhaps too eager to euthanize an animal

8:02

who may not, in fact, need

8:04

euthanasia? Yeah, according to what

8:06

she told me, some people actually

8:09

do that, unfortunately. She

8:11

told me that sometimes... Some

8:13

owners see their older pet

8:15

as an inconvenience or see minor

8:17

issues as a reason for

8:19

euthanasia. I would say majority of

8:21

people take it very seriously.

8:23

There have certainly been a few

8:25

cases, both that I've seen,

8:27

stories from my colleagues where, you

8:29

know, you have what we

8:31

kind of refer to as a

8:33

convenience euthanasia. For example, someone

8:35

may come in and say, I'm

8:37

moving and my new place

8:39

where I'm living, I can't bring

8:41

pets with me. So I

8:43

just want you to euthanize the

8:45

pet or my pets. sustained

8:47

a broken leg, something that is

8:49

completely treatable and has an

8:51

excellent prognosis, but they don't want

8:53

to pay for it. So

8:55

they want you to euthanize. And

8:57

those are situations where as

8:59

veterinarians, one, we... say no to

9:01

those. We are, again, in

9:03

no way forced to do that

9:05

the same way we cannot

9:07

force an owner to euthanize. But

9:09

in those situations, often we

9:11

are making reports or calling appropriate

9:13

authorities because we feel that

9:15

this owner could potentially be a

9:17

danger to their pet. Julia,

9:19

a lot of people are familiar

9:22

with how euthanasia works in

9:24

people, but what about in animals?

9:26

What does that look like?

9:28

Yeah, Professor Svenja Springer explained me

9:30

that. Here she is again. Typically,

9:32

sedation is administered first to

9:34

help the pet relax. And this

9:36

allows the pet to feel

9:38

calm and comfortable before the euthanasia

9:40

solution, for example, is given.

9:42

And then afterwards, the pet

9:44

is sedated. The veterinarian administers here

9:46

a euthanasia solution. This is usually

9:49

an overdose of an anesthetic. So

9:51

this is typically given through an

9:53

injection, leading to a peaceful passing.

9:55

So it acts. Rather quickly, the

9:57

pet usually loses consciousness within a

9:59

few seconds. And she also told

10:01

me that the owners can be

10:03

with the pet during the procedure

10:05

if they want to. But it's

10:07

also a totally personal decision. So

10:09

if they don't want to, they

10:11

won't judge you or anything. Oh,

10:13

you know, there's a viral clip

10:15

on social media. And it's from

10:17

the perspective of a cat and

10:19

sometimes of a dog. And it

10:21

says, I've been with you my

10:23

whole life. Please don't abandon me

10:25

in my final moments. It

10:27

really tugs on heartstrings. And my friend recently

10:29

told me he did not have the courage

10:31

to go in and see the animal put

10:34

down. And he regrets it now. Julia,

10:36

are there people who are

10:38

opposed to vets carrying out euthanasia

10:40

on animals? So

10:42

when it comes to vets,

10:44

most understand that euthanasia is

10:46

often necessary for the well -being

10:48

of the pet. But

10:51

from what I've heard... are

10:53

vets who might not feel comfortable

10:55

doing it themselves, so they

10:57

could ask another vet to do

10:59

it. But there is also

11:01

another part of this discussion that

11:03

normally comes from animal rights

11:05

activist groups. So on

11:07

the one side, there are

11:09

groups who campaign against euthanasia

11:11

as a method to control

11:13

animals overpopulation. They also

11:15

tend to protest kill shelters that

11:18

are basically shelters that might euthanize

11:20

animals because they don't have the

11:22

space for all the pets they

11:24

receive. But on the other

11:26

hand, there are some who are

11:28

against euthanasia in no cases. They

11:30

sometimes give religious motives for

11:33

that or believe in taking

11:35

the no -kill advocacy to

11:37

the extreme. There are

11:39

also groups that are called animal

11:41

rights purists, and they argue that

11:43

animals should have the same right

11:45

to life as humans. But I

11:48

should say that this is

11:50

a small movement, and the vast

11:52

majority of NGOs and reliable

11:54

vet professionals see eutanasia as the

11:56

kindest act if the animal is

11:58

suffering. Julia, thank you so

12:00

much for explaining that. Thank you.

12:02

Thank you for having me. So

12:06

what advice is there on

12:08

how to approach this topic, aside

12:10

from thinking about what you

12:12

would do in advance and planning

12:14

ahead? Here's the vet Sarah

12:17

Courtright again. In my experience, I

12:19

do feel as though people

12:21

generally wait. too long so there's

12:23

always a concern about am

12:25

i making this decision too soon

12:27

that's something that i hear

12:29

from so many pet owners when

12:31

they're finally making the decision

12:33

to euthanize their pets but i

12:35

i feel majority of the

12:37

time people generally will wait too

12:39

long really taking inventory of

12:41

what your pet's day -to -day looks

12:43

like especially in these these

12:45

cases where we're managing chronic conditions

12:48

are they still doing things

12:50

that they enjoy what is their

12:52

appetite like what clinical signs

12:54

are they experiencing and and are

12:56

they still having good days

12:58

or at least positive moments and

13:00

joy and happiness throughout the

13:02

day if they're not and we're

13:04

really just medicating them and

13:06

they're suffering and they are having

13:08

all these clinical signs Again,

13:11

there's no right or wrong answer

13:13

with what to do, but when

13:15

the pet's quality of life really

13:17

appears to be diminished, that's when

13:19

I would consider making that decision.

13:21

It is a decision that we

13:23

make over several weeks to months,

13:25

potentially, in some of these chronic

13:27

cases, if we're fortunate enough to

13:29

have that. But again, my heart

13:31

goes out to any pet owner

13:33

that's experiencing that. That's

13:36

all for today. If you're interested

13:38

in hearing more episodes about animals, we've

13:40

got several in our back catalog.

13:42

Some of my favorites are Should Zoos

13:44

Exist? and Does Mudang Have Pretty

13:46

Privilege? You can download those episodes wherever

13:48

you're listening to us now. This

13:50

is What in the World from the

13:52

BBC World Service. I'm William Lee

13:54

Adams. We'll see you again soon.