We have to print death strips from our EKG's... we have to have a full 6 second strip with no cardiac movement to pronoucnce death... I have sat there for an hour... flat lined for 5 and a half seconds....then pvc/pea.. #$%^& come on already! ;). (I really really am not this much of a witch with my patients!)
We get the, "but thier son/daughter/whoever is flying in from (wherever) to see grandpa, can't you just keep them alive til they get here?!" Ummm, if I could keep all my patients alive, that would be awesome, unfortunately, I don't really get that call... We have to do lots of education that just because you are on machines... doesn't mean you can't pass away... this is always a very hard lesson to learn.
I love learning the similarities btwn the vet-medical and human-medical world. Now I just have to make the descision which I like better~!
Euthanasia Methods
Well, if it matters, I'm sure the human-medical world pays better. ;)
I'm a full time vet assistant and I am pretty sure I am living below the poverty line.
I'm a full time vet assistant and I am pretty sure I am living below the poverty line.
If you are starting out as a VA, you'll get about $10/hr. However, most people start in the kennel, in which you can hope to get just a few pennies more than min wage. At least this is true in SoCal.
Which vet school do you want to go to? The one I want to go to is $35K a year too. Stupid private school. Have you applied yet? Almost? I just went thru the whole app process so if you need any advice or info, email me. :)
Which vet school do you want to go to? The one I want to go to is $35K a year too. Stupid private school. Have you applied yet? Almost? I just went thru the whole app process so if you need any advice or info, email me. :)
That's awful for all the intense work!!!
UPenn. Live in Illinois now, moving in August (haha reference my desparate blogs of how in the heck am I going to move with 25 animals?! :))
But I need a year of residency to apply... and I still need a physics and an organic chem lab... but I can do that in a year... take my time, no need to kill myself trying to do both in a semester! and I am only a nurse, so I need to find someone that will hire me into a vet clinic for the experience part of my resume'!
Ugh, how much of a nighmare is it to apply?
I will definately email soon, time for me to go to bed! My obnoxious baby is trying to chew my mouse cord. Children!
UPenn. Live in Illinois now, moving in August (haha reference my desparate blogs of how in the heck am I going to move with 25 animals?! :))
But I need a year of residency to apply... and I still need a physics and an organic chem lab... but I can do that in a year... take my time, no need to kill myself trying to do both in a semester! and I am only a nurse, so I need to find someone that will hire me into a vet clinic for the experience part of my resume'!
Ugh, how much of a nighmare is it to apply?
I will definately email soon, time for me to go to bed! My obnoxious baby is trying to chew my mouse cord. Children!
It was pretty expensive and you need to be careful about the different deadlines. The only advice I have for you is to be sure you have tons of experience. I only applied to the two CA schools but my friend applied to everything under the sun. She already got 4 rejection letters and although she has nearly a 4.0 GPA, she didnt have enough experience (they tell you the reason for the rejection). We both, however, got an interview with Western U just a few weeks ago. We're just waiting on Davis' interview invite (or dis-invite). Yes email me. Best keep the thread about euthanasia and piggies.
Just stumbled across this thread.
I have had to have several pigs put down at the vet's office. Only once did I sit through the process. Like Serena and mkkayla said, it was a terrible experience. My baby was given anesthesia (gas) before the heart injection, but she woke up and struggled and fought to live. I was horrified -- the memory will haunt me forever.
It may have been the right thing to do with a dying pig and this may not have been the typical or best of euthanasia experience... but I have to say it was anything but humane.
I pray all guinea pigs pass quietly on their own.
I have had to have several pigs put down at the vet's office. Only once did I sit through the process. Like Serena and mkkayla said, it was a terrible experience. My baby was given anesthesia (gas) before the heart injection, but she woke up and struggled and fought to live. I was horrified -- the memory will haunt me forever.
It may have been the right thing to do with a dying pig and this may not have been the typical or best of euthanasia experience... but I have to say it was anything but humane.
I pray all guinea pigs pass quietly on their own.
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PiggieMamma
- I GAVE, dammit!
I think my first piggy, Hammy, died in his sleep (he was sick with a URI) the last time I'd checked him - he was sleeping in his pigloo, snuggled up with a Therma Care Heat Wrap. In the morning (he was in a 'hospital' cage next to our bed) - my husband discovered him. He (my husband) was unconsolable - I sent him outside with the dogs while I took care of Hammy - his cage - and burial.
My second baby, Muffin, passed under anesthesia during surgery to lance a CL abscess. I've always taken comfort in the fact that he was asleep - and felt no pain.
Roo appears to be tettering on the edge of things right now. If we must euth - I plan to wait for my husband to come home from work, and I'd like to do it here at our home. I'd rather not be around for the heart stick, but if my husband wants - I'll stay with Roo and he can go outside, or in the other room for the heart stick.
Ken, my husband is terrible at dealing with the death of our animals. He can't talk about Hammy's death without tearing up to this day. I think it's because his father died when he was six months old - and he grew up in a house where 'you just didn't discuss death'. But that's another story all together.
Humans and animals act very similar at the time of death. It's a hard thing to be present for. It's important to me that I be only supportive (for both animal and human deaths) and put my selfish needs aside. I try my best to be calm, reassuring, and comforting. I sing softly - or whisper sweet things - anything to help the process along. I find that I feel better about the whole thing, if I know I was a source of comfort in the end.
My second baby, Muffin, passed under anesthesia during surgery to lance a CL abscess. I've always taken comfort in the fact that he was asleep - and felt no pain.
Roo appears to be tettering on the edge of things right now. If we must euth - I plan to wait for my husband to come home from work, and I'd like to do it here at our home. I'd rather not be around for the heart stick, but if my husband wants - I'll stay with Roo and he can go outside, or in the other room for the heart stick.
Ken, my husband is terrible at dealing with the death of our animals. He can't talk about Hammy's death without tearing up to this day. I think it's because his father died when he was six months old - and he grew up in a house where 'you just didn't discuss death'. But that's another story all together.
Humans and animals act very similar at the time of death. It's a hard thing to be present for. It's important to me that I be only supportive (for both animal and human deaths) and put my selfish needs aside. I try my best to be calm, reassuring, and comforting. I sing softly - or whisper sweet things - anything to help the process along. I find that I feel better about the whole thing, if I know I was a source of comfort in the end.
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HollyT
- Get on your bike.
My baby was given anesthesia (gas) before the heart injection, but she woke up and struggled and fought to live. I was horrified -- the memory will haunt me forever.
Oh wow. just wow. The vet that put Kringle down wouldn't let us stay for the heart stick. That was probably why. I so hope my pets can always wait for my regular vet.
Oh wow. just wow. The vet that put Kringle down wouldn't let us stay for the heart stick. That was probably why. I so hope my pets can always wait for my regular vet.
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capybara
- Supporter in '13
This is a great discussion. Thank you for bringing it up. We may be facing this decision in the near future with our Peppi, and I want to be armed with as much info as possible to make it as stress-free and painless as possible.
On an older thread on the topic I read a while back, someone mentioned oral sedatives as an alternative to Isoflorane. Is that enough to prepare them for a painless heart injection? Our vet typcially uses a box with an iso/oxygen mix. We mentioned our concern to our vet about the gas being stressful for a pig and asked about an oral sedative. While he admitted that some small animals get scared of the smell, his concern was that with an oral sedative alone, they may still be too conscious to put down humanely with a heart injection. He was willing to try a combo of oral sedative to calm them down first, and then gas. Would that work as an option to lessen fear and pain?
Our vet seemed very willing to work with whatever we wanted to try should Peppi's time come. If we want to ask about the IM injection, what drugs should we ask about?
On an older thread on the topic I read a while back, someone mentioned oral sedatives as an alternative to Isoflorane. Is that enough to prepare them for a painless heart injection? Our vet typcially uses a box with an iso/oxygen mix. We mentioned our concern to our vet about the gas being stressful for a pig and asked about an oral sedative. While he admitted that some small animals get scared of the smell, his concern was that with an oral sedative alone, they may still be too conscious to put down humanely with a heart injection. He was willing to try a combo of oral sedative to calm them down first, and then gas. Would that work as an option to lessen fear and pain?
Our vet seemed very willing to work with whatever we wanted to try should Peppi's time come. If we want to ask about the IM injection, what drugs should we ask about?
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Cindy in MI
- Supporter in '05
I am still wondering why it can't happen like this - first an oral sedative to get them relaxed and loopy, then an IM sedative to put them totally under, then the heart stick. Any reason it couldn't be done this way?
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