This week my mother had to take her dog to the veterinarian. This wasn’t for a check-up; it wasn’t for grooming; it wasn’t for annual vaccinations either. My mother had to have her pet euthanized. In essence, the doctor of veterinary medicine injected Lucky with a lethal form of medication.
Lucky was more than sixteen years old. His exact age isn’t known because he was an adult when he came to live in my mother’s home. Needless to say, he was an old dog, and he had many age-related problems (one being blindness). He finally reached a point in his life where he could not walk and his bowel muscles could no longer be controlled. He was, by all accounts, a member of the family.
My mother had given this pet all the love and support that she could, spending thousands of dollars on medications. It was a discussion with her veterinarian that led to the decision to euthanize Lucky.
She took Lucky to the animal hospital near closing time. The place was quiet and the back area was set up like a living room, complete with a recliner. She sat down in the recliner with Lucky in her lap. She petted the good, old dog as the physician administered the injection.
When she told me this story, I thought about my own pets. I have a cat who is sixteen years old. Our discussion evolved into our own humanity and what we would want done should our bodies deteriorate to a state of irreparability. We both agreed that we did not want life support.
The intriguing part of our conversation involved how human beings hold on to life at all costs. Most of them do not accept death. They fight death even when their quality of life may be worse should they win that fight. Sometimes it is not their decision at all. It is the decision of family members who cannot accept their departure. Sometimes it is a hospital, an entity bound through legal obligations to keep everyone alive no matter the cost or quality of life beyond.
There seems to be a disconnect between our acceptance of life and death. The two are not mutually exclusive. They go hand-in-hand, part of the same package we all are given the moment we exit the womb. Shouldn’t we live and die as humanely as possible?
