Just how do you say "thanks for euthanizing my dog"? As all pet owners know (and most have experienced) there will come a time when your beloved, or even un-beloved, pet will need to say goodbye to t... Read More
Just how do you say "thanks for euthanizing my dog"? As all pet owners know (and most have experienced) there will come a time when your beloved, or even un-beloved, pet will need to say goodbye to the world. The time came last week for our Golden Retriever, Sandy. Sandy drove me nuts almost her entire life, I called her my arch nemesis. Some days it seemed as if her only reason for being was to aggravate the bejesus out of me. Oh how I loved to hate that dog. I taught her how to walk on a leash without pulling my shoulder out of joint and how to properly and politely ride in a car. She never quite mastered "fetch" though, she had much more fun retrieving a toy and then having me chase her around like a maniac to try and get it back. My BF and all the kids loved her endlessly. All those maddening things she did were charming in their eyes, she could do no wrong.When she became lethargic I was worried, when she stopped eating and wagging her tail I was beyond concerned. On this particular day it was my job to take her to the vet. I called to make the appointment and made it for 4pm so that someone would be home to help me get Sandy in the car. However, when I told the receptionist her symptoms and my concerns she asked me to come in earlier. She said that she was concerned as well, and didn't want Sandy to have to wait until 4. I told her my dilemma and she very kindly offered to have someone at their office get Sandy out of the car for me. All I had to do was call them when I pulled in. One of the front desk staff came out with a strong young man and took Sandy right to a room.The vet tech came right in to gather info, she was so kind to me and to Sandy. By this point it was obvious that Sandy had become very sick, very fast and the vet tech sweetly patted Sandy on the head and told her everything would be ok. She took the dog off to be weighed and about 15 minutes later the vet came in. The doctor informed me that it appeared as if the dog had cancer and we went over the options. She told me she would give me some time to process all of this and then come back to check on me. The vet comes back a short time later to tell me the situation is more dire that first believed. There is no saving Sandy. At this point euthanasia or a slow, painful death were our options. Obviously I chose euthanasia and asked for some time to gather everyone to come and say goodbye. The vet graciously told me to take as long as needed, she left to go give the dog some pain medication. I had to leave the office to go pick up one of the kids and no one even wanted a credit card to hold (trust me this is NOT the way its usually done at other vet's offices).Finally everyone was gathered and the vet came back in to do the deed. I swear she had tears in her eyes, too. She sat there with us, consoling us, offering words of sympathy and just being great. As we left I went to the desk to check out and the same super-kind woman that had helped when we first got there told me to not even worry about checking out. She said she'd take care of the paperwork and just send us a bill. All of the staff up front expressed their sympathies before we left.Just today we received a package in the mail from JBAH, a card with lovely sentiments from several employees and that silly dog's footprint in clay. Many thanks to JBAH for making a very sad and difficult time easier on our family. I am so sorry that I was not able to mention all of the names of those who helped us but it was so emotional I was not able to retain that information. Suffice it to say, every single person we encountered this day took great care of the dog and the family. Read Less