[vetvetdoug]

I spent a career going down to the "humane society" and doing their dirty work for them pro bono saving the facility literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ten years putting down ~75 animals a week...I'm glad I no longer do this as it takes quite a toll on one's psyche. I used euthanasia solutions, anesthetics and K+ or magnesium sulfate until the DEA began to regulate many of the drugs obsessively and charging exorbitant license fees which made it no longer feasible to do the job pro bono. Even though I saved the facility hundreds of thousands of dollars and allowed many animals to be saved, the negative publicity thrown around by hateful people that only wished to hurt me was significant. I've been retired five years now and still have PTSD from the practice but it's getting much better. It is no wonder that veterinarians have the highest suicide rate among professionals.

[waterhill]

One of my best friends is a vet. We hold her close, figuratively. She’s a very sensitive person. She gets upset easily. We are farm people. We give anecdotes to give her strength. It hurts her when she puts a dog or cat down.

[waterhill]

We normally take out our own ourselves. It sucks,but we do it. Farm life. We even have a little cemetery.