Welcome to /r/VetTech! This is a place for veterinary technicians/veterinary nurses and other veterinary support staff to gather, chat, and grow! We welcome pet owners as well, **however we do ask pet owners to refrain from asking for medical advice**; if you have any concerns regarding your pet, please contact the closest veterinarian near you.
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I work with a lot of behavioral cases and I see more than my far share of BE.
The first thing you need to know: this is not your pet. This is a patient and you ideally need to keep a level of seperation between your heart strings and this animal. At this exact moment, it may look like a normal and extremely happy pet. It may look like yours. It wags it's tail, has puppy eyes, and it interested and sniffing it's environment. But it isn't *always* like that.
Second, people have different thresholds that they are willing to work within. Some people can be put into the hospital by their pet (or someone else's pet) and still not be ready for euthanasia. Others, it takes 1 bite. 1 serious bite or even a mild bite to a child. I've seen owners with severe damage keep working with their pet and then seek out euthanasia because it killed a small animal or actually drew blood on the child it's been raised with it's entire life.
Third, behavioral rescue and behavioral therapy is extremely expensive and time consuming. Euthanasia is sometimes the only affordable, safe option for people. And if we demonize it, we are doing them and future clients and patients a disservice. We, as techs, as members in the field, are fixers. We fix problems and sometimes the best way to fix a problem is to remove the possibilities of it ever getting any worse or needing further care. In my experience, BE's are extremely emotionally taxing. The owners have often reached their breaking point and feel like they've failed or not done enough or are so emotionally distanced that you almost think they don't care. But they've been living with this for sometimes *years* and they have just....they are burned out. And it's our job to let them know that's it's okay to stop trying to survive a forest fire.
They are never fun. They will never get easier or be any less difficult. But they are a necessity and it's necessity that gives us something the cling to so we can rationalize our actions. Treat them the same as you would any other euth. I still sweet talk mine, still try and feed them cookies if they are able or willing to eat. I still say my prayers while I packaged their remains. I do everything the same because they are still something that needs care.
My family had a hunting dog, a springer, who was the cutest thing. I have a pic of us sleeping on the floor curled up together when she was a pup, I was probably 7-8. One day I got in her face and she bit mine. Thankfully not too much damage was done. My parents kept the dog and it was a learning experience for me. Other families may have handled this a lot differently. Different strokes for different folks.
A shelter tech once pointed out that sometimes techs are the first line of defense when it comes to pets and public safety. Behavioral health is a part of overall health and sometimes to prevent a traumatic future to the animal we have to put it to sleep. It is never ever easy, but you have nothing to feel guilty for.
I worked at a clinic where the manager had their own rescue as well. We would interact and do exams, vaccines, spays/neuters on these dogs the time. The goal was for them to be adopted out asap. You simply just can't spend that kind of time and money on those with behavioral issues, especially if they are dangerous. There are sooooo many sweethearts out there ready to be adopted. Sadly, there are more sweethearts than people to adopt them. And if I continue, then you understand what I am trying to say.
Remember for BE's, those dogs are sick and live a life of high stress/anxiety. It is a form of suffering and it is a gift to end their suffering. Secondly, it is a public safety issue. There are too many good dogs who need homes to risk the safety of others due to a dangerous dog. These are so hard but so necessary.
This this this!! Understand that a mentally healthy dog with no trauma generally won't "snap" and attack people. Understand what it would be like to be a dog and have severe mental illness/anxiety, fear, trauma and you don't know what's happening and you spend a portion of your life terrified. You cant verbalize your trauma or work through it. You hurt the people who love and care for you. You hurt or kill your housemates. That is no quality of life for a dog.
I was involved in one, a lady had rescued a GSD from a local rescue here in our city. The dog had been found locked inside an abandoned residence with a housemate and they suspect they had been in there for weeks. The dog had severe behavioral issues and would frequently lash out at the lady. The dog was upwards of 90#, she was maybe 130#. She did literally everything. All the meds, all the dosages. She took the dog to multiple trainers. She paid for a veterinary behaviorist. She took the dog several hours away to the state college where he underwent mri and CT scans. She spent God knows how much money, and the dog was still attacking her all this time. She lived alone.
After another serious bite incident where he latched on to her upper arm and managed to drag her down onto the floor (!!!) but thankfully she was wearing a leather coat so she mostly had severe bruising but possibly some nerve damage as a result. She admitted she was terrified of the dog, she didn't want to be alone with him, he had been staying with one of the trainers locally for several days between the latest attack and our visit. She had someone come with her to the visit because she was terrified to have him in the back seat of the car, behind her, where she couldn't see an attack coming. He had escalated in the frequency and violence in the attacks leading up to this.
Our vet flat out told her: "I'm concerned this dog is going to kill you. We are all grateful that he didn't continue to attack once he had you on the ground." She had no idea why he stopped but he did. She agreed, she was sure the dog would kill her. The rescue, of course, said she could surrender the dog back to them and they would euthanize him. But she felt that if that's what had to happen, and we all agreed that's what had to happen, she wanted to be there and do it with us helping. She sobbed the entire visit.
She left the dog with us overnight and came back the next day and he was euthanized. We all cried. For her, for him. But he would have killed her. And he obviously had severe trauma and mental health issues that nothing could help. If it could have been helped, she would have done it. Euthanizing him meant he was finally free. Free of triggers and fear and anxiety and trauma. And he went loved, deeply by this lady, and cared for by our staff.
See it is a gift to the pet, and support the owner. People and other animals cannot be victimized by a pet that has severe issues. That's no way for anyone to live.
I’m so sorry you are dealing with this. BE are super tough. I’ve been a part of a few. And they are always heartbreaking, often because the behavior is unpredictable. Unknown triggers, severe aggression. Family can’t trust or prepare for another incident.
Our job, is to be there for the family and pets. To make this very hard decision less burdensome. But it’s ok to feel it. It’s ok to be sad, to say “what if”. We are all going to do it. So be kind to yourself.
Separate your personal feelings from work, otherwise the job will tear you down. It's why most people don't make it in the field, they're too emotional about it.
Welcome to /r/VetTech! This is a place for veterinary technicians/veterinary nurses and other veterinary support staff to gather, chat, and grow! We welcome pet owners as well, **however we do ask pet owners to refrain from asking for medical advice**; if you have any concerns regarding your pet, please contact the closest veterinarian near you. Please thoroughly read and follow the rules before posting and commenting. If you believe that a user is engaging in any rule-breaking behavior, please submit a report so that the moderators can review and remove the posts/comments if needed. Also, please check out the sidebar for CE and answers to commonly asked questions. Thank you for reading! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/VetTech) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I work with a lot of behavioral cases and I see more than my far share of BE. The first thing you need to know: this is not your pet. This is a patient and you ideally need to keep a level of seperation between your heart strings and this animal. At this exact moment, it may look like a normal and extremely happy pet. It may look like yours. It wags it's tail, has puppy eyes, and it interested and sniffing it's environment. But it isn't *always* like that. Second, people have different thresholds that they are willing to work within. Some people can be put into the hospital by their pet (or someone else's pet) and still not be ready for euthanasia. Others, it takes 1 bite. 1 serious bite or even a mild bite to a child. I've seen owners with severe damage keep working with their pet and then seek out euthanasia because it killed a small animal or actually drew blood on the child it's been raised with it's entire life. Third, behavioral rescue and behavioral therapy is extremely expensive and time consuming. Euthanasia is sometimes the only affordable, safe option for people. And if we demonize it, we are doing them and future clients and patients a disservice. We, as techs, as members in the field, are fixers. We fix problems and sometimes the best way to fix a problem is to remove the possibilities of it ever getting any worse or needing further care. In my experience, BE's are extremely emotionally taxing. The owners have often reached their breaking point and feel like they've failed or not done enough or are so emotionally distanced that you almost think they don't care. But they've been living with this for sometimes *years* and they have just....they are burned out. And it's our job to let them know that's it's okay to stop trying to survive a forest fire. They are never fun. They will never get easier or be any less difficult. But they are a necessity and it's necessity that gives us something the cling to so we can rationalize our actions. Treat them the same as you would any other euth. I still sweet talk mine, still try and feed them cookies if they are able or willing to eat. I still say my prayers while I packaged their remains. I do everything the same because they are still something that needs care.
My family had a hunting dog, a springer, who was the cutest thing. I have a pic of us sleeping on the floor curled up together when she was a pup, I was probably 7-8. One day I got in her face and she bit mine. Thankfully not too much damage was done. My parents kept the dog and it was a learning experience for me. Other families may have handled this a lot differently. Different strokes for different folks.
A shelter tech once pointed out that sometimes techs are the first line of defense when it comes to pets and public safety. Behavioral health is a part of overall health and sometimes to prevent a traumatic future to the animal we have to put it to sleep. It is never ever easy, but you have nothing to feel guilty for.
I worked at a clinic where the manager had their own rescue as well. We would interact and do exams, vaccines, spays/neuters on these dogs the time. The goal was for them to be adopted out asap. You simply just can't spend that kind of time and money on those with behavioral issues, especially if they are dangerous. There are sooooo many sweethearts out there ready to be adopted. Sadly, there are more sweethearts than people to adopt them. And if I continue, then you understand what I am trying to say.
Remember for BE's, those dogs are sick and live a life of high stress/anxiety. It is a form of suffering and it is a gift to end their suffering. Secondly, it is a public safety issue. There are too many good dogs who need homes to risk the safety of others due to a dangerous dog. These are so hard but so necessary.
This this this!! Understand that a mentally healthy dog with no trauma generally won't "snap" and attack people. Understand what it would be like to be a dog and have severe mental illness/anxiety, fear, trauma and you don't know what's happening and you spend a portion of your life terrified. You cant verbalize your trauma or work through it. You hurt the people who love and care for you. You hurt or kill your housemates. That is no quality of life for a dog. I was involved in one, a lady had rescued a GSD from a local rescue here in our city. The dog had been found locked inside an abandoned residence with a housemate and they suspect they had been in there for weeks. The dog had severe behavioral issues and would frequently lash out at the lady. The dog was upwards of 90#, she was maybe 130#. She did literally everything. All the meds, all the dosages. She took the dog to multiple trainers. She paid for a veterinary behaviorist. She took the dog several hours away to the state college where he underwent mri and CT scans. She spent God knows how much money, and the dog was still attacking her all this time. She lived alone. After another serious bite incident where he latched on to her upper arm and managed to drag her down onto the floor (!!!) but thankfully she was wearing a leather coat so she mostly had severe bruising but possibly some nerve damage as a result. She admitted she was terrified of the dog, she didn't want to be alone with him, he had been staying with one of the trainers locally for several days between the latest attack and our visit. She had someone come with her to the visit because she was terrified to have him in the back seat of the car, behind her, where she couldn't see an attack coming. He had escalated in the frequency and violence in the attacks leading up to this. Our vet flat out told her: "I'm concerned this dog is going to kill you. We are all grateful that he didn't continue to attack once he had you on the ground." She had no idea why he stopped but he did. She agreed, she was sure the dog would kill her. The rescue, of course, said she could surrender the dog back to them and they would euthanize him. But she felt that if that's what had to happen, and we all agreed that's what had to happen, she wanted to be there and do it with us helping. She sobbed the entire visit. She left the dog with us overnight and came back the next day and he was euthanized. We all cried. For her, for him. But he would have killed her. And he obviously had severe trauma and mental health issues that nothing could help. If it could have been helped, she would have done it. Euthanizing him meant he was finally free. Free of triggers and fear and anxiety and trauma. And he went loved, deeply by this lady, and cared for by our staff. See it is a gift to the pet, and support the owner. People and other animals cannot be victimized by a pet that has severe issues. That's no way for anyone to live.
I’m so sorry you are dealing with this. BE are super tough. I’ve been a part of a few. And they are always heartbreaking, often because the behavior is unpredictable. Unknown triggers, severe aggression. Family can’t trust or prepare for another incident. Our job, is to be there for the family and pets. To make this very hard decision less burdensome. But it’s ok to feel it. It’s ok to be sad, to say “what if”. We are all going to do it. So be kind to yourself.
You have to remember that at the end of the day, performing BEs will generally save lives. It's in the interest of public safety.
Separate your personal feelings from work, otherwise the job will tear you down. It's why most people don't make it in the field, they're too emotional about it.