Some days.....

This was one of those days. I know I said I wasn't going to talk about animals....apparently I lied...
We had to euthanize a cat today that should not have been in the condition that necessitated this decision. The animals we use at school are brought to the school on Monday morning by several different rescue groups and animal shelters and are returned to them on Thursday afternoon. In exchange for allowing the students to learn from them, we spay/neuter, vaccinate and deworm as well as treat any minor conditions, at no cost. We are not set up at school to treat anything more serious than minor little issues here and there so we will refuse any animal that is obviously ill. This morning, one of the animals brought to us was a young (~5years) long haired intact male cat. He was emaciated, lethargic and smelled horrible. The shelter worker said that he had been at the shelter for about 3 weeks and they hadn't brought him to us because he was too sick.One of the students was directed to check his temperature and when she lifted his tail to take the temp, (yes...that's where we take the temp...it's too hard to get them to hold the thermometer under their tongue...) the problem became very obvious. He had matted fur all around his backside that was full of fecal matter and it appeared that he had diarrhea. With clippers, I started to shave the mats away and realized that there was no skin underneath! Literally, the tissue was so infected that the skin simply sloughed off. In addition, there were areas that were ulcerated into the muscle. I can't begin to imagine how painful this must've  been. While this condition could be treated, it would require at least 3 weeks of very intensive nursing, $1000 or more and probably several months to heal completely. Sadly, this was just not possible because the shelter doesn't have the financial resources or manpower needed to provide this level of care. And certainly no money for it to be treated at a regular vet clinic. So the only alternative was to euthanize....Very, very sad. I gave my class the option of being present or not and bless them, they all stayed. I think for most of them this was the first time they had witnessed a euthanasia. I sincerely hope that I was able to convey to them the magnitude of being able to end a life and that they understand that each animal deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, no matter if they have an owner or not. And, it's ok to cry........Tough day...

If this has affected you in any way, please, consider making a donation to your local animal shelter. Keep in mind that local shelters struggle with day to day operations with limited funds and mostly volunteers. The Humane Society of the United States does not...let me say that again, DOES NOT give money to local shelters. In fact the majority of their money goes into lobbying, not animal care, despite what their commercials imply. In fact, recent documents (these are all public record) indicated that HSUS put $2 million into their employee retirement fund....$2 million.....donated money....So, please, give directly to your local humane society or rescue group.

And spay/neuter your dogs and cats!

Alright....I'm done preaching....I need to go take my blood pressure pills....:)

*listening to  "Overcome" - Live

From the dark side.....