It Is Time
Let’s start this with me sharing that I avoid confrontation at all costs. I am a people pleaser, a retired nurse, and I look for peace and harmony all the time. I tackle tough issues privately with people but never in a public forum. As such, I am more than a little scared of where this blog post may take me. Here we go……
One of our local animal shelters has been getting skewered on social media over the past few months because they made the very tough decision to euthanize some dogs for behavioral issues. What was done is called behavioral euthanasia.
What does that mean? Behavioral euthanasia is when an animal is put down because the type of behavior being exhibited does not allow him to live safely in the world without causing harm to others, whether it be to humans or another animal.
These animals typically have a very low quality of life because their worlds must be so micromanaged that they have very few opportunities to just be a dog. This is done to prevent a bite or an injury to a human or another dog. They may be taken out for walks or an occasional hike but, to ensure safety, they typically spend the rest of their day locked up in a cage inside of a noisy shelter. That is a terrible life for these very social animals. They may have moments when they are nice to others, but they are dogs who just cannot be trusted to not to cause harm when whatever triggers them is presented. These are dogs for whom It is neither safe nor fair to adopt them out as pets.
I am not an expert on behavioral euthanasia, nor have I had to decide to end a dog’s life due to behavior issues. What I do know is that I have two dogs who have behavior issues, and I spend a lot of time managing their environments to prevent problems. I do so for one more than the other. And, yes, I have spent time, a lot of time, thinking about what if something happens and I have to make that decision. I know that it would be gut-wrenching and horrible because I love this dog so much.
I get to travel around the country in my job; I help organize workshops for dog people of all types. One of the workshops is entitled Aggression with Dogs: Defensive Handling and Training with Trish McMillan and Michael Shikashio. In this workshop, the participants are taught how to stay safe with aggressive dogs, and over the two days, behavioral euthanasia is discussed. The attendees share their experiences; I hear stories all the time about the decisions that they have had to make on their own, or help their clients make, to end the life of a dog with behavior issues. It is hard for them to talk about, and it is hard for me to listen to. The pain that they exhibit haunts me.
There is also a Facebook group, Losing Lulu, that I am part of. It is for people who have had to make the painful decision to end their own animal’s life for behavior issues. Their words of agony, pain, and shame are very hard to read, and there are some days that I cannot even look at the posts. It just hurts too much.
Why am I sharing all of this? To let you know that deciding to end an animal’s life for a behavior problem in the shelter setting is not typically done easily. It is usually done over time, with experts weighing in on it, and not until all other options having been evaluated and exhausted. The people involved are commonly deeply affected by the necessary decision, and I am guessing that they shed tears and think about it for a long time afterward. It is one of the hardest parts of their jobs.
As such, they deserve to be supported and given lots of extra TLC when they have to do a behavioral euthanasia. They should not be ridiculed, condemned, threatened, sent hate mail, or be crucified on social media.
It is the recent public hate toward our local shelter and staff that spurred me to write this blog. I can no longer sit in silence without lending these honorable people my support publicly. It is time.
Respectfully, Joann Rechtine, CPDT-KA, R.N., M.S., M.P.H.
