Yesterday we had a vet come to the house to put down our friend and companion of 19 years. She happened to be a female cat. She was able to walk, wobbly at best, ate little in the last few weeks and just wanted to lay down either under a table in the screened porch all day or else in the shower stall in the bathroom at night. If she were sleeping it might not have been so sad, but most of the time here eyes were open as she lay there. In a matter of a month or so her muscles wasted away to the point that we could feel and see every ridge on her backbone. When she stood to eat what little she did, her legs were akimbo because she was so weak. I felt she must be suffering and decided it was time to put her out of her pain. I had called a local vet a month or so before who told me that they first gave the cat a sedative to put her to sleep, then gave her a fatal injection to stop the heart. That sounded like the most humane way to do it. I asked if they would come to the house to do it. I had had a vet come to the house twenty years or so ago to put another cat down, feeling it was easier on the pet rather than the trauma of going to the vet's office. This vet did not offer that service but gave me the name of another, out of town, who did. I called him, he confirmed he made house calls and told me that he did the procedure the same way. I made the decision yesterday to put her down. I called the vet, he arranged to come to the house with an assistant in the evening. He did so. I again asked him the procedure and he told me "I'll give her a barbituate first, then the other shot in about five minutes". I paid him his fee at that time so that I didn't have to deal with him afterwards. I went out and got our friend, brought her in a placed her on a blanket on the couch. She had had shots before in our local vet's office and was always fine with it, never even flinching. This vet told me that his assistant needed to hold the cat instead of me. When they gave her the shot, she screamed and struggled fiercely for a few seconds. It must have hurt her badly. I rushed to comfort her. Her eyes were filled with fear. Within a minute or so she began to gag and vomit. It was horrible. The vet, standing behind me, said "this is normal". I could've punched him if the circumstances were different and my pet's now obvious suffering needed to end. I helped her as best I could so she wouldn't choke. After about two minutes she lay still, labored breathing but eyes wide open with terror in them. The vet said that my wife and I should leave the room, that it would be better that way. Coward that I am, I did so. After a couple of minutes he stated "it's over, you can come back". She was gone. I insincerely thanked them and quickly ushered them out of our house. Within five minutes our beloved friend was buried in a grave I had dug for her in the front yard so that her body could become part of the trees growing around her.
My point in writing this is this: there should be a standardized method of putting pets down. I have had sodium pentathol to have wisdom teeth removed. The shot did not hurt and I was out within ten seconds. There are other substances which could be administered with thin needles that cause unconsciouness or sleep. Our cat suffered immensely in her last moments of life. I will never forget what she went through and I will always regret it. How on earth can euthanasia not have been perfected by now? Please, for your sake as well as the sake of your loving pets, make sure this same thing never happens to you.