Preparing For A Euthanasia

Part of a recent class was devoted to preparing an exam room for a euthanasia. It's ironic because within 2 days of the class Jim and I made the difficult, but necessary decision to put one of our rabbits down. Cosmo was an elder bun whose right hip had deteriorated to the point where the ball and socket had just....dissolved. Though he was unaffected in the beginning, gradually he became more disabled. In the beginning he could still hop, even if he did lean to one side. He could still jump up on a box. He could hop down the hallway. Then we noticed him hopping less and scooting more. The lean was more pronounced. Eventually he stopped hopping entirely and just scooted when he needed to, taking longer rest stops in between. Then one day it seemed as though he was no longer even scooting. Instead he was pulling himself along by his front paws in a sort of hitching motion. In a short time his front paws took on the appearance of oars splayed out wide, and that pose helped him "paddle". A week later it seemed as though even paddling was becoming too laborious. Instead Cosmo chose to stay in his enclosure rather than explore. He could be found almost always lying on one side, curled in a backwards looking letter "C", no longer wanting to exert himself. He ate lying down. He still got so excited for treats that he would wiggle and make himself move, but we could see how difficult it was. His back end was atrophied and his body started to become twisted. Worse, the fur on the down flank wore away in a matter of days and I was afraid that his delicate skin would start to abrade and bleed and become infected.

Although he was on pain meds they were not ever going to be able to return his former quality of life to him. Cozzie, as we affectionately called him, had been reduced to a bunny grub.

And it was not fair to him to live this way.

So, we made the decision to euthanize him. According to my teachers, as hard as euthanasia is on an owner, it's also very hard on the staff of a veterinary practice, especially if they have come to know the pet well. Emotion aside there are certain protocols to be followed by the veterinary assistant(the parents and the pet go into an exam room right away, there is a soft blanket for the pet to lie on, a box of kleenex for the parents, a way for them to leave afterwards without going through a waiting area filled with people and their...alive pets. Things to ease the weight and sadness.) On the practical side there is paperwork authorizing the euthanasia and decisions about the body.

As teary as I was in the room with Cosmo in his last moments, I still found myself making a mental note of what my vet was doing, checking off items that I had   recently been taught. The next day in class I think I did OK on that part of our quiz though sadly not just from what I learned studying.

RIP Cosmo Bunny. You were the BEST toy-tosser we ever had and we loved you dearly.