This is a very delicate subject -- as a shelterer you perhaps deal with it
many times more than owners would when folks call looking for guidance or
support etc.  I know our shelter family always has an open line to us when
the ferrets are in question.  For the most part the vets who care for the
ferrets are sympathetic and do a good job of counseling at the end, a few
are even open enough to provide oral meds "in case" the ferret should
decline on a weekend when no one is available.  We appreciate those
veterinarians who can help the hospice kids.  BUT there does come a time
to allow the life to be released... we all hope our pets will go quietly
in their sleep-- but with many of these illnesses and cancers, it just
isn't the way it works.
 
I certainly hope that Ferretguy was NOT advocating a need to prolong
suffering of a chronic of suffering pet that after all is INHUMANE-- and
I will assume we misread that into his post.
 
There ARE ways of allowing the ferret to pass without pain, that is after
all the definition in latin of euthanasia - "the good death".  In the
states we haphazardly refer to the term euthanasia for kill... it is not
the same thing.
 
What I have learned in studies recently is that many veterinary schools do
not teach "true" euthanasia as text for vets.  They learn the simple heart
stick procedure which they are told (if done right) is quick and painless.
My understanding is while it is quick it is not painless and many times due
to the heart moving from the animal being on one side or another the stick
is not accomplished the first time .  My personal feeling on this is a
heart stick should not ever be used on a conscious animal.  An anesthetic
state should be obtained first whether that be via iso or pre mix but the
least painful in my experience so far has been an IP stick where the animal
can drift off in the arms of it's owner.
 
I am a fervant advocate of witnessed euthanasia for all pet owners, it is
the kindest tribute we can pay , to be there at the end for them.
 
Alicia
Ferret Wise Shelter
www.ferretwise.org
[Posted in FML issue 3393]