For the ferret care giver inquiring (and other inquisitive ferret folks) about the use of a heart stick for euthanasia. I am a certified (CET) euthanasia technician, I attended several seminars and practicals administered by Douglas Fakkema for HSUS. Euthanasia means peaceful passing.. or the good sleep and is administered to keep an animal from suffering any more than he or she already has. One thing we learned first off was why NOT to use a heartstick - (IC Intracardiac) procedure - on any animal. It is never to be administered to animals who are awake. This is the most painful route for administering sodium pentobarbitool. Accidental injection into the lung is common. It is considered inhumane to give to an animal unless it is deeply anesthetized - (stage 3 or 4) due to pain caused by the injection. The pain is caused from a sheath of nerves which covers the ribs & breastplate of all animals. The needle must penetrate through this area and a shock of pain occurs during this process. Though it is the most efficient route of administration, for this to occur the injection must be into the heart chamber (ventricle) not the heart muscle. The site for ICP is right or left side between the fourth & fifth rib (called the fourth intercostal space). Clearly there are more obstacles and pain factors to making this a peaceful passing. The IP (intraperitoneal) injection is the recommended euthanasia technique recommended for small animals, puppies (younger than 2-3 months) cats and kittens. The IP process places the fluid into the abdominal cavity but not into organ. This is an easy route causing little or no pain or discomfort to the animal. Within 3 to 5 minutes the animal is in stage 3 and passes away within a 30 minute time frame from administration. It is recommended (training seminar) that the animal be placed in a darkened - less stressful environment post injection to minimize excitement (anesthetic reaction). Though all the ferrets we have needed to take to the vets for this process were calm & relaxed in our arms when this was administered. Veterinarians are trained the heart stick IC method because it is the quickest way and the fastest way thus freeing up clinic rooms faster. IV intravenous for ferrets is not an easy feat for many as the animals veins are so small.. and is it painless to go through getting the catheter in place in order to push the sodium pentobarbitol in? None of that is necessary with a simple IP injection. We hold the ferret belly up while offering its favorite treat, the stab is done and within 30 seconds they are getting groggy, falling off to sleep. NO stress, no pain, no fuss. Plenty of time to hug them, praise them and let them know they are not alone in this passing. The pet owner has the right to specify preferred method of euthanasia.... but of course the vet needs to know how to give the IP injection for it to be effective ( not hitting organs such as liver, kidneys etc.) I would suggest inquiring before the procedure is needed to know if your vets office can provide the procedure. (Personal experience with this technique is that many times our ferrets have passed away in 5-20 minutes). There is always a period of loss, grief, maybe guilt, but knowing that if euthanasia is require your ferret has not had to deal with a headache from isoflourane gas, a shocking pain from a needle injection before the passing, is a wonderful thing, I highly recommend any rescue / shelter personnel that has the opportunity to attend this seminar offered by HSUS do so. I took this at a time when I had numerous conflicts with euthanasia processes. Dealing with sick ferrets day in and day out and trying to determine when was the right time, feeling guilt over decision making, having nightmares, etc. Every shelter person goes through these conflicts. It was only after I learned and understood the process of correct euthanasia and the results of the administration - animal enters stage 3 which is equivalent to pre surgery anesthesia the drifts asleep peacefully .. was I able to deal with the decision making for those charges who were not living a pain free or healthy life. Take the time to speak with your veterinarians. Fondly in ferrets, Alicia at Ferret Wise www.ferretwise.org If I can pass on a few words of wisdom as a ferret owner, care giver, and shelter person it is to understand the process before the time it is needed. It will allow you to go through the normal grief processes easier. [Posted in FML 6531]