11-07-2010, 09:44 PM
@ndy, thank you for starting this thread! Our 2D brethren share our planet and their lives are inextricably bound with ours. They are part of our families. It's an important topic.
My first experience with euthanasia was with a cat who was crippled, with a spine disorder that got progressively worse, despite my many attempts to help him using holistic medicine as well as therapies from the vet. My main concern was always whether he was in pain or not. He was, so I finally made the decision to have him euthanized, because I didn't want him to suffer from the chronic pain.
I psychically talked to him and explained why I was doing this, and asked him to please come back to our family next time he incarnated, and we would welcome him back. I held him and felt at peace about the decision.
But, what happened next totally devastated me emotionally!
After hearing the expression 'put the cat to sleep' so many times, I fully expected him to just go limp. But that's not what happened. He SCREAMED.
I couldn't believe it! No one told me that cats sometimes scream as they die. I literally felt his life leave his body, and I will never forget the look in his eyes as he died. I felt betrayal in those eyes.
Maybe that was just my own guilt. I had not expected him to do anything but go limp.
A few years later, I had to have another cat euthanized. She was a beloved member of our family, not any more than the first cat, but for many years longer. She was elderly and all treatments, both allopathic and holistic, had been exhausted. She was in severe pain.
This time I went to a different doctor, and expressed my horror at what had happened with the first cat. This vet explained to me that sometimes this happens, and that's why at her clinic, they offer sedation, so that the animal doesn't feel any pain or shock. So we had her sedated, and I held her the whole time, tears streaming down my face, and she passed quietly and peacefully.
Later, when we were burying her discarded body, I saw her on top of the roof, carefree and happy. I believe she was letting me know that she was fine, and that she understood and forgave me.
The first cat, the one who screamed, came back to us a few months later, as new stray kitten, with exactly the same unique mannerisms. I have found that cats seem to reincarnate very quickly. I've had a number of cats return to me in new bodies.
In answer to your question, @ndy, I don't think these cats and dogs are feeling betrayed by you. Their humans already made the decision to euthanize them. So you didn't betray them. Neither did their humans betray them, in most cases, as it was likely a difficult, even agonizing decision.
Rather than feeling that you are betraying them, I suggest focusing on the love you are giving to them. If you weren't working in that clinic, who would provide that love and comfort to the animal?
You are providing a beautiful service, to assist the animal in making his/her transition.
My first experience with euthanasia was with a cat who was crippled, with a spine disorder that got progressively worse, despite my many attempts to help him using holistic medicine as well as therapies from the vet. My main concern was always whether he was in pain or not. He was, so I finally made the decision to have him euthanized, because I didn't want him to suffer from the chronic pain.
I psychically talked to him and explained why I was doing this, and asked him to please come back to our family next time he incarnated, and we would welcome him back. I held him and felt at peace about the decision.
But, what happened next totally devastated me emotionally!
After hearing the expression 'put the cat to sleep' so many times, I fully expected him to just go limp. But that's not what happened. He SCREAMED.
I couldn't believe it! No one told me that cats sometimes scream as they die. I literally felt his life leave his body, and I will never forget the look in his eyes as he died. I felt betrayal in those eyes.
Maybe that was just my own guilt. I had not expected him to do anything but go limp.
A few years later, I had to have another cat euthanized. She was a beloved member of our family, not any more than the first cat, but for many years longer. She was elderly and all treatments, both allopathic and holistic, had been exhausted. She was in severe pain.
This time I went to a different doctor, and expressed my horror at what had happened with the first cat. This vet explained to me that sometimes this happens, and that's why at her clinic, they offer sedation, so that the animal doesn't feel any pain or shock. So we had her sedated, and I held her the whole time, tears streaming down my face, and she passed quietly and peacefully.
Later, when we were burying her discarded body, I saw her on top of the roof, carefree and happy. I believe she was letting me know that she was fine, and that she understood and forgave me.
The first cat, the one who screamed, came back to us a few months later, as new stray kitten, with exactly the same unique mannerisms. I have found that cats seem to reincarnate very quickly. I've had a number of cats return to me in new bodies.
In answer to your question, @ndy, I don't think these cats and dogs are feeling betrayed by you. Their humans already made the decision to euthanize them. So you didn't betray them. Neither did their humans betray them, in most cases, as it was likely a difficult, even agonizing decision.
Rather than feeling that you are betraying them, I suggest focusing on the love you are giving to them. If you weren't working in that clinic, who would provide that love and comfort to the animal?
You are providing a beautiful service, to assist the animal in making his/her transition.