Approximately 6 to 8 million animals are handled by animal shelters in the United States each year. Even though some of them are reclaimed or adopted, nearly 4 million unwanted dogs and cats are left with nowhere to go. Shelters cannot house and support all these animals until their natural deaths. Some shelters sell unclaimed animals to laboratories to be used in experiments and eventually killed.

Animal companions cannot survive on the streets. If they don't starve, freeze, get hit by a car, or die of disease, they may be tormented and possibly killed by bored juveniles or picked up by a dealer who obtains animals to sell to laboratories.

Good and Bad Solutions
With the number of unwanted animal companions so high and nowhere to place them, sometimes the most humane act a shelter worker can do is to give an animal a peaceful release from a world in which dogs and cats are often considered "surplus" and unwanted. Euthanasia should be done by intravenous injection of sodium pentobarbital. Inhalants, decompression, electrocution, shooting, and other methods are unacceptable because they usually cause suffering before death occurs.

Some noninhalant pharmacologic agents can cause discomfort if injected too quickly or at too large a dose; some, such as strychnine, can cause animals to experience violent convulsions, muscle contractions, or cardiac arrest. One noninhalant commonly used in shelters and sometimes by veterinarians and laboratory personnel, T-61, caused discomfort to animals if administered at too great a dosage. Because T-61 was not a controlled substance, it was easy for anyone to obtain it regardless of understanding of proper usage of the drug, so the company that produced it voluntarily withdrew it from the market.

Inhalants such as nitrous oxide, halothane, and carbon monoxide may be expensive and unreliable and can cause irritation or excitability in animals.

The physical methods used to kill animals in shelters include shooting, electrocution, and decompression. The obvious problem with shooting is the potential for extreme pain if the person handling the gun is not competent, if the animal is struggling too much for the bullet to be placed precisely, or if the bullet is deflected and the animal survives. Electrocution can be extremely painful and traumatic and doesn't always work.

Decompression chambers simulate an ascent to thousands of feet above sea level in a matter of minutes. At many shelters that use this method, decompression occurs at speeds measuring 15 times the recommended rate. At the greater speed, the gases in animals' sinuses, middle ears, and intestines expand quickly, causing considerable discomfort or severe pain.(1) Accidental recompression can occur due to malfunctioning equipment or to personnel error or when small animals become trapped in air pockets. They must then be put through the procedure all over again.

If your local pound or shelter is using any method other than an intravenous injection of sodium pentobarbital, protest to local authorities and demand the implementation of humane practices. Check state and local laws for prescribed methods of euthanasia and insist that your local shelter comply with these requirements. Euthanasia should always be performed by well-trained, caring staff members, and animals should never be euthanized in view of other animals.

Until people who have dogs and cats help control their population, some people must do society's dirty work and try responsibly and humanely to stop the immense suffering caused by overpopulation. Sadly, euthanasia is the most compassionate option.

Your Animal Companion
When animal companions become very sick and are suffering, with no hope of recovery, and if they seem incapable of truly enjoying life, it may be time for their peaceful death by euthanasia. This is a difficult decision to make. Many veterinarians feel it is unethical to recommend euthanasia before a client asks for their opinion. In a difficult situation, ask your veterinarian to talk frankly with you, and consider getting a second opinion if you are in doubt. Be sure you are not prolonging your friend's suffering because of your own pain at letting go. The tendency is to wait too long, at the expense of the animal you love.

If your animal companion is very nervous, you may want to obtain a dose of tranquilizer from your veterinarian and administer it two hours before the appointed time for euthanasia. The veterinarian will be able to give the injection more easily to a relaxed patient who is not moving about. You will also be calmer when your companion is at ease. It is important to try to be cheery in front of your friend until after he or she has died.

Some veterinarians will come to your home to administer the shot. Otherwise, go to the animal hospital, perhaps taking a member of your family or a friend for moral support and to drive you home. If necessary, have hospital personnel help you carry your animal companion inside. If you plan to bury the body, rather than leave it at the hospital, arrange beforehand to have the doctor come to the car to give the injection.

Many people wish to stay with their animal companions while they are gently "put to sleep" by injection of sodium pentobarbital into a vein in the leg; some prefer not to. This is a very personal decision that you must make for yourself. While your animal companion's brain will "go to sleep" immediately, his or her heart may beat a few minutes longer because circulation may be slowed from the tranquilizer and/or old age. A careful veterinarian will monitor the heart until its last beat. You will never doubt that your friend had a peaceful departure from this life if you are there to say goodbye.

Finally, remember it is normal to feel deep grief and a great sense of loss over the death of a true friend. Some hospital and private grief counseling services now recognize the need to help people adjust to the loss of close friends and family members who just happen not to be human. Take comfort in knowing that you did all you could for your companion in those last hours.

References

(1) "1986 Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia," The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol. 188, No. 3, Feb. 1, 1986, pp. 265-66.