Humane euthanasia

Question
My ferret, Skunk, is dying from lymphosarcoma. He is basically in ferret "hospice" right now, being cared for with steroids and pain meds. We are spoiling him with love and special treats to keep his weight up. When the time comes we will help him cross the bridge.

I discussed my vets method of euthanasia today and it sounds suspiciously like the heartstick method. He described a shot intercostally. Can you give me your vets humane method that involves the 2 shots in the muscle? I don't want Skunk to suffer.

Thank you,
Kristi

Answer
Hi Kristi:

I'm so sorry to hear Skunk has lymphosarcoma. I'm happy FOR HIM, though, that he has such an incredibly loving mommy getting the answers ahead of time for him.

Yes, "intercostally" (between the ribs) definitely sounds suspiciously like the heart stick method to me too. WHAT in the world makes them even consider that as an option??  There must be some "up" side to the "heart stick" (Heart stick: euthanasia procedure where a  needle is pushed between ribs and directly INTO the ferret's heart; a drug is injected directly into the heart muscle to cause death) but I fail to see that as being preferrable to any other cause of death!  I do understand that ferret blood vessels are really tiny and hard to find, especially if the ferret is old or has been ill.

I *did* find out that my vet's two injection method does NOT work well for cardiac cases. My little girl had cardiomyopathy and, with greatly impaired circulation, the two injections took FORTY-FIVE MINUTES to take effect last July when I helped her to the Bridge! In the past, the injections always have taken less than a minute to take effect; the ferret just gets drowsy and goes to sleep in my arms, so I was fully UNprepared to deal with this new reaction.   So, anyone considering injectable euthanasia and the ferret's mouth/tongue/gums are bluish from poor circulation (that would be the symptom to look for that indicates the circulation is poor enough that the injections will NOT be working as they have previously) may want to discuss other options and/or methods with their veterinarian.

What my vet uses are the drugs she uses when she takes a ferret to surgery, but she uses them in overdose proportion: She uses a paralyzing drug and a sedating drug, both in overdose proportions. The example she gave me was that she would take a 2-lb ferret and medicate it as if it were a 60-lb dog. I requested specific drug name and dosage information from her, but she felt that any vet who would be doing this would already know this information :-) sooo, the best thing we can do to keep little animals as safe as possible (or at least not contribute anything more to the already-too-much-information-in-the-wrong-hands problem.

You are such a good mommy for checking these things out early and checking out the DETAILS of whatever form of euthanasia you do choose. PLEASE don't be afraid to ask the vet questions. They are relieved when we ask questions. They never know how much to say or how much we want to know, but if you express that you want to know,  I think you will find your vet to be very helpful in discussing even a variety of drugs to choose from.

FYI....if I had it all to go over againn...(this has never happened before) when my little cardiomyopathy girl was PTS last July, my vet swears she was given the same drugs that she has always given to my kids when they are PTS. After much thought (after the fact, of course) I wondered if maybe something else MAY have been a better choice? Knowing that there are two separate injections with separate purposes - one paralyzes, the other sedates. I was looking right into my little girl's eyes when her little body quickly tightened all over. Her eyes stuck in a piercing stare...I was/am POSITIVE that the *paralyzing* injection took effect FIRST.  Which then makes me wonder.....was she laying there in my arns for the next 45 minutes while I stroked her little face and kissed her, screaming out to me from inside her body that wouldn't move? How horribly frightening that must have been for her!! I have been with every pet I've EVER had when it was euthanized and some when they died natural deaths; this was the ONLY one that I just CANNOT get peace about. It just DID NOT FEEL RIGHT.  I will definitely be asking questions and doing *something* different before we go down that road again. I just felt that sometime inside her was screaming for mommy to "HELP ME!" and not understanding why mommy didn't help. FORTY-FIVE MINUTES like that.......please, please talk with your vet...we ALL MUST MUST learn from each other's experiences...please, learn from mine.

The best recommendations I can give you are to be SURE you work with an EXOTICS vet, not just a dog/cat vet; that the vet is VERY familiar with your ferret's current condition such as any circulation problems, heart problems, medications he is on, etc (IOW: try to not have to do the PTS as in an Emergency Clinic after hours if at all possible. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your precious little "Skunk-Boy"....I love that name!  I bet he's really a spoiled little guy!  I will be lighting a candle in his name and hope others will join me at:

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/enter.cfm?l=eng

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers