Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You refuse to be involved because of personal feelings.
Because you've known Marmaduke for years, you simply can't handle
the thought of holding him while he's put to sleep. So, you refuse to
be involved.
You explain the situation to your boss, the veterinarian, and though he
understands what you're going through, he reminds you of the duties of
your job. There is no one else to assist him and it's difficult to do
the procedure alone.
He tries to talk you into helping by reminding you of the need to remain
mentally detached from all the animals during the procedure, but you stand
firm.
You simply can't help put Marmaduke to sleep.
You're lucky. Your boss is an understanding person. However, if this
happens again in a different clinic under a different veterinarian, would
your boss be as understanding? Maybe not.
This is a real-life decision frequently made by animal health
technologists, says Lydia Beswick.
"Sometimes with euthanasia, depending if I know the animal or not, I would
choose not to assist and have somebody else who works here do it instead,"
says Beswick. "The vet I work for would understand, but others might not because
that's actually your job."
There are other considerations as well.
"It also depends on how many people are present to help. Some clinics have
one vet, one tech and a receptionist. Some have more animal health technologists
that can give a hand. If there's only me here, it would be a real sticky
situation if I were to say no."