Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You take the dog to the vet for a second opinion.
Even though this St. Bernard is untagged, critically wounded, traumatized and doesn't stand to benefit much from treatment, you decide it must belong to someone because of its breed and grooming. Maybe that someone wants to say goodbye.
You tranquilize it, splint the leg and transport it to the pound where the vet has a chance to assess its condition. The vet advises euthanasia.
Later that day, a family comes into the pound with an anxious little boy. He tells you his beloved Bernie wandered off that morning while the boy was swimming with friends near the highway. He had taken off Bernie's tags while giving him a bath in the river.
You take the boy to the room where Bernie lays, dazed with bloody bandages and labored breath. You have to explain that Bernie probably won't survive the night, and the vet said the best thing for him is to be put to sleep. The boy refuses.
You explain the situation to the parents, who consent to the euthanasia. But the boy is angry and inconsolable.
"You want to reunite animals with their owners," says ACO Bunny Baldwin. "But at the same time, you have to make a judgment call. You have to look at the animal and ask, is it hurting? In any situation involving compound fractures and internal injuries, you'll euthanize immediately. You don't want it to be suffering."