How can I tell whether my dog was euthanized in a painful fashion?
Last year, I took my 17-year old dog to be euthanized. My dog was severely arthritic and incontinent, fairly deaf, but otherwise in decent health. I decided to put it to sleep because I felt the dog's quality of life was low, but it was a very tough decision because the dog was not really sick.
I took the dog to this particular veterinarian center because that is where it had received most of its care. The veterinarian started the process by inserting an IV into my dog's paw. The dog was usually impervious to pain, but in this case it reacted to the IV by trying to lick it (or remove it?). I am bothered by the thought this was causing the dog pain. I believe the vet could have given the dog an anesthetic in the area before inserting the IV. I think it's possible my dog experienced its last few minutes of life in unnecessary pain because of this.
I do not need any reassuring about the difficulty of putting pets to sleep. I simply would like to know how else this could have been handled by the vet so the dog could have been more comfortable in it's last few minutes.
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If your concern is regarding the IV causing your dog pain, anyone being stuck with an IV can be caused pain. IVs are commonly used in many procedures (not necessarily euthanasia and not just for dogs) and they can make anyone uncomfortable. A dog will lick due to unfamiliarity, so it might have been bothered by the IV, but if a dog is in severe pain (for example: having its paw stepped on), it would more than likely yelp loudly and jerk away. From your description, I can only surmise there was only the expected discomfort afforded a typical IV insertion.
It is my understanding that some veterinarians render pets unconscious through gas, pills, or a mild injection prior to the final injection, which is performed after the animal is unconscious. If this is a concern, ask your veterinarian what your options are prior to proceeding; you can always phone alternate veterinarians to ask them what their options are as well.
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