I just saw in my favorite newspaper and online that anthros are taking their ill animals to hospices to ease the pain of eventually having to use euthanasia for their beloved kitties, doggies, or whatever animal has become part of the family.
Of course there is money involved, and every anthro in the world knows that vets are not cheap, even in France where medical care is really reasonable. Mama says she is amazed at how little she and papa pay for a check-up or for a teeth-cleaning compared to the US, and they love their doctor who is one of those “take an aspirin and call me in the morning” sort of docs. Mama once had a doc who always said, “You know, I’ve had the same thing and I really understand”, even when it was cramps that mama had!
He was funny.
But now pets can have pain killers and drugs that at least make their lives a bit happier while they are on their way to kitty or doggy heaven (or that other place, perhaps, in some cases—I won’t mention names here but you know the ones I mean; oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to joke about that. Some of my best friends are JRs…).
And from a kitty’s point of view, I feel this is a good thing, especially for the anthros who suffer so much for their beloved furry companions (or, non-furry, in the case of those Russian breeds), but I just wish it didn’t automatically cost so much to give TLC to an animal that is ill and suffering.
Certainly, treatments can cost thousands in some cases and do relatively nothing for the pet’s pain, so perhaps it is better to spend a couple of hundred dollars (the average cost of hospice care) to sort of speed things along but in a kind and loving way.
But I think, just as with anthros, euthanasia is a topic that is very controversial and not yet resolved in many countries. Still, if the inevitable is clear, it would be much kinder to pets to ease their pain with meds and be around those who will give their all to make them feel loved and important.
Mama had to take Sushi to a vet for her last day, and mama has never forgotten the look on Sushi’s little muzzle—so puzzled, frightened, too, and yet suffering horribly from several kitty ailments. It was not easy for either of them, but it was quick, and the reality is that a kitty or doggy really feels as if it is going to sleep, painlessly.
And that is a gift after so much suffering.
Maybe someone will play The String Game with kitties at a hospice…I hope so.
