"Put the dog down!"

I stopped at the vet’s office to pick up Vinnie after another fun day at the high school. It was 3:15pm and the vet office was busy. The clerk with the stunning blue eyes recognized me and got Vinnie for me, who was meowing in a new cat carrier.
“I brought her in a cardboard carrier” I told the clerk.
“I know, but we have so many of these plastic carriers—people donate them to us when their pets die—and you can have this one.”

Vinnie huddled in the corner of the carrier, meowing the entire time.

I like this vet office. The personnel were friendlier than the office I normally go to in Sierra Vista. The rates are very reasonable, too but it’s farther and the office hours are shorter. Still, I'm seriously considering taking my pets to this office from now on. The staff provide personal service and I don't have to wait for hours (like at my other vet), two things that have bothered me about the other vet. The other office was sold by a national conglomerate, VCA, and raised their fees. The last time I was there with Sadie I nearly waited two hours for a scheduled appointment.

Vinnie was spayed, given a rabies, distemper and leukemia shot. I only paid $40 since the spaying and rabies were paid for when I adopted her from the Bisbee animal shelter in July.

“How much would this have cost me (to get spayed)?” I asked Mr Blue Eyes.
“One hundred dollars.“
"The city of Bisbee pays you $100 for a spaying?”
“Oh no, we charge them far less than that” Mr Blue Eyes assured me.

And as we chatted about the price of genital mutilation of adopted pets, a scraggly man pulling a ragged-looking Airedale came through the door. The Airedale was muzzled and wanted to sniff every corner of the office. He was not happy with the muzzle and tried to pull the muzzle off with his paws. All in vain. The dog had a hard time breathing with the muzzle on; it was panting heavily.

“What a pretty dog you have there!” said a large blonde woman next to me. “What kind of dog is that?”
“An Airedale” answered Mr Scruffy.
The dog kept pulling to smell the scents of the office, wagging its stubby tail. Dead leaves lay matted on its back. The dog needed a good grooming.

When the clerks finally got to Mr Scruffy to get the pet’s paperwork started, the man answered loudly “Oh, you don’t need my address, this dog isn’t coming back here. I want him put down. He came after me this morning…”

All of us got quiet. Mr Blue Eyes looked especially nervous and lost his train of thought with me as he was describing the rabies vaccination paperwork with me. This office does not give out rabies tags, just the paperwork, as the doctors feel the tags only get caught in fences and wire hooks and strangle cats. One of my cats had a near-death experience when his collar was stuck on a window blind; ever since I no longer put collars on my cats.

But to put a dog down?

Mr Scruffy was visibly agitated. His pet was oblivious, wagging its tail. “I paid $500 for this thing!” Mr Scruffy added.

I looked the doomed dog between its hind legs. It was not neutered. My anger toward Mr Scruffy increased. With all my heart I wanted to tell him “Listen Asshole, if you can spend $500 for a dog, you certainly can spend $100 to have it neutered. Neutering a dog will calm it down within a month and it won't be so aggressive toward you.” Not to mention that an abused dog will tend to bite its abuser...

But I kept my mouth shut, paid my bill and left the office, carrying Vinnie in her new carrier. The experience in the office with Mr Scruffy traumatized me so much I ignored Vinnie’s meows almost the entire drive home.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, three to four million animals are killed each year because they are not wanted. The price for pet neutering is insignificant when compared to the financial and human toll of putting unwanted animals down.

I don’t know if the veterinarian at this shelter willingly puts down unwanted pets. Perhaps he could give the owner alternatives to his dog’s aggression (like neutering!). What I do know is that putting down an animal at the owner’s request is not easy for the veterinarian and the assistants who work in veterinarian offices. Perhaps, too, if the owner had calmed down before bringing his Airedale in, he could have thought more rationally about the outcome of his dog. Perhaps the dog has a painful injury? Perhaps his collar is too tight? Perhaps, just perhaps, he’s hormonally challenged and just needs his testicles cut off.

My pets are part of my family. I try to give them the best lives possible. If I could not afford a pet, I would not have one. I know the day will come when I may have to have Sara or Sammy put down, but I want to make sure it's because I want to end their suffering, and not to calm down my own anger.