So, sad story time. We had a pup going on 15 who had health problems, most notably a bum knee that she just wouldn’t trust to rehab after surgery when she was 3. For the next ten years, she managed fine, but eventually she was clearly on the downward trend. She was maybe even ready, but I didn’t quite think so. Then we found out we had to move. For the briefest moment, I thought it would be easier not to take her with us, but after recoiling that I’d have the thought, I decided I wouldn’t make that decision in the middle of a bunch of other stress, and she was a good dog who deserved a thoughtful End of Life thought process.
A couple months after we were all settled and she had her spot in the living room, it became clear that it wasn’t just stressed humans. She was clearly declining, and it was time after all. We took her in to the new vet we’d identified, and let them know, but because she hadn’t had a checkup with them, and they didn’t know us well, they made us do a three day waiting period and asked for our old vet to get a reference that we were responsible pet owners. Then they asked for a full external exam beforehand. They made us jump through hoops, and I for one completely understood, because they didn’t know us from Adam and as far as they were concerned we might just be sickos or thieves who make vets kill dogs for the hell of it. We went through it all, and I watched her gently slip away through my teary eyes.
A good vet won’t put a healthy pup down for no reason, and being a bad hunting dog who goes after chickens probably wouldn’t have been anywhere near a good enough reason. We all face tough decisions. Noem just sounds like the type who has no respect for lives she’s entrusted with, only what they can do for her.