The Humane Tool.

[bluestarlizzard]

Today was a sad day. Forgive me if this topic has been descussed before, but i feel i need to get it off my chest.
Today my boss asked me to come down to her farm and put down a goat that was dying. The goat, a doe, had given birth to four kids, but had become very weak afterwards. she was lethargic and obviously not doing well. she soon developed mastites and despite efforts to relive the condition, she weakened further. yesterday, she went down and could not get back up. we presume that she tore her utern wall and it slowly became septic. my boss, katie, asked if i would be willing to come down to the farm this evening, if the doe was still alive, and put her down. while katie has shot a gun before (according to the stories she did not do it well) she does not know anything about firearms and does not own any. in situations were she and her mother have no choice, they will try to find someone with a gun to put down the animal. because a firearm, if used correctly, can humanly and instantly put down a suffering animal.
Despite being a country girl and a shooter for my entire life, i have never shot an animal (i don't count snakes) and, needless to say, i was apprehensive about killing this doe. its one thing to take a dog to the vet and have it injected with euthanaisa solution, and another to shoot an animal.
yet i could not refuse and let the doe suffer further because i was to chicken to give her the release that she needed.
so when katie called me, i packed up the 1911A1 and drove down to the farm. between katie telling me not to get upset if i didn't get it on the first shot and dad's warning of the possiblity of blood splatter, my nerves increased, but i was determined to do this safely and as quickly and neatly as possible. the doe was laid out in a stall and i had katie pull her around so that if i missed the bullet would only make a hole in the wall and travel out into ininhabited woods. i got very lucky and with one shot instantly put down the doe. i am releved to say she no longer suffers. both katie and i were very quiet as i went back to my car to unload the gun and she got the doe on the tracter and drove her down to be buried.
i have repeatly, since i began working for her, offered to teach katie to shoot. tonight she admited that she would have to learn so that she needn't ask others to do her 'dirty work' for her. the fact of the matter is that a firearm, correctly applied, is the most humane way to put down injured and sick livestock. while it saddens me, i am releived to know that i don't need to let an animal suffer as it slowly dies and am able to put it out of its misery safley, effectively and humanely.

 

[Anotherguy]

I'm not trying to be insensitive here, I think what you did was the humane thing to do to end the animal's suffering but why didn't your boss call a veterinarian to take care of it? It seems her diagnosis was a presumption, then she calls you to come and put the animal down.

 

[mekender]

calling a vet prolongs the situation, and it takes more money... in a farm situation, thats not always something you can afford... plus the vet might not have been able to show up for days...

 

[brentn]

When I was a kid my dad did alot of killing on the farm. Mostly chickens, some pigs for feeding ourselves and to sell to others. He used the typical axe and wood block method for the chickens, have no idea what he used on the pigs. He wouldn't let us watch ever, and I never asked, too young I guess.
He said that killing all those animals never really phased him until the last years he worked on the farm, but the worst was putting down our pets and he did it every so often.

Had a cat that used to sleep in wheat fields on the neighbors property and catch mice etc. One day it came home with no right leg, howling and screaming, blood dripping everywhere. There was no way that he was going to wait for the vet to put it down, and being on the farm an hour away the easiest way and most humane way at the time was to shoot it.
Shot it with a shotgun.

I wouldn't feel guilty about it, although it is said that you had to put down the doe. People do it all the time, and sometimes its the most humane option. I personally would never use a handgun as the last thing I want is blood on me from a suffering animal, jobs hard enough.

 

[garrettej8]

it's not inhumane at all in my opinion. it's kind of like "pulling the plug" if you know what I mean.

 

[sacp81170a]

One thing I can say about putting an animal down, it takes more courage than you might think. It's one thing to use force on someone or something you perceive as a threat, it's another entirely to act deliberately out of kindness for a suffering animal. I'm the worst sucker in the world for a suffering animal (I have three cats and three dogs that were strays to prove it ). I had to have a dog put down (yeah, he was a stray, too) so I took him to the vet. He wouldn't trust anybody else so I held him while the vet gave him the shot and his body relaxed as he went under. Hardest thing I've ever had to do. (Choking up).

Kindness can seem like cruelty. Glad the doe isn't suffering anymore. You'll get over it, but you'll never forget. Take it as an experience that more timid souls will never have and thus be able to learn from.

 

[shooting time]

Yes it is a humane tool .i had to put my cat down early one morning i woke up and heard a faint crying sound and it was my cat down in the basement he had broken his back somehow. found him lying there just looking up at me I went to grab him and he clawed at me due to the pain he tryed to pull himself away so i had to make a quick decision try and find a vet at 4:30 am and chances were he would have to be put down anyway.So i thought why put him through all the pain and suffering picking him up taking him to a vet getting bit or clawed because thats what hurt animals do to you even when you are trying to help them.So I grabbed my 22 had a little talk with him put it to his head and stopped his suffering.I still feel bad about it but that was what had to be done.Other animals i had to put down i called the vet out or brought them to him.which wasn't easy to do either.

 

[MASTEROFMALICE]

Couldn't have said it better. I had to shoot a dog about three years when it was hit by a car. I felt bad about the dog but the whole situation took a turn for the weird when I learned who the dog's owners were.

Turns out they're the real "scum of the Earth" type people. Sell drugs, get drunk, fight with everyone. Also turns out the dog I had shot was trained to attack police officers.

I've dealt with these people repeatedly since then and busted them more than once, but even after three years they never let me forget that I shot their dog.

One thing I can say about putting an animal down, it takes more courage than you might think. It's one thing to use force on someone or something you perceive as a threat, it's another entirely to act deliberately out of kindness for a suffering animal.

 

[doc2rn]

Death is not supposed to be an easy thing to live with. However you might gain a little perspective as to why troops are coming home with PTSD and other problems. Coping daily becomes quite a task.

 

[Owens]

the 4 kids will be an entertaining distraction from the unpleasantness. I don't know of a more entertaining critter. We had a large herd of Angoras and there comes a time when the kids are the best entertainment. Just sit and watch.

 

[Gaffer]

Having been born and brought up on a poor farm I have done my share of killing of animals for food and to put down those who were suffering. It is not easy and brings about a huge adrenal rush and sadness all at the same time. As a farmer you do what has to be done. These people who buy their food all packaged have no idea what it takes and my opinion is that if survival is ever needed these people will be the first to give up while those who have done the deed out of necessity will do better in survival mode.

 

[dtown240]

I just listened to a Podcast that related that exact sentiment (not knowing where your food came from)

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1218

I think many of you will find it interesting.

 

[geekWithA.45]

why didn't your boss call a veterinarian to take care of it?

Because farms, livestock, and death all go hand in hand, and delegating the death part to a "professional" is a modern conceit, that lives mostly in the minds of urban and suburban pet owners.

Our society goes to extreme lengths to hide and sublimate death, even to the point of shrinkwrapping meats to hide their true nature. Chances are excellent that the "butcher" in your neighborhood never actually butchered an animal, and that he is actually "meat cutter", whose training extends only to the local processing of sides of beef, which are delivered from regional slaughterhouses.


There's nothing wrong with delegating animal death, particularly if one isn't used to the idea.

But there's also nothing wrong with handling it yourself, in a humane manner.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

bluestarlizzard, what you did was the humane thing to do and took more courage then a lot of men have. I have read a lot of your posts and have come to admire the spirit and common sense you show. Sadly you put some of us older members to same.

 

[xsquidgator]

You did the right thing (coming from a guy married to a veterinarian and who's been involved in a number of euthanasia procedures). I sympathize with anyone who has to do something like that, especially if it involves a pet, and including working farm animals too. I've been fortunate to only have to make decisions so far to put down my own pets. It's hard, but in the same vein as what Gaffer said, if it comes down to your duty to your pet or to the animal, you have to get over it and see that the right thing is done. Putting my beloved terrier to sleep was one of the saddest things I've ever done, but I felt a sense of rightness at least knowing that if anyone was going to see that it was done and done properly, it was going to be me. Very similar feeling I had when helping take nursing care of my (dying) father in law 10 years ago. Extreme situations require that you get past your emotions and do your duty to whoever needs you then.

If you hadn't done what you did, the outcome for the animal and her owner would have been worse: I think you did the right thing. My veterinarian wife now has a CCW for her own protection, but she also wishes she'd gotten a CCW years ago for the time when a deer jumped in front of and smashed her car late at night out in the middle of the country, and couldn't put it down humanely.

 

[Bezoar]

all you need is a 22lr rifle or pistol, put a single hi velocity 22lr in the nect right below the ear, if it still kicks a bit just put one an inch higher on a diagonal closer to the eyes.

Vets are pretty useless when it comes to goats.Unless you happen to live on a big goat farm and have a vet of your own to take care of goats worth 500,000. your only option is to shoot. Vets simply tell you to "go buy another 50 dollar mutt goat".

 

[atblis]

Yeah

A 45 ACP to put down a goat (unless you had a Marvel/Ciener kit on it). You got to be kidding!

22lr Rifle is it (pistol will work too, but rifle is better).

There's no difference between you doing it and paying somebody else (assuming you do it humanely).

There's no luck involved. Shoot the side of the head, square on, between the ear canal and the eye. Either do it or don't.

 

[bluestarlizzard]

thank you for all your support. i really appreciate it. the question of calling a vet was actually something i had asked earlier in the week in regards to a couple of the orphans that wern't doing well. katie told me that most vets won't even give you the time of day about a goat. they had had their farm vet out on friday to give rabies shots to the dogs and while he was there he did look at the goat (that was when they tried to relieve the mastitas) but he wouldn't have come out soley to put down a goat. katie also said last night that dr. john will often use a gun instead of solution to put down livestock. he is an old school vetrinarian.
and your right about the kids. their are currently three orphans (two from the doe that died and one from another doe that wouldn't take care of it) and they are deffenatly a distraction from everything. lousie, katies mother, drives them back and forth to work and we have had several customers look over the dutch door into the grooming room and go "what kind of dog is that?" they crack up when they relize its a bunch of babie goats. they are very very cute but they are also getting to be very very bad *chuckle*
katie had asked me if i had a handgun ('yes katie i have lots of handguns') and told me to shoot between the eyes (she is the goat expert, not me) and the only handguns i had out were the 1911 and my revolver (which needs to visit a gunsmith as it is out of timing) so my choice was limited. the .45 did the job very neatly and instantly. in a horsemanship book i have they say that a .357 revolver is a must for a barn in case you have to put down a horse.
once again, thank you guys for your support and kindness.

 

[The Canuck]

bluestarlizzard,

I would like to commend you on a hard job done well, you were able to end this poor animal's suffering quick and clean. I know how hard it is to do, I have had to put down animals before and it is never an easy thing. Teach your boss how to do it, but remember that when you had to do this, you did it and as best you could, quickly, cleanly and safely. Godspeed.

TC.

 

[Bezoar]

I have done it many times, the only time it actually got to me was the time i had to bury a set of triplets that just couldnt survive. Rest of the time its pretty easy to do.
When you realize that if you do it correctly, its a very quick painless end compared to a lingering gruesome death. Ive seen it take 2 days for an animal to die of a wierd paraylisis in goats. My mother insisted on taking hours and hours of "heroic" measures that merely prolonged and increased the agony. Needless to say the goats almost looked forward to a quick head rub and a bullet.

 

[TCB in TN]

My brother in law is a vet, works for another friend of mine. A farm call is Minimum $85 here, during business hours, more later in the day or on weekends, Putting down a goat or other similarly sized animal takes about $35 in meds. So you are spending a $120 to put down a $50 animal. Most small farms can't afford to lose the animal plus another $120+. I have put down my share of animals over the years, and I always am sad that it has to be done, but better a quick end than a drawn out torment. BTW it has never bothered me to pull the trigger on any animal while hunting, but to put down a hurt animal has almost always brought me to tears. Strange as it may be, it makes a difference.

 

[1911Tuner]

Bluestar...It's always hard to put a good animal down, no matter how you do it. It's especially hard if you also happen to like and care for the animal. Goats can get tangled up in your heart strings much like a pet dog. Ask me how I know...

Putting a suffering animal down is as much a part of it as raising it and feeding it. It's a clause in the unspoken/unsigned contract that we accept whenever we take on an animal...be it dog, cat, horse...or goat.

You did the right thing.

Next time, use a .22 if you have one...for several reasons.

 

[Pigspitter]

Killing for the first time is never an easy thing. You did the right thing so don't be worried about it.

 

[woodybrighton]

shot a horse once cause it had been hit by a car
horrible thing to do best section of soldiers thousands of rounds of ammo and nobody else wanted to do it
7.62fmj to the head worked bit of a sod using a gpmg (fn mag) with one round but better than waiting for nature or a vet

 

[230RN]

1911 Tuner:

Putting a suffering animal down is as much a part of it as raising it and feeding it. It's a clause in the unspoken/unsigned contract that we accept whenever we take on an animal...be it dog, cat, horse...or goat.

Spot on.

What bothers me is that it is against the law here in Colorado (and probably other places, too) for the private citizen to put down an animal which has been struck by a car.

One must wait until a Commissioned Peace Officer arrives to do it.

You did good, bluestarlizzard. Tough, but good.