Every Life Deserves a Chance - Joy’s Journey
Donation protected
Hey everyone! My name is Sara and I’m an emergency veterinarian from PA. I can count on one hand how many hours of sleep I’ve gotten in the last 2 days. Veterinary Emergency is at a bit of a crisis …. There are too few of us, and too many babies to save. Too many animals that can’t be saved. Too many owners without the funds to spare. Too many sick pets without anyone to take care of them. Those that have loving families but I have to tell devastating news to. These days, there’s rarely a shift that goes by where I don’t euthanize someone’s best friend or companion. I have learned to handle the blood, the stress, the chaos, the money, the sadness, and the pain. I am the rock for those who are overwhelmed. Owners and coworkers alike.
My husband is also a veterinarian who works in general practice. We have a passion for saving animals, especially those who cannot speak for themselves. We foster many cats for rehoming as well as some select dogs that really need us. The cats with special needs often find their way into our home and hearts, and stay with the clan. Each soul a little different - but each one equally deserving of a chance. Every life deserves a chance. Needless to say, when your house is also a hospital, it can be very expensive to keep up with the costs….
“You can’t save them all Sara”
“Do your job and go home”
“Separate work life and home life. It’s just a job”
….
Meet “Joy”, who was named on the spot by her current caretaker. She does not yet have a true name. Joy is a 9 month old female intact greyhound who was surrendered to a humane officer last night for medical care. She was housed at a facility for racing greyhounds - over 184 dogs reside at this facility. Kept outside in fields to run together and learn to interact with each other before and during race training. Yesterday at meal time, Joy was attacked by several other greyhounds…. apparently the employees of this farm heard a dog screaming and went to find out what was wrong. She was laying in the dog house with multiple other greyhounds on top of her. She had stopped fighting and had given up. They had torn into her neck and left shoulder leaving a deep wound with a large area of muscle exposed and skin shredded. They were on top of her killing her. She was in terrible pain. The staff said she wasn’t moving. She had given up. Poor thing.
She was completely infested with fleas and ticks and dirt and grime. I have never seen a greyhound looking so completely defeated. She would barely look me in the eyes and rolled over on the exam table waiting to die, fleas crawling over her face and wounds.
This girl was owned by a man who had barely met her. He owned hundreds of greyhounds for racing purposes. She was newly acquired 3 months ago and had been traveling between different boarding facilities. She did not have a name. She is property. Not a soul. Just a chess piece in a game of human money and greed.
I discussed the severity of her wounds with the care-taker. She needs significant supportive care and surgery to fix her wounds. She likely needs a drain placed and multiple bandage changes. Her wounds will likely require multiple procedures to try and get them to heal properly. And Greyhounds are NOTORIOUS for being terrible at healing. She was is rough shape, in terrible pain, and completely infested with fleas and ticks. The care-taker from the boarding facility was wonderful and truly sad by what had happened to her. She wanted to help her.
Unfortunately, Joy’s owner was in the Bahamas and unable to be present to discuss how serious her condition was. We were able to get him on the phone. He was not pleased that she was at the hospital. Based on what we were discussing, if she were to heal, she would no longer grow up to be a competitive profitable racing hound. The owner did not want to pay for her care as she was no longer “profitable”. He said he would like to euthanize her.
Euthanasia isn’t a wrong decision in this case. Her neck wounds are severe and deep. They are likely to be expensive to fix and very time consuming. She would need attentive care to have a chance at healing. She needed hospitalized intensive care to start the process before surgery could even be pursued. Even with all the money in the world and all the prayers in the world, I could not guarantee that she would make it anyways. Euthanasia is not a wrong choice. I have performed this exact euthanasia numerous times before. I understand. It can be a kind choice for the patient as well.
The owner discussed that he would have taken her out back and shot her instead of bringing her in for help. A bullet is cheaper than a humane euthanasia at an emergency veterinary hospital. That is true… And she was now not worth more than a bullet to him. He couldn’t profit from her in any way. Plus she’s a pawn in the racing game.
He was her owner and she was his property. I understand this and the dynamics. He didn’t seem like a bad person. Very kind on the phone and appreciated our help… “But let her go. And tell the care-taker to pay for it…” he didn’t want to spend any money on her at all. Even the bandage and pain control injection. He wouldn’t have allowed it had he known before she arrived.
We moved forward with paperwork and drugs were pulled up. It’s a holiday weekend. 30 patients and disgruntled owners are waiting to be seen. They have been waiting hours and hours. Better hurry and get this done and move on. Smile for the next room. Go go go.
I approached her run and kneeled down next to her. She closed her eyes and grinned at me with her little lips trembling like Greyhounds do. I told her what a good girl she was and she started to wiggle her hind limbs and her tail… she was so excited to have someone say hello to her. I told her it was all going to be ok. No more pain soon. She was so brave… she smiled up at me and finally looked me in the eyes. She trusted me and was just so happy to be taken care of… I think this is the first time someone really kissed her on the face and told her that she was a good girl.
The next client is waiting. Days of records and client communications need completed. It’s already 9pm. You’ve already been here 14 + hours and have your own family waiting at home. You haven’t slept, you haven’t eaten dinner yet. Tomorrow is the holiday and your family is depending on you to spend the day with them… ideally not outwardly sad or exhausted or sick. And they don’t want you working on your day off. Again. Euthanize the dog and move on to the next thing. Euthanasia isn’t a wrong choice. There are thousands and thousands of dogs in this exact same position. There will always be thousands more. You already saved too many. You can’t afford this. Can you imagine the faces of your coworkers, friends, and family?? “Again? Sara that’s ridiculous. You can’t save them all”. Move on to the next one. Go go go.
Shut it down.
No. Nope. No.
I put the drugs back in my pocket and walked outside to where the care-taker was waiting by her truck for Joy’s body. She didn’t want to be present for the procedure. I asked if we could contact the owner in the Bahamas and ask if we could surrender her to a humane officer and rescue. I couldn’t euthanize her. She didn’t choose this life. It’s not her fault. I don’t care if she’s just a pawn to them. Shes a soul to me. I see it in her eyes.
Every life deserves a chance. I cant let this job change who I am. I refuse to become a robot.
….
Joy is now hospitalized and under my care. She has been surrendered to the humane officer. She had a chance. :)
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for listening.
Please consider helping finance this girls chance at life. The humane officer is basically out of funds from all of the other sad cases. She has a big heart and we are trying to save this baby girl together. This is a huge financial burden on us.
Any help is greatly appreciated! <3
My husband is also a veterinarian who works in general practice. We have a passion for saving animals, especially those who cannot speak for themselves. We foster many cats for rehoming as well as some select dogs that really need us. The cats with special needs often find their way into our home and hearts, and stay with the clan. Each soul a little different - but each one equally deserving of a chance. Every life deserves a chance. Needless to say, when your house is also a hospital, it can be very expensive to keep up with the costs….
“You can’t save them all Sara”
“Do your job and go home”
“Separate work life and home life. It’s just a job”
….
Meet “Joy”, who was named on the spot by her current caretaker. She does not yet have a true name. Joy is a 9 month old female intact greyhound who was surrendered to a humane officer last night for medical care. She was housed at a facility for racing greyhounds - over 184 dogs reside at this facility. Kept outside in fields to run together and learn to interact with each other before and during race training. Yesterday at meal time, Joy was attacked by several other greyhounds…. apparently the employees of this farm heard a dog screaming and went to find out what was wrong. She was laying in the dog house with multiple other greyhounds on top of her. She had stopped fighting and had given up. They had torn into her neck and left shoulder leaving a deep wound with a large area of muscle exposed and skin shredded. They were on top of her killing her. She was in terrible pain. The staff said she wasn’t moving. She had given up. Poor thing.
She was completely infested with fleas and ticks and dirt and grime. I have never seen a greyhound looking so completely defeated. She would barely look me in the eyes and rolled over on the exam table waiting to die, fleas crawling over her face and wounds.
This girl was owned by a man who had barely met her. He owned hundreds of greyhounds for racing purposes. She was newly acquired 3 months ago and had been traveling between different boarding facilities. She did not have a name. She is property. Not a soul. Just a chess piece in a game of human money and greed.
I discussed the severity of her wounds with the care-taker. She needs significant supportive care and surgery to fix her wounds. She likely needs a drain placed and multiple bandage changes. Her wounds will likely require multiple procedures to try and get them to heal properly. And Greyhounds are NOTORIOUS for being terrible at healing. She was is rough shape, in terrible pain, and completely infested with fleas and ticks. The care-taker from the boarding facility was wonderful and truly sad by what had happened to her. She wanted to help her.
Unfortunately, Joy’s owner was in the Bahamas and unable to be present to discuss how serious her condition was. We were able to get him on the phone. He was not pleased that she was at the hospital. Based on what we were discussing, if she were to heal, she would no longer grow up to be a competitive profitable racing hound. The owner did not want to pay for her care as she was no longer “profitable”. He said he would like to euthanize her.
Euthanasia isn’t a wrong decision in this case. Her neck wounds are severe and deep. They are likely to be expensive to fix and very time consuming. She would need attentive care to have a chance at healing. She needed hospitalized intensive care to start the process before surgery could even be pursued. Even with all the money in the world and all the prayers in the world, I could not guarantee that she would make it anyways. Euthanasia is not a wrong choice. I have performed this exact euthanasia numerous times before. I understand. It can be a kind choice for the patient as well.
The owner discussed that he would have taken her out back and shot her instead of bringing her in for help. A bullet is cheaper than a humane euthanasia at an emergency veterinary hospital. That is true… And she was now not worth more than a bullet to him. He couldn’t profit from her in any way. Plus she’s a pawn in the racing game.
He was her owner and she was his property. I understand this and the dynamics. He didn’t seem like a bad person. Very kind on the phone and appreciated our help… “But let her go. And tell the care-taker to pay for it…” he didn’t want to spend any money on her at all. Even the bandage and pain control injection. He wouldn’t have allowed it had he known before she arrived.
We moved forward with paperwork and drugs were pulled up. It’s a holiday weekend. 30 patients and disgruntled owners are waiting to be seen. They have been waiting hours and hours. Better hurry and get this done and move on. Smile for the next room. Go go go.
I approached her run and kneeled down next to her. She closed her eyes and grinned at me with her little lips trembling like Greyhounds do. I told her what a good girl she was and she started to wiggle her hind limbs and her tail… she was so excited to have someone say hello to her. I told her it was all going to be ok. No more pain soon. She was so brave… she smiled up at me and finally looked me in the eyes. She trusted me and was just so happy to be taken care of… I think this is the first time someone really kissed her on the face and told her that she was a good girl.
The next client is waiting. Days of records and client communications need completed. It’s already 9pm. You’ve already been here 14 + hours and have your own family waiting at home. You haven’t slept, you haven’t eaten dinner yet. Tomorrow is the holiday and your family is depending on you to spend the day with them… ideally not outwardly sad or exhausted or sick. And they don’t want you working on your day off. Again. Euthanize the dog and move on to the next thing. Euthanasia isn’t a wrong choice. There are thousands and thousands of dogs in this exact same position. There will always be thousands more. You already saved too many. You can’t afford this. Can you imagine the faces of your coworkers, friends, and family?? “Again? Sara that’s ridiculous. You can’t save them all”. Move on to the next one. Go go go.
Shut it down.
No. Nope. No.
I put the drugs back in my pocket and walked outside to where the care-taker was waiting by her truck for Joy’s body. She didn’t want to be present for the procedure. I asked if we could contact the owner in the Bahamas and ask if we could surrender her to a humane officer and rescue. I couldn’t euthanize her. She didn’t choose this life. It’s not her fault. I don’t care if she’s just a pawn to them. Shes a soul to me. I see it in her eyes.
Every life deserves a chance. I cant let this job change who I am. I refuse to become a robot.
….
Joy is now hospitalized and under my care. She has been surrendered to the humane officer. She had a chance. :)
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for listening.
Please consider helping finance this girls chance at life. The humane officer is basically out of funds from all of the other sad cases. She has a big heart and we are trying to save this baby girl together. This is a huge financial burden on us.
Any help is greatly appreciated! <3
Organizer
Sara Wells
Organizer
Canonsburg, PA