Big Word of the Month: Euthanasia

The big word of the month is a hard one to talk about. Euthanasia comes from Greek and means “good death”. I doubt any two people can agree on what exactly a good death is, yet it is a discussion we have to have in the Animal Department from time to time. When an animal is ill and our veterinarians have run out of treatment strategies we have to consider quality of life issues. Deciding when an animal is sufferingRead more

A hard, sad day

Today was a difficult day. Today was the day that, after much discussion and debate, Moo was euthanized. In May of 2006 we thought we were going to have to euthanize Moo as he could not stand up. It was at this point that Dr. Cannedy, the veterinarian who treats our Farmyard animals, diagnosed Moo with Bovine Lymphoma Virus (BLV), a form of cancer, as well as chronic arthritis. There was much discussion about what to do back then asRead more