Okay! Everyone's gone, and without the shock of those last moments photos I could read the rest without dropping tears (I'm not much of a crier to begin with).
I'm so glad that you stayed to the end. I know that it's a personal choice and that some people can't handle it, but I'm so glad that you did. To me, it's one of the most important things that we can do for them. I'll never forget the first animal that my family had to put down, my cat Snowball (hey, I was only 8 and that's what the cousins I got him from had named him). When I was 16 he had to be put down and I was brought to the vet's to say goodbye (he had been at the vet's for several days because of his condition). I wanted to be there when they gave him the drugs, but my dad nor the vet thought it would be a good idea so they made me leave. I'll never forget how happy Snowball was to see me, this cat who rarely showed emotion. I'll never forget how he cried when they took him away. All I could think about was how stressed he was at the vet's, evident in how much he was shedding, and how much more stressful it must have been to have seen us for so short a time and then to be taken away again.
I regretted it for a long, long time, and swore to myself that I would never let another one of my animals die alone. I've been there for two of them now, and as much as it hurts to let them go, there's something in being there for them, to comfort them and give them the gift of peace.
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Date: 2009-01-06 11:15 pm (UTC)I'm so glad that you stayed to the end. I know that it's a personal choice and that some people can't handle it, but I'm so glad that you did. To me, it's one of the most important things that we can do for them. I'll never forget the first animal that my family had to put down, my cat Snowball (hey, I was only 8 and that's what the cousins I got him from had named him). When I was 16 he had to be put down and I was brought to the vet's to say goodbye (he had been at the vet's for several days because of his condition). I wanted to be there when they gave him the drugs, but my dad nor the vet thought it would be a good idea so they made me leave. I'll never forget how happy Snowball was to see me, this cat who rarely showed emotion. I'll never forget how he cried when they took him away. All I could think about was how stressed he was at the vet's, evident in how much he was shedding, and how much more stressful it must have been to have seen us for so short a time and then to be taken away again.
I regretted it for a long, long time, and swore to myself that I would never let another one of my animals die alone. I've been there for two of them now, and as much as it hurts to let them go, there's something in being there for them, to comfort them and give them the gift of peace.