I Find Beauty In Death

Not always... but today I did. I have a client with two dogs of the same age. They were adopted together, and have been inseparable their whole lives. For example, when one has a vet visit, they both came. We have been dealing with some cancerous growths on one of the dogs for a while. Nothing life threatening, however, a few months ago a bad sarcoma popped up on his leg. The owners said enough is enough, and that they couldn't keep putting him through more surgeries. As time progressed, the mass got so large that the dog was having trouble walking. The cancer was surely spreading to the rest of the body as well. Every one knew that the end was near.

The other dog, which had been fine this whole time, all of a sudden last week started coughing. It seemed like nothing more that a kennel cough kind of illness, however after a week of treatment, the dog hadn't improved. The dog had been coughing non stop. I was worried about a developing pneumonia, and took an x-ray...to my surprise...cancer, throughout the lungs. Not much healthy lung lobes left. The owners were heartbroken. The dog probably only had a few days left.

The owners went home that day to talk things over, and today they elected to euthanize both pets at the same time. My first thought was that this was going to be incredibly sad, to lose two dogs the same day. But today it was a beautiful experience. Poetic even. The dogs layed there together, and as my colleague and I administered the last bit of euthanasia solution, they passed away with their noses touching each other. It was one of the most beautiful euthanasia experiences I have been a part of. Everyone in the room felt something strange. This dog that got cancer of the lungs, all of a sudden began to worsen when his buddy was clearly in the last few days of his life, due to the cancer on his arm. They came into this world together, and they went out together. It was just very fitting, and makes you really think.