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Finding the Wackiness In Everything
Dec. 10th, 2004 10:32 pmEvery job has its ups and downs, but sometimes it seems like this is magnified in veterinary medicine. The rewards are amazing - I actually get paid to spend my days cuddling puppies and kittens, playing peekaboo with parrots, saving lives, and getting endearing cards with painfully adorable photos thanking me for being the special caretaker of peoples' beloved pets. On the down side, there's animal cruelty, defensive medicine, suffering that could have been prevented with an ounce of intelligence or attention, and euthanasia.
The last one is the hardest to categorize. In some ways, it's a good thing. I get to end pain and suffering, and give closure. On the other hand, death is death. And people ask me, from time to time, how I deal with it.
There are a lot of ways that I deal. Sometimes it just helps to allow it to hurt for a little while. Having a strong support group helps more than I can say, too, and so does reminding myself of the puppies and kittens, and all of the cases that turned out well. But the first and foremost tool in the veterinary arsenal is humor. Sick, twisted, morbid, grotesque humor, and the ability to turn the most unpleasant situation into a wacky anecdote once it's over.
So. Given that things have been rough lately, and that I need a reminder of the strange beauty of my career, and that I could use some cheering up, I feel the overwhelming need to write up the story of the Worstest Euthanasia Ever.
( Cut-tagged for those who might not feel like laughing at death right now. )
The last one is the hardest to categorize. In some ways, it's a good thing. I get to end pain and suffering, and give closure. On the other hand, death is death. And people ask me, from time to time, how I deal with it.
There are a lot of ways that I deal. Sometimes it just helps to allow it to hurt for a little while. Having a strong support group helps more than I can say, too, and so does reminding myself of the puppies and kittens, and all of the cases that turned out well. But the first and foremost tool in the veterinary arsenal is humor. Sick, twisted, morbid, grotesque humor, and the ability to turn the most unpleasant situation into a wacky anecdote once it's over.
So. Given that things have been rough lately, and that I need a reminder of the strange beauty of my career, and that I could use some cheering up, I feel the overwhelming need to write up the story of the Worstest Euthanasia Ever.
( Cut-tagged for those who might not feel like laughing at death right now. )
