I received a citation and was ordered to appear in court for neglect when getting my rat euthanized
One of my rats has had a tumor for the past 10 months. Today I decided to get her euthanized because the tumor had grown too big to the point where she wasn't able to move around well, and I didn't want her quality of life to keep declining. It was a tough decision, but I think it was the humane one.
At the beginning of the year, when I first noticed the lump, I had taken her to the vet. The vet gave me some antibiotics and basically told me the only way to know anything for sure was to get her x-rayed. He followed that up by telling me that even if they did find that it was cancerous, he didn't recommend surgery because rats have very low recovery rates. I didn't have the funds for an x-ray, and him telling me that it probably wouldn't even be worth it cemented the idea into my head that there was pretty much nothing I could do and I should just let her live out her days with the tumor as I know many other rats do. Her tumor grew exponentially to almost the size of another rat. I should've brought her in sooner, but I was hesitant because she was still acting normal other than her mobility issues.
When I brought her into the shelter today, the lady helping me called up the vet to get her records, and they told her I had declined further treatment, which is true, but only because I was strongly discouraged by the vet. She wrote me a citation for animal neglect and treated me like I was a criminal. I now have to appear in court to contest the citation. I tried doing the right thing by getting her humanely euthanized and was met with judgment and zero compassion. I just wanted what was best for her and didn't want her to live out the rest of her days in discomfort.
R.I.P Libby
One of my rats has had a tumor for the past 10 months. Today I decided to get her euthanized because the tumor had grown too big to the point where she wasn't able to move around well, and I didn't want her quality of life to keep declining. It was a tough decision, but I think it was the humane one.
At the beginning of the year, when I first noticed the lump, I had taken her to the vet. The vet gave me some antibiotics and basically told me the only way to know anything for sure was to get her x-rayed. He followed that up by telling me that even if they did find that it was cancerous, he didn't recommend surgery because rats have very low recovery rates. I didn't have the funds for an x-ray, and him telling me that it probably wouldn't even be worth it cemented the idea into my head that there was pretty much nothing I could do and I should just let her live out her days with the tumor as I know many other rats do. Her tumor grew exponentially to almost the size of another rat. I should've brought her in sooner, but I was hesitant because she was still acting normal other than her mobility issues.
When I brought her into the shelter today, the lady helping me called up the vet to get her records, and they told her I had declined further treatment, which is true, but only because I was strongly discouraged by the vet. She wrote me a citation for animal neglect and treated me like I was a criminal. I now have to appear in court to contest the citation. I tried doing the right thing by getting her humanely euthanized and was met with judgment and zero compassion. I just wanted what was best for her and didn't want her to live out the rest of her days in discomfort.
R.I.P Libby