President’s Statement — May 2023

From the Trenches

One evening recently, I visited a new pair of clients for a home euthanasia consultation that was very emotional initially. This couple had a sweet dog who was very broken. We discussed all options but they knew what needed to be done even before I arrived. They were not in denial, they just needed to hear me to validate their feelings.

As we discussed their dog’s long life and worked through planning our best protocol for ending it, the room became almost palpably wet through the tears. Things went as perfectly as possible. They thanked me as we hugged. I wrapped their dog up and left them sobbing on the couch as I walked down the hall to the front door. Holding my bag in one arm and their medium-size dog in the other made it difficult to turn the knob. By focusing on it and using my remaining two fingers, I was able to push it open enough to squeeze through.

My first thought was “Wow, it got really dark outside”. As a motion activated night light came on, I realized I had not exited the home as expected. Instead, I was standing in a sort of makeshift dungeon with faux brick walls. As I scanned the room I realized there were whips, elongated toys, and leather clothes hanging up. My next thought was “Oh, that kind of dungeon.” …