[my boy diesel]

If you eat meat or wear leather, you have no business getting emotional over a dead animal carcass. Whether in the grocery store cut and wrapped in neat cellophane, or on a road, or in a truck, that body is going to be recycled. Whether into food, fuel, or product, nothing really goes to waste. It's how the animal is treated while it's ALIVE that is important.

exactly this!

 

[Mister C]

I too have to say that it's disheartening to see such mistrust and so much focus on the negative. Those who do wrong should be punished, but if you cannot trust your vet, you need another vet. Just like if you can't trust your physician, you need another one. Trust is the MOST important thing in a doctor - client - patient relationship. Without it, there's nothing.

I posted earlier about a bad experience with my former vet after I had my dog PTS. I had asked for cremation but they disposed of the body through other means--probably a landfill. While I was extremely angry at the time for the mixup I got over it and now view it as just that--a mixup. I don't think the vet made any money on the dead dog and he even refunded his fee for the euthanasia. But he also lost my trust that day.

I agree with you. Trust is the most important thing in a doctor-client-patient relationship.

I trust my current vet. He's a kind, honest man and a very good vet. When his vet tech couldn't draw blood on my 15 year old GSD Maddie he even came to my house the next day to draw the blood himself--at no charge. He also agreed to do in-home euthanasia when the time came. He is the one I relied upon the most when deciding what courses of treatment were best through her years and when we should have Maddie PTS. Even Maddie trusted him.

 

[VTGirlT]

I happened to work at a shelter where we did cremation service for the public, and the vets in our area would give us the animals for cremation.

We had three options.

Public: which means we do a lot of bodies into the oven and the remains go into the trash- which goes into the dumpster.

Semi-private: Which means we put (depending on size) 2-4/5 animals into the oven, separated by rocks (even though on the website it says, "In a semi-private cremation, a barricade is placed in the center of the cremation chamber with a pet on each side. Ashes are kept separate and are carefully packaged for return to the owner." They lie!) And we take the ashes/bones out one by one, into trays and than grind up the bones, etc.

Private: Which was supposed to be JUST that one animal, after a certain amount of weight, there was no option for people. Because the oven can only fit one huge dog obviously. Same thing goes, take the ashes out like that and put in grinder. (Now to save on money, when i was taught to use the oven, we still put other animals in, like with semi-private, because they wanted to save money. I thought this was awful and so dishonest, so i would always strongly suggest for semi-private, so it would be an honest thing.)

Now i know some cremation services will bury the remains for the public cremations. Which i think is the best thing to do! I would have loved to do this instead.

We had a driver pick up the bodies from Vets, hours away from our shelter, whether they were public, private, or semi-private. Thats what happens around where i live, with the veterinary clinics to the bodies of animals waited to be cremated or if the owners do not want the body.

 

[Colie CVT]

You had a valid reason to be upset, Mister C. It was just this overall feeling of mistrust that seems to come up in many veterinary related posts that saddens me. I know that I and those I work with work very hard to help people out as we can and make things right. Even if I know people out there aren't great, I still feel most vets are honest people who care about the animals. Sour apples are tossed about more and that general negative feeling is sad to see from my end of the spectrum.

 

[llombardo]

I love dogs and cats as much as the next person, but I've never understood the need to revere dead bodies. I don't even get it with human bodies. Once the spirit is gone, the body *is* trash... Of course, one man's trash is another's treasure... in the wild, when an animal dies, the worms, insects, scavengers and microbes would be eating the body. Is that more or less disgusting that being loaded into a truck and taken to a rendering plant to be recycled?

It's the circle of life. No matter what you do with the body, it's not going to hurt the living being that once used it. I agree that most people shouldn't have to see a dump truck full of dead pets, because most people are so far removed from the cycle of life and death, it would be disturbing to them. In our society, we attempt to hide death and pretend it doesn't exist. I think this only makes the grieving process longer and more difficult.

If you eat meat or wear leather, you have no business getting emotional over a dead animal carcass. Whether in the grocery store cut and wrapped in neat cellophane, or on a road, or in a truck, that body is going to be recycled. Whether into food, fuel, or product, nothing really goes to waste. It's how the animal is treated while it's ALIVE that is important.

And no, I'm not stupid or heartless. If it's your own pet, of course you're going to have an emotional reaction to seeing it dead. That's part of the grieving process. And I'm aware that humans have long-held rituals and beliefs surrounding death, from the days of King Tut until now. I just don't quite understand it.

Oh I understand life and death. The sad part was that so many were disposed of as if they were trash and it makes you(general you) wonder how many got to be loved, had a home etc or if their life consisted of neglect, abuse and not being loved. If they are going and they are to the landfill they aren't being recycled, they are being dumped into a huge hole like the rest of the trash and eventually will be buried. The respectful and decent thing to do is to cremate them. I work in the garbage industry, people attempt and probably have gotten away with disposing live animal. I know of one garbage man that got fired when word got out that he ran the blade knowing full well a live puppy was in the trash. I don't believe that any animal is disposable, nor is a person. Out of respect we wouldn't throw a human family member into a landfill, soul or no soul they are buried or cremated properly. It's all a matter of respect for life and death.

 

[llombardo]

I don't think it's a matter of trust or not. I don't think one person ever asked how the animal was disposed of if they didn't want the ashes. They just didn't want to know, if they asked they would have been told. It's that simple. If it's there policy to dispose of bodies by means of a landfill then that is where the dog will go. I'm not sure what people expect?

 

[GatorBytes]

Oh I understand life and death....I don't believe that any animal is disposable, nor is a person. Out of respect we wouldn't throw a human family member into a landfill, soul or no soul they are buried or cremated properly. It's all a matter of respect for life and death.

Well said

 

[VTGirlT]

I don't think it's a matter of trust or not. I don't think one person ever asked how the animal was disposed of if they didn't want the ashes. They just didn't want to know, if they asked they would have been told. It's that simple. If it's there policy to dispose of bodies by means of a landfill then that is where the dog will go. I'm not sure what people expect?

Although i do agree in a sense; there are some ways you can do it quite easily done by:
A. throwing it into the woods, water, ocean, mountain, etc.
B. Burying it.

My manager took home the animals we as the shelter had to put down that were dear to our hearts, and we were all going to go hiking together to dispose of the ashes on a mountain in remembrance and honor of their little and sometimes short lived lives.

Or you can put in trash bags and put into the ever growing landfills. It works, and i can see why really big shelters have to do this.

Although i agree with Freestep, when the spirit leaves the body, it no longer is your dog, its flesh. But i also think that the body should be treated respectfully, as thats the same fur that was hugged and kissed, the same face that was looked at, the same body the dog used. And i grow, for lack of better word, a respect for the body after it was carried out of the back of a car wrapped up in a blanket, put into a wagon so i can pull it into the cremation room. Seeing grown men crying and saying goodbye, kissing the face, or giving one last pet and also seeing little kids sitting the back seat of the car with tears in their eyes will tug at your heart. Its very hard to not have "respect" for that body after seeing that. If you can have "respect" for other peoples "possessions" than why not for a body that once held the spirit of someones best friend and family member?
I mean who didn't cry when Wilson from Cast Away went off into the ocean? And it was not so much the ball, but the relationship that is drifting away that is sad.
I'm sure its easier if you don't have to do the intake for the cremation.
I remember a couple times they put down a couple dogs in the shelter, they just stuck the bodies in the freezer, i walked in on one, and it was very upsetting to see the dog i had just seen earlier that day jumping up on its cage to get attention from me, to a lifeless body in the freezer. Would have been easier to see a cadaver bag with a tag on it with its name.

 

[trcy]

The vet in west los angeles told me they would do a mass cremation and the ashes are put in the ocean. I also overheard my local emergency vet telling a couple the same thing.

If I was told they were going into a landfill I would probably have chosen private.

 

[llombardo]

I used to have to put them in a bag after they were put to sleep. For most of them I was the last thing they saw. Some of them were put to sleep for no reason. The last one, the one that broke my heart and essentially ended my career in that field was a Doberman named Harley. He was 2 years old, his owner kept making appointments and canceling them to have the dog put to sleep. The owner claimed he was aggressive. I looked into the records and this particular owner had several dogs, all GSD's and dobes and all were put to sleep before the age if two, a red flag to say the least. One day he just walked in with the dog, signed the papers and left. The dog had bruises in him and the vet determined the dog was abused. The dog was so happy and loveable, we never even put him in the cage, he ran around the office greeting and kissing everyone. I would have brought him home in a minute but the vet on duty wouldn't allow that. I held that dog and cried as the people he found and trusted instantly put him down. I cried like he was my own. I even kept his collar and named my next male pet which was a cat Harley in memory of him. That was the last dog I bagged up, I quit the next day. Many years later when I had to put my lab down I called a vet and explained I needed him put to sleep, they stated that they would not euthanize a dog unless the dog was not healthy. That day I gained back respect for the practice and appreciated that another dog like Harley wouldn't be put to sleep in this vets office, it made me feel slightly better to know that some vets made that their practice.

 

[sparra]

It's pretty simple.....If you want to know what happens to your dead dog take it home and do it yourself or pay the money to have it cremated and returned to you.
If you aren't willing to do either of these things and you surrender your dog's body for someone else to deal with expect it to end up in a mass grave somewhere not all that nice.

 

[Tiffseagles]

The vet I worked for had bodies picked up by this company: Abbey Glen Pet Memorial Park

The school I'm attending gets dissection dogs from a shelter (they were slated to be euthanized anyway).

 

[Freestep]

If they are going and they are to the landfill they aren't being recycled, they are being dumped into a huge hole like the rest of the trash and eventually will be buried.

I keep hearing people say that pets go to the landfill, but around here, that's actually illegal. You can't put pets in the trash; vets and shelters contract with the local rendering plant (if the owner has not chosen private cremation) and they send a truck (that looks just like a garbage truck) to pick up the bodies. Most likely the dump truck you saw was going to the rendering plant, where the bodies would be recycled along with slaughterhouse waste, roadkill, used restaurant oil, etc. It's not a pretty thing to think about, but I'd rather see animal bodies be recycled than buried in a landfill.

I know of one garbage man that got fired when word got out that he ran the blade knowing full well a live puppy was in the trash. I don't believe that any animal is disposable, nor is a person. Out of respect we wouldn't throw a human family member into a landfill, soul or no soul they are buried or cremated properly. It's all a matter of respect for life and death.

Okay if someone is throwing a LIVE animal into the garbage, that's totally different.

As for the rest, like I said, I simply don't understand the human reverence for dead bodies. It just seems weird and morbid to me. When I die, I want to be thrown into the wilderness for wild animals to eat. I realize that I'm kind of weird in this respect.

But i also think that the body should be treated respectfully, as thats the same fur that was hugged and kissed, the same face that was looked at, the same body the dog used. And i grow, for lack of better word, a respect for the body after it was carried out of the back of a car wrapped up in a blanket, put into a wagon so i can pull it into the cremation room. Seeing grown men crying and saying goodbye, kissing the face, or giving one last pet and also seeing little kids sitting the back seat of the car with tears in their eyes will tug at your heart. Its very hard to not have "respect" for that body after seeing that. If you can have "respect" for other peoples "possessions" than why not for a body that once held the spirit of someones best friend and family member?

I understand what you're saying. I'm human too. I have had to euthanize many animals in my lifetime, and I was always there with them, holding them and kissing them as they passed. Surely at that moment, I do not want anything bad to happen to that body. But once the spirit is gone and the body is an empty shell, it's no longer mine and it doesn't really matter where it goes. I don't know if that makes sense or not.

very upsetting to see the dog i had just seen earlier that day jumping up on its cage to get attention from me, to a lifeless body in the freezer.

Yes, the first time you see that makes or breaks your career in veterinary medicine or shelter work. Even if you can go on after that, it's going to get to you after a while. You can go day by day, but there's always that moment where you realize the emotional toll of it all.

I don't work in veterinary medicine anymore.

 

[llombardo]

I keep hearing people say that pets go to the landfill, but around here, that's actually illegal. You can't put pets in the trash; vets and shelters contract with the local rendering plant (if the owner has not chosen private cremation) and they send a truck (that looks just like a garbage truck) to pick up the bodies. Most likely the dump truck you saw was going to the rendering plant, where the bodies would be recycled along with slaughterhouse waste, roadkill, used restaurant oil, etc. It's not a pretty thing to think about, but I'd rather see animal bodies be recycled than buried in a landfill.



Okay if someone is throwing a LIVE animal into the garbage, that's totally different.

As for the rest, like I said, I simply don't understand the human reverence for dead bodies. It just seems weird and morbid to me. When I die, I want to be thrown into the wilderness for wild animals to eat. I realize that I'm kind of weird in this respect.




I understand what you're saying. I'm human too. I have had to euthanize many animals in my lifetime, and I was always there with them, holding them and kissing them as they passed. Surely at that moment, I do not want anything bad to happen to that body. But once the spirit is gone and the body is an empty shell, it's no longer mine and it doesn't really matter where it goes. I don't know if that makes sense or not.



Yes, the first time you see that makes or breaks your career in veterinary medicine or shelter work. Even if you can go on after that, it's going to get to you after a while. You can go day by day, but there's always that moment where you realize the emotional toll of it all.

I don't work in veterinary medicine anymore.

I worked at the vet and I know for a fact they were going to the landfill.

 

[my boy diesel]

how many years ago was that llomb?

 

[llombardo]

how many years ago was that llomb?

I worked there about 13 years ago. For the last 8 yrs I have worked in the garbage industry and deal with landfills quite often, on a daily basis.

 

[llombardo]

I keep hearing people say that pets go to the landfill, but around here, that's actually illegal. You can't put pets in the trash; vets and shelters contract with the local rendering plant (if the owner has not chosen private cremation) and they send a truck (that looks just like a garbage truck) to pick up the bodies. Most likely the dump truck you saw was going to the rendering plant, where the bodies would be recycled along with slaughterhouse waste, roadkill, used restaurant oil, etc. It's not a pretty thing to think about, but I'd rather see animal bodies be recycled than buried in a landfill.



It's not illegal here. People that do it for a living have to have a license. A regular person like you or I can go directly to the landfill to dispose of dead animals

Illinois Law
Sec. 2. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, no person shall engage in the business of disposing of the bodies or parts of bodies of dead animals, poultry or fish, or used cooking grease and oils, in the State without first obtaining a license or licenses for that purpose from the Department. An owner, operator, or animal collection service may convey dead animals to a licensed landfill facility when no rendering service is available. Such transport shall be direct and not in conjunction with other collection activities, except for waste haulers collecting waste in which a dead animal is included incidental to the collection of such waste. No license or permit is required for any owner, operator or caretaker to convey dead animals to a landfill facility licensed under the Environmental Protection Act.

 

[Magwart]

The public shelter in my city puts them in trash bags and piles them into a truck to go to the landfill.

 

[Magwart]

The school I'm attending gets dissection dogs from a shelter (they were slated to be euthanized anyway).

Well..."slated" is relative here...

Shelters sometimes quietly "move up" euth dates to satisfy the vet school "orders" for cadavers. They keep that very quiet though. The order of X cadavers at $50 each on Y date may shape the euth list on the day before Y -- they have to euthanize at least X number of dogs to fill the "order." So they do, adding some if needed. I could out shelters where I'm very certain this has happened, and the vet schools unknowingly causing it with large "orders" -- but I won't as I have a feeling it's actually quite common place.

 

[Bridget]

Quite a few years ago, I lost my cat of 19 years. I was quite young and felt as you do, Freestep, that his spirit was gone, and that it didn't really make any difference what happened to the body. I had my nephew tote the body out to the woods near where my mother-in-law lived so others could feast upon it. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Now when I think about my dear friend, I really regret it. It seems very disrespectful and I would not do it that way again.

I always ask for the single cremation and have the ashes returned to me. I trust my vet as much as I trust anyone, but I do often wonder if these are really "my" ashes. I try not to overthink it. It is the symbolism that is important anyhow.