Ethical question of the month — December 2015

[摘要] A beef farmer’s wife presents you with a stray dog that had been hanging around the farm for the past month and which they had been feeding kitchen scraps. She had run over it in the driveway and has brought it to you for an examination. On palpation you realize that the left femur is fractured. You quote her a price for repair and one for euthanasia. She wants to discuss this with her husband. You heavily sedate the dog, provide analgesia, and give her some additional analgesics to use while a decision is made. You suspect the producer will shoot the dog when he gets home. Six months later you are called to the farm for a calving. The stray dog comes bounding out to greet you. You ask the farmer where he had taken the dog for surgery. “Once I ran out of those pain pills I just switched him to aspirin and within a few weeks he had started using it again,” is the response. You are shocked that the dog was left with a broken leg, shocked that it is now running around at your feet, and realize you should have followed up to ensure the dog was euthanized. In another way you are glad that the dog was left to heal on its own and is now living a good life. Was offering surgery or euthanasia the only appropriate options to suggest in this case?

[学科分类] 兽医学