Two techs and a
doctor stand leaning over a table at a dying hamster. The owner had
said goodbye and the euthanasia solution had been injected out of sight
in the treatment area due to the lack of accessible veins in such small
"pocket pets". The heartbeat was down to about 20 Bpm, but we were all
patiently waiting for zero.
The hamster had an obvious abdominal mass that we all wanted to explore and understand, but no poking or prodding was being done because none of us wanted to cause any pain or discomfort to an animal who had already suffered for some time.
Those of us into veterinary medicine do so because of two things: we care about animals, and we are interested in medicine. But, clearly the animal comes first.
So, then the thought crosses my mind that you can still find people today, and the majority of people a few decades ago thought animals were incapable of feeling pain. But here we are, quiet, patient, one of us holding the tiny hamster's hand as we talk about what the mass might be and how sad the adult owner was and what an awesome hammy he must have been to made such an impact.
When the doctor felt he was gone she passed the stethoscope to me to double-check. I agreed that no heartbeat was present and handed the stethoscope to the other tech to triple check. Only when we had all agreed that the hamster was gone did we begin to feel the mass and other internal organs to make our guesses. When everyone had finished palpating I took an aspirate of the mass to look at under the microscope and discovered that it was likely a large cell lymphoma which the doctor's reference book said was common for hamsters.
Similar photo of the aspirate under the microscope:
The hamster had an obvious abdominal mass that we all wanted to explore and understand, but no poking or prodding was being done because none of us wanted to cause any pain or discomfort to an animal who had already suffered for some time.
Those of us into veterinary medicine do so because of two things: we care about animals, and we are interested in medicine. But, clearly the animal comes first.
So, then the thought crosses my mind that you can still find people today, and the majority of people a few decades ago thought animals were incapable of feeling pain. But here we are, quiet, patient, one of us holding the tiny hamster's hand as we talk about what the mass might be and how sad the adult owner was and what an awesome hammy he must have been to made such an impact.
When the doctor felt he was gone she passed the stethoscope to me to double-check. I agreed that no heartbeat was present and handed the stethoscope to the other tech to triple check. Only when we had all agreed that the hamster was gone did we begin to feel the mass and other internal organs to make our guesses. When everyone had finished palpating I took an aspirate of the mass to look at under the microscope and discovered that it was likely a large cell lymphoma which the doctor's reference book said was common for hamsters.
Similar photo of the aspirate under the microscope:
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