Euthanising A Pet Out Of Convenience Isn’t The Most Outrageous Request That Vets In Singapore Have Received From Pet Owners

It’s not uncommon to hear of pet owners pampering their furry pals, taking them on staycations, renovating their homes with their furkids in mind, or even buying them bling. On the flipside, there are pet owners who do quite the opposite, as two vets in Singapore recently revealed.

Dr Jean from Stars Veterinary Clinic (left) and Dr Forest from Happy Vet (right), with almost 30 years of veterinary experience between them, spoke about their experiences working as a vet in Singapore on YouTube channel You Got Watch’s ‘For Real For Real’ series.

And boy, oh, boy, were there some unthinkable requests that they’ve received from pawrents.

#1: Contrary to what some people think, vets do not recommend unnecessary treatments just to earn more.

Dr Forest: As vets, our hearts are always for the animals. We usually put ourselves in the owner’s shoes. The question I ask myself is what I’d do if this were my pet.  

#2: The pandemic has led to an increase in the number of pets, and vet clinics are overwhelmed at the moment.

Dr Forest: [One of the personal struggles that vets face] is not having enough personal time. Like tonight I’ll finish work at 12am or 1am. As much as we want to help every pet, we still have to turn some away. I think during Covid, the population of pets increased. But you have to study five years in vet school, so it’s not like [the number of vets can suddenly increase as well]. So, vets are overwhelmed.  

#3: They've had owners request for them to put down their pet when it’s not necessary.

Dr Forest: There have been cases where I’ve turned down [requests for] euthanasia, and the owners tell me, “It’s okay if you don’t do it. I know [another vet] who will do it.” I feel very sad when I hear things like that.

Dr Jean: There was a shih tzu with a really bad skin disease that was brought in, and the owner admitted that there was nothing wrong with the dog except for the skin disease, but they wanted to put the dog down. Of course I told her that she can’t do that, and I gave her a lot of reasons why, and asked her why not consider rehoming the pet instead. She didn’t want to initially, but I was thinking she might go to another vet to try to put the dog down. So I [informed] all the vet clinics [nearby] telling them that there’s this person who wanted to euthanise their pet but it’s not a legit case. Come to think of it now, with more experience, I know that most vets will not do it.

I’ve also had a request from an owner who asked me to make it look like I’ve sterilised the animal but not actually do it. So he just wanted me to make an incision and make it look like a surgical scar, which of course I rejected. You’re putting the animal through unnecessary pain – I don’t think that's right.

#4: They do get emotionally attached to their patients.

Dr Forest: Of course [it’s hard to put down animals you get emotionally attached to]. Some of the hardest are the patients that we see since they were puppies. Every time I have to put down an animal, there’s a sadness also because you know what the owners are going through. I kind of cry with the owners too.

Dr Jean: Sometimes we do cry with the owners. We do try to be objective, but it’s really not easy especially if you’ve seen this pet since they were young.

Watch the full video below:

Main photo: Unsplash/Regine Tholen