# Euthanasia, a humane way...



## azanimallvr

Hi, I'm new to this discussion group as I was looking for a humane way to euthanize a severely injured mourning dove. The dove had been caught by a cat, which was just doing what his instinct tells the cat. Anyway, not wanting the dove to die such a violent death, I rescued it, but not before all of it's tail feathers were gone, it's crop was lacerated (grain was falling out), and there were several open wounds in it's back. I thought that it was close to death, and would pass naturally, but several hours later, it was still alive. I called the vet office and they said that euthanizing it would cost $53. I had already looked on line and found a few sites that described how it could be done but I didn't like most of them. Then I found a canary website that mentioned a euthanasia chamber using CO2. Although I didn't have CO2, I did have compressed air duster, which contains 1,1 difluoroethane, and the warning on the can says that inhaling it could cause instant death... So this is what I did...I used a tupperware juice pitcher that is sealed with a lid with a secondary opening. I put the poor dove in the pitcher, closed the lid, sprayed the compressed air upwards in the container through the spout opening for about 30 sec. and then closed it and put the container in the dark. I set a timer for 5 min., then checked it, and it had passed. I have to think in my heart of hearts that this was a humane (and non-violent) way to euthanize a bird. I had read another post that someone used ether but it sounds like ether takes longer, and ether is extremely dangerous to use since it can explode. I appreciate the extremely caring nature of everyone who is helping injured birds. thx


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## TheSnipes

I'm really sorry you had to do this. Mmy rehabber friend uses ether to euthanize the ones that she must put down. She says they just go to sleep and after that their breathing stops. 

I can't advise you on her exact technique. Starting fluid is ether, so maybe some cotton soaked with that and put in a fairly small enclosure, or you could make the bird woozy with it and then put it and the cotton in a small enclosure or box...and give it time to do the work. I caution to be very careful though and work outside so you aren't affected. I used to use ether in my work and while it's easy and quick to knock out animals it's also easy to get too involved in your work if you know what I mean!

AGain so sorry to hear you had to face doing this with the bird but at least you cared enough to help it pass in a painless way.


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## Feefo

I appreciate your compassion for the dove, but I have to say this in case others have the same dilemma: I think that you underestimated the dove's ability to recover.

Lost tail feathers are nothing, they grow back in six weeks.

A ruptured crop is easy to repair. The open wounds on its back could have healed very quickly.

I once had a collared dove delivered to me. it had survived a cat attack, had a ruptured crop and several other wounds. It had been put in a wicker basket to die (not by me!) , but 5 hours later still clung to life. It was cold and gasping for breath. I telephoned our moderator Nooti who told me that its chances of survival were 1%...it lived.

Cynthia


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## Pidgey

Well, I hate to tell you this but it's very likely that he'd have lived if you'd just gotten him an antibiotic to protect against a Pasteurella infection. Crops heal and so do lacerations, even when pretty bad.

Pidgey


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## Pidgey

This isn't the worst injury to come down the pike by a long shot, but it was kinda' rough:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=11512

And Ms. Pierpont is alive and well today.

Pidgey


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## Whitefeather

azanimallvr,

Could you post your _general_ whereabouts? 
In the event you come across another bird in need, perhaps there will be a member close by 
who can assist you in caring for it.

Cindy


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## Lovebirds

AZWhitefeather said:


> azanimallvr,
> 
> Could you post your _general_ whereabouts?
> In the event you come across another bird in need, perhaps there will be a member close by
> who can assist you in caring for it.
> 
> Cindy


I might be wrong, but.........AZ(Arizona?)animal-lvr (lover)? I hope they come back and say where they are. Too bad about the bird, BUT, I guess you've got to give this person credit.........they didn't know how to help the bird, BUT DID, care about how it died as painless as possible.


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## pdpbison

azanimallvr said:


> Hi, I'm new to this discussion group as I was looking for a humane way to euthanize a severely injured mourning dove. The dove had been caught by a cat, which was just doing what his instinct tells the cat. Anyway, not wanting the dove to die such a violent death, I rescued it, but not before all of it's tail feathers were gone, it's crop was lacerated (grain was falling out), and there were several open wounds in it's back. I thought that it was close to death, and would pass naturally, but several hours later, it was still alive. I called the vet office and they said that euthanizing it would cost $53. I had already looked on line and found a few sites that described how it could be done but I didn't like most of them. Then I found a canary website that mentioned a euthanasia chamber using CO2. Although I didn't have CO2, I did have compressed air duster, which contains 1,1 difluoroethane, and the warning on the can says that inhaling it could cause instant death... So this is what I did...I used a tupperware juice pitcher that is sealed with a lid with a secondary opening. I put the poor dove in the pitcher, closed the lid, sprayed the compressed air upwards in the container through the spout opening for about 30 sec. and then closed it and put the container in the dark. I set a timer for 5 min., then checked it, and it had passed. I have to think in my heart of hearts that this was a humane (and non-violent) way to euthanize a bird. I had read another post that someone used ether but it sounds like ether takes longer, and ether is extremely dangerous to use since it can explode. I appreciate the extremely caring nature of everyone who is helping injured birds. thx



Hi azanimallvr, 


I deal with injurys like those fairly often, and I very very rarely loose one...

Doves and Pigeons are quite hardy, and the injurys you describe could be dealt with by any practical Medical operative, Vet, MD, paramedic, or willing lay person...


As Pidgey mentions, the possibility of an infection would be dealt with with Antibiotics, and, as for the rest, some sutures maybe, and gentle constraint, rest and care would tend to see the Bird recover well...and if the Wings were fine, then ultimately the Dove could be released to return to their old LIfe again.


So...far as that goes, if there is a next time, stop by here first..!


Best wishes..!


Sorry you had go through all that...


Phil
l v


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## philodice

Yes, when it comes to pigeons, doves, and chickens, never give up until they do. Thank you for caring about the dove, though.


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## Matt D.

Well I know you guys don't mean harm and you are most likely right it could have lived if it had been treated for properly. Thought this person did what he though was best. And I'm sure he feels bad enough now without you guys telling him he did wrong. I am not telling you that you are wrong in correcting him but you all have done it multiple time... might discourage him from replying.


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## maryjane

Matt D. said:


> Well I know you guys don't mean harm and you are most likely right it could have lived if it had been treated for properly. Thought this person did what he though was best. And I'm sure he feels bad enough now without you guys telling him he did wrong. I am not telling you that you are wrong in correcting him but you all have done it multiple time... might discourage him from replying.


I think what people were just trying to do is gently and kindly tell him or her for future reference about the possibilities, just in case Az finds another dove in the future. It's nice of you to worry about hurting Az's feelings though, Matt; I'm sure Az will understand that no one is putting him/her down in any way. 

Az, thank you for helping this dove as best as you could. It is a very difficult thing to have to humanely euthanize an animal, one of the hardest things ever to do for those of us that care about animals so much. If there is a next time you know the options, but who's to say this particular dove would have been okay. You helped it to pass in comfort and safety, and that matters immensely.


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## Matt D.

yes i knew full well what you guys meant and that you only wanted to help... just trying to tell you an outside perspective.


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## Pidgey

Matt,

There isn't a rehabber on here who doesn't have a few ghosts that haunt him or her. Many of my own go back to the time when I didn't know enough to treat them, only to make them more comfortable as they faded away. I, for one, don't like to give up and have attempted to learn a lot more how to assess and deal with their illnesses and injuries. I have also made an attempt to share my findings and beliefs here about how to manage recovery and rehabilitation under some pretty diverse circumstances.

Many here are the same way and each of us bring a different set of skills to the party. Sometimes we disagree and sometimes that almost violently. Sometimes those very disagreements cause us to more closely examine ourselves and our diagnostic methods in order to improve so that a future case may result in another life spared that otherwise would have been lost. C'est la vie'.

Rehabbing isn't for the faint of heart, in more ways than one. You cannot be afraid of the sight of blood and you cannot be afraid of having a ghost standing on your shoulder, whispering in your ear to remember them, your previous failure. There will be those cases that you must allow your sense of the bird's will to live to be as strong as your own and allow yourself to bind with that other precious little life in that struggle, the struggle to not give up--the struggle to live.

For myself, I don't want it to be easy to give up, even when there really isn't a chance. I don't want it as a philosophy, a method or an alternative because I'm afraid that someday, sometime, somewhere, the sheer _convenience_ of it may cost a little soul his or her life at my hand. And I have enough ghosts haunting me as it is.

Pidgey


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## Charis

Pidgey said:


> Matt,
> 
> There isn't a rehabber on here who doesn't have a few ghosts that haunt him or her. Many of my own go back to the time when I didn't know enough to treat them, only to make them more comfortable as they faded away. I, for one, don't like to give up and have attempted to learn a lot more how to assess and deal with their illnesses and injuries. I have also made an attempt to share my findings and beliefs here about how to manage recovery and rehabilitation under some pretty diverse circumstances.
> 
> Many here are the same way and each of us bring a different set of skills to the party. Sometimes we disagree and sometimes that almost violently. Sometimes those very disagreements cause us to more closely examine ourselves and our diagnostic methods in order to improve so that a future case may result in another life spared that otherwise would have been lost. C'est la vie'.
> 
> Rehabbing isn't for the faint of heart, in more ways than one. You cannot be afraid of the sight of blood and you cannot be afraid of having a ghost standing on your shoulder, whispering in your ear to remember them, your previous failure. There will be those cases that you must allow your sense of the bird's will to live to be as strong as your own and allow yourself to bind with that other precious little life in that struggle, the struggle to not give up--the struggle to live.
> 
> For myself, I don't want it to be easy to give up, even when there really isn't a chance. I don't want it as a philosophy, a method or an alternative because I'm afraid that someday, sometime, somewhere, the sheer _convenience_ of it may cost a little soul his or her life at my hand. And I have enough ghosts haunting me as it is.
> 
> Pidgey


Nice post from the heart. It's true about enough ghosts haunting...most from many years back.


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## xxmoxiexx

Well said Pidgey! Everyone was once new to this, no one was born with the knowledge or skills learned for rehabbing, and it's very easy to say what should of, or could of, been done. It's always easier.


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## PixieTJ

Pidgey said:


> For myself, I don't want it to be easy to give up, even when there really isn't a chance. I don't want it as a philosophy, a method or an alternative because I'm afraid that someday, sometime, somewhere, the sheer _convenience_ of it may cost a little soul his or her life at my hand. And I have enough ghosts haunting me as it is.
> 
> Pidgey


 Thank you, Pidgey. 

Recently I was wondering, to myself, why... Why the determination. I didn't understand the guilt for not being able to catch Ally. Though I've continued and will continue to try, yes, I do feel guilty. On walks, I've been finding myself analyzing poops, feet, flight. All simply because one special bird decided to visit my apartment and because of all of you here. In a way this place has made the determination not reckless or crazy but sane. You all give permission for humanity to thrive. Thank you.


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## Feefo

In my very early days as a rescuer I took a sick young pigeon to the vet and told him that I had fed her wholemeal bread soaked in water (this was before Cindy's lifesaving sticky). The vet immediately said "That is the worst thing you could have done"...she had a yeast infection and crop stasis.

I was very grateful to him for being so honest with me and this led to my learning a lot more about how to save a pigeon's life. Because of this I also try to be honest with rescuers so that further down the line more pigeons and doves will hopefully be saved.

Cynthia


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## Garye

I always thought about Maggie and Julius - if I had left them there to let nature take its course. Maggie in particular, was a hard decision for me to try and take her in. I was late for work but I happened to look out the rear window of my car and saw that she was struggling to get herself off her back while a hawk stood beside her ready to finish her off. If I hadn't made that decision to be late for work and get her away from the hawk, I don't know if I could've gotten the image of her struggling to stay alive out of my head. The hawk surely would've finished her off if I hadn't seen her and chased it away. I knew I would have a hard time trying to care for her because of my living situation, but so far I've managed to keep her.

Julius - I felt the same way. I wanted to forget about the bird when I saw that it was injured and let nature take its course, but I just couldn't. I knew I would never be able to forget that image of it struggling to stay alive. Thankfully someone here helped me by trying to give it a loving home. I'll always be thankful to that person even though Julius didn't live long.

We'll always have ghosts of those we couldn't save - those we see who didn't make it through the winter. I guess it makes us want to help the next one better. It gives us that needed strength.


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