--- Myra Savant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Roger, I think that at times like these, we simply
> have to make allowances
> for the personal backgrounds that each of us have.
> The bulk of my career as
> a registered nurse was in high risk labor delivery
> units and neonatal
> nursery. There were a lot of times in that career
> where parents, nurses and
> docs all made hard decisions not to prolong the life
> of a premie, or a
> newborn with problems that simply weren't compatible
> with life. When I felt
> that I needed a shift into another career, I worked
> home health, and
> hospice. Again, I was often instrumental over time
> in helping patients and
> families come to grips with the concept of giving
> in, listening to their
> bodies, and making hard decisions about how long to
> fight the good fight.
> With that as my background, it isn't hard for me to
> put things in a
> perspective that works for me and my personal ethics
> when it comes to a
> puppy newborn. If the cost will be huge, and the
> chance of survival will be
> very, very small....and the puppy will not be
> comfortable during all of the
> time it takes to watch it die....it isn't that hard
> for me to make the
> decision to let it go. Myra
>
>
Myra:
I agree with you 100%. However, the critical
point you made was that the decisions you spoke of
were made with the assistance of trained professionals
who have the expertise to diagnose a case and give an
informed opinion and prognosis. I run into this all
the time in my profession over the issue of G-Tubes
(feeding tubes). Family members with loved ones who
stop eating and have severe dementia often consider a
G-Tube. The family often think they want to keep
their loved one alive through a G-Tube. I ask the
family first if their loved one were able to make the
decision, would they want to be kept alive
artificially. Second, I share with them that the
current medical thought that when dementia people
stop eating, it is natures way of saying it is time
to go. Families are often concerned if their loved
one stops eating, they will starve to death. I
assure them that is not the case. They will offered
food continually.
What I was thinking about was more the pup that is
born with a congenital heart disorder which is
completely treatable with surgery. However, the
condition has a hereditary component which makes
breeding conta indicated. I believe that the breeder
has the moral obligation to treat that pup and place
it with a pet home. There are those who would
disagree because of the cost of the surgery. I just
have my own opinion. That is my morality. However,
there is no reason to why people cannot disagree with
that. The question as I understood it was values
clarification where people are free to present their
morality and values.
In the case presented, my point was that I would
call the vet and have the pup seen immediately to make
an informed decision on the diagnosis and prognosis.
If the prognosis were very poor, of course
euthanization is the obvious choice. However,if the
problems were treatable through surgery, then I just
believe that the breeder has a moral obligation to
treat the pup.
I had a pup once who developed acquired
hydrocephaly by mismanagement at a local veterinary
school. I flew the pup from Boston to Phoenix
because there was a vet who specialized in shunts in
dogs and had very good results. Now that is extreme
and I would not expect most people to make that
decision. As it turned out the shunt clogged in two
months and I had her euthanized at that time.
We all have to make decision and we all have to do
the best we can. However for me it is interesting to
learn the values of others.
I will give you another dog related values issue.
I belonged to a dog club which hired a neo-Nazi as a
sweeps judge. This person who moved here from Europe
believed that Hitler was correct in killing Jews whom
he did not like. I am Jewish and a former
international officer and international co-chair for
B'nai B'rith. I was outraged and angry that they
would hire a neo-Nazi. These people, who were
predominantly from lower socio-economic backgrounds,
thought there was nothing wrong with hiring a neo-Nazi
and considered my complaining similar as someone who
complains about hiring a judge who does not put them
up. I thought these people were morally depraved. I
quit the club. I didn't want my name associated with
their values. The reality is that it was really a
case of different values. Thank god their values are
not mainstream values. However, in Europe
anti-Semitism is much more accepted than in the United
States. That is what makes life interesting and at
times frightening.
So I look forward to learning other peoples values.
I also hope that people continue to post hypothetical
values questions regarding dogs. It certainly would
make the list quite enlightening.
Roger B Baskin
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