7/31/2019 Interview With A Lethalist

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Mia McKenzie

October, 2012

 nterview With A Lethalist

Did you use to work at an Australian animal

shelter?

Yes.

What was your ob title?

Animal Attendant (Level 2)

What was the descri!tion o" your role?

I worked as an 'Animal Attendant'  caring for

animals at the shelter. I have a Certificate IV in

Veterinary Nrsing and I worked as the after

hors 'Ambulance Driver'  where I !icked !

sick and in"red animals# and I was a'Lethalist' .

#ets talk about your ob as a #ethalist$

%ow many hours were dedicated to the role o" a

&#ethalist&$

I worked fll time# $t ethanasia was

schedled for a!!ro%imately 2 hors of every

day.

At the shelter you worked at, how was euthanasia

!er"ormed?

&thanasia was !erformed $y in"ecting a lethal

dose of intravenos 'odim ento$ar$ital. It

de!resses their $reathing which finally sto!s

the heart. I was also in charge of mi%ing ! the

drg from !owder to liid form.

Did the shelter you worked at use a 'as chamber?

 No.

 Was the action o" euthanasia the same "or "eral and

domestic animals?

 No.

*eral cats wold $e !laced into a crsh cage

and given an in"ecta$le sedation as they did notstay still and did not eat de to stress. +hey had

to $e sedated to make them easier to handle.

What ha!!ened ne(t?

+he feral cats were then given a lethal dose of

intravenos 'odim ento$ar$ital.

)n your o!inion, did some animals stru''le with the

end o" li"e !rocedures and need e(tra medication?

Yes# some did.

*or e%am!le# sometimes the animals veins

wold r!tre de to either the animal moving

or incorrect technie. I chose to $e the

,in"ector, rather than the ,holder, of the animal

 $ecase some staff were not com!etent in

finding veins.

+o check whether an animal was dead# a large

needle was !laced directly into their heart#

rather than checking with a stethosco!e. +his

was done $ecase a high level of environmental

noise made it im!ossi$le to hear with astethosco!e. If the heart was fond to still $e

 $eating# an e%tra dose of 'odim ento$ar$ital

was in"ected directly into the heart.

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)" an animal was "ri'htened or a''ressi*e, how did

you administer the medication?

Aggressive dogs wold $e given

Ace!roma-one ta$lets for sedation in their food

 !rior to $eing ethanased. 'ome were then

 $roght into the room on catching !oles $y

staff and ethanasia was !erformed.

*eral and aggressive cats were given in"ecta$le

Ace!roma-one and then ethanased.

Was it di""icult to trans!ort the a''ressi*e do'

"rom its holdin' bay to the euthanasia room?

'ometimes it wasn,t $ecase I s!ent time

making friends with the dogs la$elled

,aggressive, $y the ins!ectors# so I wold $e

a$le to walk them to the room on a lead and I

wold have a $etter handle on them when they

were ethanased.

Were you 'i*en the reasons why the animals were

listed "or euthanasia? )" so, what were they?

aily lists were com!iled $y /ffice 'taff with

reasons for the ethanasia. +he reasons were

la$elled $y ins!ectors# vet workers or de to

shelter !olicy and generally the reasons were

not reassessed.

'ome ethanasia reason were0

. date de ot (a legal time in which a ond

  had to hold dogs# it was 1 days if not

  microchi!!ed)

. lack of s!ace

. owners reest

. it had $itten !eo!le

. aggression (la$elled $y the ins!ector who

  $roght in the dog)

. cat fl# ear mites

. feral and ty!e of $reed (all !it $ll ty!e dogs

  were ethanased regardless of $ehavior).

%ow were the bodies o" the animals destroyed?

+he shelter that I worked at did not have an

incinerator on site. +he $odies were not

individally wra!!ed# $t !laced in a lined

general waste $in# left overnight and then

driven to the dm! site the ne%t morning. +hey

were dm!ed at the local ti! where generalhose waste is dis!osed.

'ometimes I wold see the animal $ody $ags

that I had dis!osed of on a !revios day

sticking ot of the r$$ish and sometimes I

cold see trcks driving over the $ags of

carcasses.

)n your o!inion, what ty!e o" animal was

euthanased the most?

It was cats.

+his was $ecase the shelter ran ot of room or

the cat had cat fl. If one cat snee-ed in the

*or 'ale3 area# often the whole cattery wold

 $e killed. I took one ,cat fl, cat home as I fell in

love with it. +his cat is a very ha!!y and

healthy cat to this day.

I also have three cats that were la$elled ,feral,

 $y the ins!ector who $roght them to theshelter. +hey were !laced on the kill list. I took

them home and they all live ha!!y lives with

me. In my o!inion# they were not feral cats.

I had also taken ite a few kittens home to

raise ntil they were old enogh to !lace on the

ado!tion list.

If yo liked a !articlar animal# the staff wold

wait ntil yo had a day off and it wold $e

ethanased while yo were not there.

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When you were not !er"ormin' euthanasia on

animals, what other obs did you do at the shelter?

+he other "o$s I !erformed at the shelter were

varied. 'ome dties inclded cleaning kennels#

checking animals for illness# administering

medications# !re!are food# groom and e%ercise

animals# !rovide enrichment# checked animalsfor I and inserted microchi!s.

Did the role o" euthanasia e""ect you !ersonally?

It had a hge im!act on me.

I chose to work at an animal shelter $ecase I

love animals. 4t in the end I felt I was $eing

told to ethanase animals for no valid reason.

+here were many animals that I ethanased that

cold have $een ado!ted.

+he way I felt also had an im!act on the

animals $ecase I felt less emotionally

availa$le to them and my work. 4ecase of this

I a!!roached my '!ervisor and reested that

they !rovide access to a conselling service for

staff that !erform ethanasia. 4t I was told no.

+he reason $eing that staff may a$se this

service and discss !ersonal isses that

occrred otside of work.

I remem$er a time I had to ethanase a dog at

the direction of the 'helter 5anager whilst the

owner was in the room. It was one of the most

difficlt cases I e%!erienced. +he dog was

yong# I didn6t know why I had to ethanase it

and I felt nder !ressre to do this in front of

the owner.

I was told on my interview that the role of

lethalist wold $e a !art of my "o$. It was not

something I had a!!lied for. If yo did not

,co!e, with the task yo were given# yo were

seen as $eing ,weak, or ,soft,# and needed to

toghen !.

I felt that my o$"ectives of hel!ing animalswere not $eing flfilled at the shelter# so I

resigned.

+hank you "or your time and choosin' to talk with

me$

+hank yo for letting me tell my story.

 Australians bring home over 600,000 dogs and

cats every year, while Australian shelters kill over

250,000 every year. There are enough homes.

 All animals that enter the shelter system deserve

compassion, and all salvable animals that enter

the shelter system deserve to live.

The majority o shelter operations are inanced

with donated money. !oney that has been

donated to help shelters save animals.

These actions do not relect how donors want

their money spent, and do not relect the

compassionate attitudes o the Australian public.

 "emand #o $ill and demand smart sheltering.