The hardest decisions that I have had to make on our farm is to have an animal put down. I have never had to do this myself, farmer is the one that holds the responsibility of “pulling the trigger”. Making the call to end a life of an animal we raised, loved and cared for isn’t easy. It is our last resort, after we tried our very best to make them healthy when they are sick. In the end, it is the most humane thing we can do when one of our girls is suffering. It is not easy, each time it takes a big chunk out of our hearts.
This past week, one of our heifers that was born this past June came down with pneumonia. Something that can be treated successfully when caught in time. We began treatment, it seemed to be going just fine until yesterday.
Last night we made an emergency trip to town for electrolytes. We came home, spent some quality time with her. We tucked her in with our daughter’s old Disney princess beach towel, made sure the heat lamp was in the “right” spot and headed in for the night. First thing this morning we headed out to check on her. Her ears were warm, a good sign as they were freezing the night before. However, in the midst of chores she took a turn for the worse and we knew she was suffering. We are not the type to give up but when the animal gives up and is in pain, the most humane thing we can do as her caretakers is to put her down. So we made the decision.
I quickly made it up the driveway to retrieve the gun we use to put down animals. Tears already flowing.
I handed it over to farmer. I quickly walked away to my boys to get their attention on something else in another portion of the barn.
He pulled the trigger, made sure everything was done correctly and quickly walked away.
Nothing makes your heart quite sink like your four-year old son’s big blue eyes filled with tears asking, “Why did dad do that? Why did he do that to her?”
All I was able to do is wipe the tears from my own eyes and say, “We couldn’t make her feel better. She was hurting. Daddy had to do it so she wouldn’t hurt anymore.”
You see making the call is one thing, being the one that sees it through is another. No matter how many times a farmer pulls the trigger, it cuts just as deep as the time before. Knowing that animal was in your care, that no matter how hard you tried, you feel as if you failed that animal. The truth is, in some ways you actually did.
It is easy for folks to make assumptions on how things work on farms but until you walked a mile in the farmer’s boots you never truly know what they go through and how much they truly care. In addition, euthanasia is not something farmers talk much about. It is the worst part of the job even when doing so is the most humane thing you can do for some animals.
Jersey calf #390 from our beautiful cow #105 is pictured on the right with food on her face. This is the girl we lost today at almost seven months old.
I have written about farm inspections as well as the National Dairy FARM Inspection we received. One thing I would like to point out is that our farm has passed the Dairy FARM Inspection which focuses solely on animal welfare. In addition, our primary concern when “putting an animal down” is to make it quick and to not cause any further harm to the animal. By using a fire arm we are able to immediately end the animal’s life with no additional suffering. This method is well within the guidelines of the National Dairy Farm Program. If you have any questions or concerns, please always feel free to ask. In the meantime, I have to break the news to our brown-eyed farm girl.
Krista Stauffer
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