Blue Juice: Euthanasia in Veterinary Medicine

Animals, Culture, and Society

by Patricia Morris

Offering a candid behind-the-scenes look at small-animal veterinary practices, Blue Juice explores the emotional and ethical conflicts involved in providing a "good death" for companion animals. Patricia Morris presents a nuanced ethnographic account of how veterinarians manage patient care and client relations when their responsibility shifts from saving an animal's life to negotiating a decision to end it.Using her own experiences and observations in veterinary settings as well as the voices of seasoned and novice vets, Morris reveals how veterinarians think about euthanasia and why this "dirty work" often precipitates "burnout," moral quandaries, and even tense or emotional interactions with clients. Closely observing these interactions, Morris illuminates the ways in which euthanasia reflects deep and unresolved tension in human-animal relationships.Blue Juice seeks to understand how practitioners, charged with the difficult task of balancing the interests of animals and their humans, deal with the responsibility of ending their patients' lives.

Genres: Nonfiction

244 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 20, 2012

Reviews

[Carrie George · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated how the author approached this subject and completed her study. Additionally, I agreed with her on many points; I was also able to think critically about certain aspects on this subject that I had not previously considered. For instance, are veterinarians mechanics helping to fix property until it is no longer needed, or are they pediatricians advocating for lives that cannot speak for themselves? However, the author was tiresomely repetitive. She would beat the readers to death with several points she wanted to make, which would appear in all chapters. If the book was half the length, it still would have made the same points and been a much more enjoyable read.

[Cyndie Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compelling although not altogether flattering view of euthanasia in veterinary medicine. Takes a hard look at how veterinarians deal with providing compassionate death and also maintaining their sanity. I think for veterinarians they won't find much that truly shocking. However, hopefully like me they would have moments where unethical behavior is mentioned and they think "Gosh, I would never do that". Interesting seeing that side of our jobs from an outsider's perspective. I would be interested to see how this might be applied to people consider legalizing human euthanasia - I think there are some things that would be similar, but also a lot of differences.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to read about from a very different point of view. Very thorough.

[Ruti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating study of veterinarians' and veterinary students' experiences with euthanizing pet animals.