Results: Is it "OK" for owners to leave while vet puts their pet down

Source: Today. A tweet from a pet owner about the emotional toll that euthanizing animals takes on veterinarians when owners leave the room has sparked a conversation on social media. Are you familiar with this story?

"Asked my vet what the hardest part was about his job & he said when he has to put an animal down 90% of owners don't actually want to be in the room when he injects them so the animal's last moments are usually them frantically looking around for their owners & tbh that broke me," read the tweet, posted earlier this summer. If you are a pet guardian (aka pet owner) would you leave the room while your beloved pet is being euthanized?

As the post went viral, another message from an unidentified veterinarian, shared by the Hillcrest Veterinary Hospital in South Africa, urged pet owners not to abandon their pets when they are needed most. "Do not make them transition from life to death in a room of strangers in a place they don't like," the vet wrote. "The thing you people need to know that most of you don't is that THEY SEARCH FOR YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE THEM BEHIND!!!!" Do you agree or disagree with the unidentified veterinarian (from the Hillcrest Veterinary Hospital in South Africa) about not abandoning your pet while her or she is being euthanized?

Dr. Katja Lang, a veterinarian at the Heart of Chelsea Animal Hospital in New York, said she would never judge owners for how they handle a very traumatic and very personal experience. It is, after all, emotional even for a professional who regularly performs euthanasia. "It never becomes easy," Lang told TODAY. "As vets, we get to know the patients, we get to know the clients. So we're invested emotionally." That means she and her technicians provide as comfortable an environment as possible for the dog or cat (speaking calmly, lots of petting, soft lighting and even holding the animal in their arms if they're small enough). "At the end of the day, if I'm putting a pet to sleep, I'm doing it because I feel the pet is suffering and there is nothing more I can do medically," said Lang. What would you do if you are a pet owner (guardian)?

"This is something we can do to help them. That's why most people became veterinarians in the first place, because we care about animals." Amy Nichols, vice president of Companion Animals at The Humane Society of the United States, told TODAY that most animal euthanasia cases are the result of long-term health issues and are planned in advance. That should give owners time to prepare themselves."We would also coach them that you made this really challenging decision, you want to be with them in their last moments," said Nichols. "You're their people. You're their main pack." Lastly: What have you done for your pet in their final moments?