Letter: Split second can change opinion

I had such a terrible experience while buying dog food at the vet’s and have not been able to put the incident behind me. A split second can change one’s perspective.

A man I have known for a very long time as a surgeon, but who has retired to take up other interests, arrived at the vet’s surgery with a cat box and a very gently vocal cat inside. He put the box on the reception counter and announced that he wanted the cat euthanised.

The woman attending to him asked how old the cat was and could she please ask him why he wanted the cat euthanised. His reply stunned me!

The cat was “a bloody nuisance in the house, we have three other cats and this one has turned wild, besides it is chasing the ducks”. Although the cat was only six years old, it had been their pet whom they even gave a name to and was only doing what cats naturally do!

The woman performed her dreadful task with such quiet respect and asked if she must organise a cremation or if he would like to bury the cat. His very blunt answer was: “No throw the bloody thing away”! What a disappointment for me to see a man I respected and trusted as a surgeon show such disregard for life!

I am not judging his actions as it is not mine to judge, but unfortunately was mine to witness. Bless those wonderful women at the vet’s surgery who were just as traumatised as I was.