The cold weather is harsh on everyone. With a pet it can bring out illness that was previously undiagnosed. Worst case scenario these animals don't improve and the owners opt for euthanasia.
I've had quite a few PTS (put to sleep) cases recently, breaking the 3-a-day barrier on more than one occasion. In recent memory there have only been 2 days when I haven't had a euthanasia consultation, and on those days I actively avoided anything that looked liked it would die to the point of hiding in the server room for a few minutes until someone else took it.
In some cases it's people I've met before. For one Labrador I'd become the personal vet for the past few weeks. The owner respected my open-ness when I told him that his dog wouldn't survive beyond Christmas. That was a home visit, particularly tough. Technically it went fine, jab went in to vein, dog died. Reminded me of my own dog though quite a bit.
Other cases I have just picked up. The cat that possibly had antifreeze toxicity. Turned out to have a horrible heart problem that we picked up ultrasound scan. The cat was only with us for a day, but I stayed with it monitoring its condition all night as it had tried to die in the morning. Successful resuscitation only for a PTS 10 hours later.
There are times when I really hate my job. I know I wouldn't do anything else though.
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