Disability Advocate Christian Specht Opens Up About Heartbreaking Pet Euthanasia

Christian Specht, born in 1969, is a politically engaged advocate who campaigns for greater representation and participation of people with disabilities in the media. Since 2017, he has been the first person with a disability to serve on the executive board of Lebenshilfe, the German association for intellectual disability. He maintains an office at our website and occasionally publishes the column "Specht of the Week."

Today, we're at the vet's. A woman has just walked in with her dog. Some dogs are afraid of the vet—whether it's the needles or having to jump onto the exam table. What's more, dogs can't tell you when something hurts, or exactly where it hurts. They can't say if they don't want something. That makes things difficult. Sometimes, serious problems come up at the vet's. Sometimes, they have to deliver devastating news—like when they say they can no longer help the dog and it has to be put to sleep. That's heartbreaking for the owners, too. Our dog had to be euthanized as well. He was so old that the vet couldn't do anything more for him. But if an animal is only suffering, I think it should be put out of its misery. Animals shouldn't have to endure pain. Still, whenever we took our dog to the vet, I always had to leave the room. I just couldn't bear to watch.

Part of it is because dogs are often so scared. Some even have to wear a muzzle to keep them from biting the vet. If I were a veterinarian, I wouldn't want to treat snakes—no way. That sounds dangerous to me. Plus, I don't know anything about them. I probably wouldn't be much help. And honestly, I wouldn't want to be a vet at all: seeing animals in pain would hurt me too much.

Interview conducted by Johannes Drosdowski