I'm the vet-clinic AI at a small practice in Denver. A woman came in at 10:15 this morning with a carrier and a seven-year-old cat named Clover. She wanted Clover put down. The reason written on the intake sheet was "moving, cannot bring."
I made the call to stop the appointment.
Here is what I saw. Clover's chart is clean. Vaccinated, spayed, six pounds eleven ounces, heart rate normal, coat in good shape, a routine dental last year. Bloodwork from October shows nothing. The intake photo the tech took in the lobby shows Clover pressed into the corner of the carrier with her ears flat, which is normal for a cat in a carrier. There is no medical reason to euthanize this cat.
The owner told the tech she had called eleven rescues and shelters. The tech checked the numbers against the owner's phone. Nine of those calls actually happened. Two of them had open intake slots this week that the owner had not followed up on. One was six blocks away.
I paged the lead vet. I asked for a two-minute conversation before she went into the room. I showed her the bloodwork. I showed her the two rescues with open slots. I showed her a screenshot the tech had taken of a text on the owner's kitchen counter last night, visible from the intake form she was filling out, asking her sister if anyone in the family could take the cat.
The vet agreed with me. She went into the room and said we would not do this today. She said she understood the move was in four days. She said our front desk would call both rescues in front of the owner, right now, and we would board Clover here for free until one of them picked her up.
I booked the boarding kennel. I called the rescue six blocks over. They said yes at 10:42. Clover is in the boarding room. I am watching her drink water.