IN RESPONSE to Joan Wickersham’s insightful column about her cat Moose and ethical decisions concerning pets and the extent of medical care they should receive as they age, I would like to address the big question mark about veterinary ethics (“Love, old age, and Moose,’’ Op-ed, Aug. 20).
Every day veterinarians follow their oath, and offer pet owners options for their pets’ care from the highest standard of treatment to basic supportive care with pain relief included. Each owner is offered the range of treatments available. Together veterinarians and pet owners sort out what is the best and least painful course with the best hope for a good outcome for the patient. Owners sometimes have pet insurance, but often do not, and are often faced with rough financial decisions, which they are unused to if they have human health insurance.
Veterinarians see about seven times more deaths than a medical doctor, are paid on a much lower scale than dentists and physicians, and have a much higher suicide rate than either profession. We are emotionally involved with pet owners as they struggle to make these life-and-death decisions.
I once had a Vietnam War veteran tell me it was harder to make the decision to put his dog to sleep than it was to run the medical evacuation flights of injured soldiers out of the battle zone. Ethical decisions are a part of every day for each practicing veterinarian.
Dr. Elizabeth Bradt
Salem 
