This job is not always fun, but it’s never boring. My receptionist asked me if I could euthanize a fish and I thought she was joking. While I am willing to do my best for whatever makes it through the door, dogs, cats and horses are where my expertise lies.
Alas, poor Nemo was headed for Davy Jones’ Locker. First his swim bladder failed, stranding him on the bottom of the tank. Fish-food floats on the top, so right there he had a problem. His owner was resourceful enough to use a long pair of tweezers to bring food to Nemo’s mouth. Necessity is the mother of invention, and ingenuity is the daddy.
Then, he developed a tumor in his right eye (on your left in the photo). His owner became concerned that the fish’s quality of life just could not be as good as it should, and was ready to euthanize.
As I often do, I gave thanks that I am a subscriber to Veterinary Information Network. Otherwise, I’d have had no clue how to humanely sedate and euthanize Nemo. He passed peacefully, his little gills beating ever more slowly until they stopped.
The photo was taken after his spirit had passed on and left the husk behind.