I started this graduate program 15 months ago with a firm set of opinions and beliefs and I did not expect my viewpoints and understandings of the natural world to expand as much as they have. I recall our time spent at the Aldo Leopold Foundation during the first few weeks of the program when we all drafted our first versions of our personal “land ethic.” I remember my land ethic being rather simple and emphasizing the importance of working toward the benefit of all living beings. But recently, my “land ethic” has begun to broaden and reflect the idea that humans and non-human creatures are more deeply connected and more deserving of equal respect than I perhaps believed.

In their article “The Three Stages of Euthanasia,” Adele T. Moore and Sally Joosten write that a beginner wildlife rehabilitator views euthanasia as a last resort.  They explain that an advanced rehabilitator views euthanasia as his/her duty.  But the most experienced and wisest rehabilitator sees euthanasia as a gift. In other words, rehabilitators should not make their decision of whether or not to euthanize an animal based on his or her own emotions or desires, but on what is right and best for that animal.  We can’t project our own ideals and rules onto wildlife.  They are different than us, and we will never completely understand the extent of their thoughts and feelings, or even what happens to their spirits when they pass away.  Therefore, the decision to euthanize an animal is made because humans are most likely the reason the animal needs our help in the first place, and it is only right that humans remedy their suffering through “the gift of freedom, or the gift of a quick and painless death” (Moore and Joosten.) Additionally, we make the decision because we co-habitat this beautiful earth with these magnificent creatures, and they deserve our love and respect simply because they are.

Katherine McKeever offers this wisdom to beginning rehabilitators in her article “Quality of Life:” “For all your long hours, and physical effort, and the expense, and the arguments with others over your priorities, and even your genuine affection for this creature you have come to love, there will be one thing missing from its life. And if you leave the cage door open, it will opt for that one thing above all others that were provided, and it will walk out of the door to freedom, and its death. Because this is the way of all wildlife.”

Grey squirrel euthanized today due to an untreatable leg injury.