Blue Juice: Euthanasia in Veterinary Medicine

Acknowledgments

M y deepest gratitude goes to the many veterinarians who welcomed me into their world and then generously answered my many questions. I was fortunate to experience overwhelming kindness, enthusiasm, and encouragement from all the participants in this research project, but I am especially indebted to Carter Luke and Sharon drellich. In addition, I thank my friend dr. Elizabeth Lowe for introducing me to the world of veterinarians and for giving me the courage to choose a career I love. She is an amazingly dedicated veterinarian (and I have met many, so I can say this with confidence) and a tireless advocate for her patients and for all animals. This book would not have been possible without the expert guidance of my esteemed mentors, Arnold Arluke and Clinton Sanders, whose work I greatly admire and borrow from heavily and who both offered detailed and thoughtful comments on several drafts along the way. The debt I owe Professor Arluke is in a class by itself. For many years, he has been a wonderful adviser and one of my strongest advocates in both my personal and professional life. Through his guidance and encouragement, the often daunting tasks of ethnographic work (gaining entry, dealing with sometimes reluctant participants, putting in long hours of field research, and analyzing lengthy interviews) gradually became a more comfortable process. I fully credit (and playfully blame) him for shaping me into the sociologist, scholar, teacher, and person that I am today. I only hope that I can inspire my students as he has inspired me. Acknowledgments viii Acknowledgments Along with Professors Arluke and Sanders, Justin Betz, Silvia dominguez, Jeremy Eggerman, Janet Francendese, Andrea Hill, Tom Koenig, Elizabeth Lowe, Amy Lubitow, and several anonymous reviewers generously sacrificed their limited free time to review parts (or all) of the unpolished early drafts of the manuscript. Their thoughtful comments greatly enhanced the finished product. It is impossible to sufficiently thank Jeremy for the emotional and technical support he provided during the final editing stages. In addition to taking out the trash and cooking dinner, he regularly spent whole weekends organizing references and tracking down missing information. Janet spent countless hours guiding me throughout the publishing process and overseeing the transition from proposal to finished manuscript. I am sincerely grateful to Janet and the entire editorial staff at both Temple University Press and newgen for their professionalism, patience, dedication, and tireless attention to detail. I also gratefully acknowledge northeastern University, drury University, and the Charlotte W. newcombe and Woodrow Wilson national Fellowship Foundations for their generous support of my research. Other colleagues and friends have been tremendous assets in both work and play, including Makis Antzoulatos, Tammi Arford, Judy Brown, Michelle Creed, dave derossett, Meghan doran, Mark Geiss, Trever Glode, Alan Klein, Alicia LaPolla, Jack Levin, Owen McLean, Lauren nicoll, Gordana Rabrenovic, Kat Rickenbacker, Joanna Small, Stanislav vysotsky, and Katie yang. I am also grateful to my valued colleagues at drury University: Jeanie Allen, Jana Bufkin, valerie Eastman, Kathy Jester, Jennie Long, vickie Luttrell , A. L. Marsteller, Patricia McEachern, Robin Miller, Jennie Silva-Brown, and Mary Utley. I especially thank Eric Madfis for his sympathy and support when I returned from long hours of emotionally draining fieldwork. I am also grateful to Andrea Hill for her clear-headed perspective on sociological issues, for her proofreading assistance, and for her friendship. If she had not cofounded the “zone of productivity,” Chapter 1 would never have been written. Amy Lubitow helped with transcription, and she and Justin Betz contributed greatly to the analysis of data for Chapter 4. From the beginning, Justin calmly withstood my fits of anxiety and self-doubt and helped me see matters clearly. I am fortunate that he has been—and that he will always remain—such an important part of my life. Over the many years of research and writing, I have benefited from extraordinary support and patience from my family, especially my dad, my mom, and my six younger siblings, Aimee, Laura Beth, Jessica, Matthew, Tiffany, and Joseph (as well as from each of my many precious nieces and nephews). My list of family supporters would not be complete without Steve Trenthem, Adam Logan, and Amanda, Susan, and Michael Spencer. I am Acknowledgments ix also grateful to Jerry and Sherry Turner, April Turner, and Chris Przybyszewski for making me a part of their family and for encouraging me from my kindergarten days forward. I also acknowledge...