That Thursday afternoon starts calmly enough. The appointment book is empty for once, so Poppy has gone home. Tefo is explaining to his hairy and feathery in-patients that he will be back to feed them in a few hours.

“Don’t worry, my loves. I won’t forget you, I promise.”

Tefo is about to lock the Surgery door. I have all my study books under my arm. I’ve been swotting hard, with exams round the corner.

And that’s when a young boy comes rushing towards us.

“Dr Nkoni! Please Dr Nkoni, you must help my dog.”

In his arms he carries a dog and the dog is bleeding. Badly. One back leg hangs at a strange angle.

“This car just ran Motsumi over. The driver didn’t even care. He just went on driving. And look what he did to Motsumi!”

There is blood all over the boy’s shirt. Tears stream down his face. Lebogang, he says his name is. And his mother is away at work, so she can’t help.

Tefo takes the dog from the young boy, getting blood all over his shirt because he’s already taken off his white jacket.

He says, “I’ll see what I can do, Lebogang. You go with Melissa to the kitchen and have some cooldrink and biscuits.”

As I lead the boy towards the house, we can hear Tefo talking to the dog. “Oh, you poor little soul! It’s okay, I will make things right for you. Don’t be afraid.”

And I’m thinking, there’s no way this boy can afford a vet bill. I will need to do some creative accounting. Because hey, as far as I’m concerned, a little boy’s breaking heart is way more important than money and balancing account books.

I take him to the bathroom first, to wash the blood off his arms and neck. Then I take him back to the kitchen and give him some sweet biscuits. Slowly he stops sobbing.

Half an hour later, Tefo joins us in the kitchen. And now he has tears in his eyes, threatening to run down his face too.

He puts his arm around Lebogang and speaks gently. “I’m so sorry. Your Motsumi was too badly hurt. He was suffering too much. I had put him to sleep.”

He holds the Lebogang tightly while the little boy sobs. “It will be okay, little one. Your dog isn’t hurting any more now.”

Then Tefo whispers to me, “Put our name on the bill, Melissa. We’ll pay for the meds. Right?”

I nod. See? There are some things that Tefo and I agree about.

While Tefo drives the boy back to his home, I sit and think: How lucky animals are! When their suffering is too great, they can be euthanased.

I watched my grandmother suffer when she had terminal bowel cancer. On and on and on, despite all the morphine they pumped into her. I heard her plead with her doctor to help her die, to help her end her life. But, of course he shook his head sadly.

“It’s against the law, Mme,” he said. And I watched her suffer another two long, agonising weeks before she passed.

That night, we don’t watch TV. Instead we discuss euthanasia.

I say, “Why can’t humans be allowed to end their suffering if that’s what they choose? We don’t allow animals to suffer if they’re beyond help.”

Tefo says, “Never! Human life is too precious. While there is life, there is hope.”

And we are back to disagreeing. Again.

***

Tell us: Whom do you agree with when it comes to euthanasia for humans – Melissa or Tefo?