Unfortunately the repercussions of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are already here. While not a human casualty, my dog died last year as a result of an antibiotic resistant staphylococcus UTI. We tried all possible medications that the cultures said might work, and nothing got rid of it completely, only reduced symptoms. In the end, our options were to put her down before she got sepsis, or after. (We obviously chose before, because we’re not monsters, but saying goodbye to a beloved pet who still wants to run around and play and is happy because you know you can’t save them is heartbreaking.)

Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem in both human and animal medicine. I hope we can reverse course on it, or make new discoveries to combat these bacteria. And if not, I hope we legalize human euthanasia before then so I don’t have to suffer the fate of a sepsis death.