I’ve been dreading writing this article on pet euthanasia for quite some time. However, as both a veterinarian and as a dog and cat owner who has been through the difficult decision of putting a pet to sleep, I realize how important understanding the euthanasia process is for fellow pet owners. Though saying goodbye to your animal friend may not be any easier, preparing for the selfless act of euthanasia to alleviate your pet’s suffering will help reduce some of your anxiety about the procedure. The Meowing Vet explains what to expect if you are faced with the decision of euthanizing a beloved pet.
After the traumatic experience of watching human loved ones linger in pain secondary to terminal illnesses, I feel blessed to be part of a healthcare profession with a euthanasia option to provide for the well-being of my animal patients. Simply “letting nature take its course” can cause your pet unnecessary pain. The decision to say goodbye to a beloved pet is never easy, but alleviating a pet’s suffering by opting for euthanasia can be the kindest last decision we can make for the welfare of the pets in our care. This article is not the proper platform for discussing the reasons why a pet owner may be considering euthanizing a pet. Instead, my presumption as a veterinary writer is to surmise that my readers are considering euthanasia as a kind means of alleviating their pets’ pain or poor quality of life in the face of an incurable disease or mortal injury.
I am very much a quality of life minded person rather than focusing only on quantity, or the years of a pet’s life. Whenever I diagnose one of my own patients with an illness or discuss the delicate topic of euthanasia with a client, I always say that we work as a team: I have the medical knowledge, but my client is the one who knows his or her pet better than anyone in the world. We both want what’s best for the pet, and together we can work to mitigate that animal’s discomfort as much as possible, with the knowledge that the best way to do so may inevitably involve euthanasia.
Talk with Your Veterinarian
Some pet owners may not always have the ability to discuss the topic of euthanasia with their own veterinarians, such as due to sudden terminal illness or injury. However, other pet owners have more time to consider such a somber topic and to plan for their pets’ end-of-life care in cases of chronic illness and for geriatric pets. If time is on your side, I strongly urge you to discuss euthanasia with your local veterinarian early on when you notice that your pet’s health is starting to decline. Though this may feel quite morbid to talk about initially, having an end-of-life plan for your pet can be very helpful to guide you later on when your emotions are raw and you may not be thinking as clearly.
I shall discuss the typical euthanasia process below, but since every veterinarian may perform the procedure slightly differently, I recommend talking with your own vet about the specifics as this will alleviate fear of the unknown. You may also discuss the cost of the procedure, the location of the euthanasia (at your vet’s office or whether your vet will make a house-call, such as with Lap of Love services), as well as what body care you wish for your pet’s remains (read below for options). If you are unsure of the exact cause of your pet’s illness, I suggest that you and your vet discuss a post-mortem exam (necropsy, a.k.a. an autopsy for animals) following your pet’s death. Though difficult to think about, a necropsy may provide invaluable information to your vet about similar disease processes in other animals and may also grant you with peace-of-mind.
Having everyone on the same page — you and your family, your veterinarian and his or her staff — will help ensure that you will have less worries when you decide that the time has come to say farewell to your pet. Therefore, you can instead focus solely on your love for your pet companion.
When Is the Time Right?
Wrestling with the decision of when it’s your pet’s “time” is a difficult one. We vets can advise our clients, but ultimately, electing euthanasia is a decision for the pet owner. Even if a pet owner has concluded that when his or her dog or cat’s health significantly declines, recognizing when the time has come is definitely in a gray area.
Assess the quality of life of your pet with this chart.
Many pet owners become confused when their pet with a terminal illness seems like his or her old self again for a few hours or even a few days, having a sudden increase in energy and appetite and wagging his or her tail again. A pet mommy or daddy doesn’t want to “jump the gun” and euthanize an adored pet when he or she seems to be feeling okay, albeit briefly. Other pet owners worry that their pet is fighting to live by holding on with each passing day and that euthanizing too soon may be wrong. I always tell clients who are struggling with this decision that their pet’s spirit is still willing… still fighting; however, their pet’s body cannot keep up to match the strength of the spirit. Therefore, helping their pet by making the final decision for them to enter into the next realm of peace is often the most considerate decision that pet owners can make. Sometimes, we need to tell our pets that it’s okay to let go.
The key to understanding when it is your pet’s “time” is to assess their overall quality of life trend. The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center has modified a chart to help pet owners understand the question, “How Do I Know When it’s Time? Assessing Quality of Life for Your Companion Animal and Making End-of-Life Decisions.” I highly encourage you to download a PDF copy today and to discuss your assessments with your veterinarian.
As a member of the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement, Dr. Jessica Vogelsang, a veterinarian and writer, expertly discussed euthanasia in a 2015 article for The Huffington Post entitled “The Biggest Mistake Pet Owners Make at the End.” She explains how pet owners agonize over the thought that they may euthanize their pets too soon. However, Dr. Vogelsang poignantly states, “It’s better to be a week too early than a minute too late,” meaning that it’s kinder to euthanize an incurably sick pet on one of its rare remaining “good days” than to wait until he or she feels ill again… as just a moment of suffering is a moment too long.
You can learn more about Jessica Vogelsang, DVM, on her veterinary blog, Pawcurious, and for her role as editorial director and contributing author on Dr. Andy Roark‘s veterinary website.
Check back later for future articles on pet Quality of Life, Senior Pet Health, as well as Hospice Care.
How Can I Prepare My Children?
I also recommend the children’s book, When You Have to Say Goodbye: Loving and Letting Go of Your Pet by veterinarian and author Dr. Monica Mansfield. This illustrated book, intended for ages 5-8, aids parents in preparing children for the death of a pet and helping them in the natural grieving process. You can learn more about When You Have to Say Goodbye here.
The Euthanasia Process: What to Expect
When the time for euthanasia has come, your veterinarian will firstly require your signature to legally consent to the euthanasia. Next, your vet will ask if you wish to remain present for the euthanasia process. If you can emotionally manage, I strongly encourage pet owners to remain by their pet’s side to provide comfort; however, if you are unable to remain in the room, your vet will be understanding and will treat your pet with tenderness and dignity while he or she is put to sleep.
Your vet may then choose to administer an injectable sedative combined with a medication to alleviate pain, which may take several minutes to achieve full effect. These medications may make your pet drowsy by lulling them into a peaceful nap; however, this injection is not the final injection used to achieve euthanasia (or irreversible death), though in rare instances, death in critical patients can occur after receiving just this medication.
Many veterinarians will place an intravenous (IV) catheter in one of your pet’s limbs as the IV catheter will enable your vet definitive venous access to administer the euthanasia solution via a final injection. Your vet may place an extension line to your pet’s catheter, allowing you to cuddle your pet while the final injection is being delivered through the line at a short distance away. Other vets may inject the euthanasia solution directly into the IV catheter, or if one is not placed, directly into your pet’s vein with the aid of a tourniquet or a staff member’s assistance. The final injection may take up to a minute or so to achieve death, sometimes more quickly, sometimes slightly longer if your pet has very low blood pressure and blood circulation.
In some instances, your vet may opt to achieve euthanasia via intraperitoneal (into the abdomen), intrahepatic (through the skin into the liver), intrarenal (through the skin into a kidney), or intracardiac (directly into the heart). So long as your pet is sleeping under heavy sedation, he or she will not feel any pain.
Your vet will check your pet’s reflexes (such as gently tapping on the inner corners of your pet’s eyes) as well as listen to your pet’s chest. Once your pet has stopped breathing and his or her heart has stopped beating, your vet will alert you that your pet has died. Your vet may place a blanket or cover over your pet’s body. If you need a few minutes of privacy to say your final goodbyes, simply tell your veterinarian, and he or she shall respect your wishes.
During the euthanasia process just prior to death, your pet may seem to take a few large breaths (known as agonal breathing). This is often a side effect of one of the medications used in the procedure or may be secondary to residual neurological activity at the level of your pet’s diaphragm. Your pet is often already gone mentally (i.e. is brain dead), yet some remaining thoracic nerve activity may take several more seconds to minutes to cease.
Additionally, please make note that your dog or cat will not close his or her eyes when he or she passes; the eyes will remain open after death, and you may ask your vet to use medical-grade tissue glue to close them if you are concerned. Finally, your pet may urinate or defecate during the euthanasia process; this is natural as the body dies, so do not be alarmed.
Your veterinarian’s staff will likely ask what type of body care you would like for your pet, meaning how you would like your pet’s remains handled. Options include taking your pet’s body home for private burial, burial at a local pet cemetery if available in your area, private cremation to allow you to keep your pet’s ashes for posterity, mass cremation without receiving your pet’s ashes back, or mass disposal of the body (often at a local dump yard). If you elect to bury your pet’s body yourself, check with your local governing agency on the legality of burying pets in light of certain zoning laws.
Moreover, your vet may be able to provide you with a cardboard box or recommend services for pet coffins and tombstones. You may also wish to ask your vet to make a plaque with an imprint of your pet’s paw print or to provide you with a lock of your pet’s fur. Additionally, you may wish to consider what to do with your pet’s collar and leash or what blanket or towel you may want to use for your pet during euthanasia or burial.
We vets truly feel for you when you are faced with the difficult question of euthanasia. Some vets may cry along with you; others may put on a brave face yet are in inner turmoil. You and your pet will persist in our thoughts for longer than you may realize. Euthanasias, especially when a vet must perform several within a day, especially when it’s a pet we’ve known for a long time, certainly take their toll on us. I cannot convey to you how difficult it is to be the one pushing that syringe of euthanasia solution and consoling a bereaved client in one room and a few minutes later having to put on a smiling face to tend to the patient in the next room. Such a day certainly chips away at our emotional well-being and is one of very many reasons why veterinarians suffer from compassion fatigue and sadly have one of the highest suicide rates by profession. But as I said earlier, we vets work alongside you — pet owners — as a team to provide for the best interests of pets, and we feel honored to be part of such a loving yet difficult decision.
How to Say Goodbye
On the day of their pets’ euthanasia, some pet owners hold a little celebration honoring the life of their pets. This may include inviting over your pet’s favorite loved ones (friends, extended family, doggie or kitty friends, pet sitters, etc.) to give your pet a loving send-off. You may wish to overly spoil your pet with his or her favorite food or toy if he or she feels up to it. Other pet owners may elect to snuggle with their pets and take a final nap together before meeting with the veterinarian for the euthanasia.
I am often asked by clients that have a multi-pet household if and how to prepare their other pets for the impending demise of their furry friend. Clients also ask if the surviving pet will grieve. Yes, pets can grieve too. Although some pets may not change in behavior, other pets noticeably appear to grieve by refusing to eat, becoming lethargic, not wanting to play, or electing to lie down beside the deceased pet’s favorite blanket or bed. My childhood Dalmatian, Patch, refused to eat for nearly two weeks or move from the resting spot of our family cat Rose following Rose’s death; Patch and Rose had been best friends since they were both very young.
Therefore, if your dying pet is particularly close to another pet in your household, I recommend bringing the surviving pet to be part of the euthanasia experience. Alternatively, I suggest that you take the body of your deceased pet home prior to burial to allow your other pet to sniff the body and understand that he or she has passed. Otherwise, your surviving pet may be confused as to why their playmate has suddenly gone missing. By showing your pet that his or her companion has died, you grant your remaining pet some closure.
Similarly, I recently read about a Californian hospital that allowed a dog to be present while her owner passed away, providing the dog with understanding as to why her human was never to return home. Warning: The emotional video displayed below may be unsettling for some viewers. The video shows the final farewell of a devoted boxer, Mollie, as her owner, the late Ryan Jessen, dies following a brain hemorrhage. (video credit: Michelle Jessen)
Losing a dearly devoted pet can evoke the same level of overwhelming grief we feel when we suffer the loss of a human loved one. Our pets are part of our family, after all! So if the support of your friends and family or The Rainbow Bridge poem do not provide you with the degree of solace you need during your grieving process, reach out to a Pet Loss Hotline. A consoling person on the other end of the phone will listen to your pain and offer words of strength and comfort in your hour of need. Click here to find a pet loss hotline in your country or state.
I by no means wish to push a client into adopting another pet-in-need too soon after saying goodbye to another animal companion. One pet certainly cannot replace another. I often hear clients state that they will never have another dog or cat so that they never again have to feel the tortured sadness of losing another pet. However, I gently urge them to reconsider once their heart has had some time to heal. I am reminded of the following quote by poet Henry David Thoreau, “There is no remedy for love but to love more.” Thus, consider honoring the memory of your deceased pet by donating to an animal charity or adopting another animal and showing him or her the same level of love and care once shown to your previous pet companions. Loving another pet is like a salve to your wounded heart. ❤️️🌈
The Meowing Vet wishes to express our deepest sympathy if your pet has been diagnosed with a fatal illness or has died. From one pet lover to another, thank you for the kindness you have shown to the animal world.
The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated. – Mahatma Gandhi
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– Maranda Elswick, DVM
In Memory of My Girls
