Euthanasia & Bereavement
As loving pet owners and carers, we all want our best friends to remain with us forever. Of course, we all know that the dreaded day will eventually come, when we have to say goodbye. Whether this is planned or a sudden event, the distress that we may experience may be severe. As such, it can be beneficial to plan ahead and to be prepared in all other ways, as much as possible.
Making the decision
Most of our pets do not just slip away in their sleep, as we all hope they will, but slowly decline in health and or mobility over time. This can be painful to watch, and begs us to ask the difficult question of, ‘how do I know when it is time to say goodbye?’.
At Skylark Vets, we will always try to give you candid advice regarding your pet’s prognosis and expected longevity. We will assist you in managing your pet’s condition wherever we can. We will make every effort to improve and maintain your loved friend’s quality of life for as long as possible. If we see your pet and feel that quality is gone, we will empathetically advise you that the time has come to say goodbye.
However, we cannot be with you all the time at home, so it is you who will see the day-to-day changes in your family member. Deciding when to let them go can be challenging and emotionally stressful. We suggest balancing the following factors when making these decisions:-
- Pain – does your pet have a painful condition that can be well managed, or are they in constant pain?
- Medication compliance – is it a fight to get medication into your pet, causing stress for you and for your friend, or will your pet take medications well? Are you physically able to medicate your pet, where required?
- Medication and treatment costs – is it viable to continue with the cost of treatments, and for how long?
- Home management – are you able to effectively assist your pet at home, or are you reliant on someone helping you?
- Transport – are you able to transport your pet as needed, or do you have to get a lift or take public transport? Will there be a delay in your pet needing help and being able to get it?
- Condition – is your pet’s condition deteriorating rapidly, or are they aging serenely and gracefully?
- Age – does your pet have the capacity to go on for a long time, or are they at the end of their natural life?
- Family presence at the end – will lots of people from different places want to be together when you say goodbye, or will it just be you?
Of course, there will be many other factors applicable to each individual circumstance, and we are here to guide you and support you wherever we can.
From you pet’s point of view, the most important thing is that they are happy and pain-free. We suggest thinking of 3 things that have been very important to your pet during its lifetime. This could be anything from eating a particularly delicious food, playing a particular game or using a particular toy, having a certain type of cuddle at a certain time, interacting with other pets, or having freedom to come and go independently of anyone else.
When these 3 things start to be lost, it is time to start thinking about euthanasia. By the time all 3 have been lost, it is time.
Euthanasia options
Once the decision has been made that euthanasia is necessary, there are several options for how this happens.
Some people wish to have their pet euthanised at home, in the comfort of their own surroundings. These euthanasia appointments can be lovely for he pet, but usually require pre-booking to ensure someone is available to come to you.
We perform home euthanasia, providing your home meets our requirements for parking, or the house of a willing neighbour does. In other cases, we may suggest contacting one of the many home euthanasia services now available.
Others may wish to bring their pet into the clinic, so that any memories are kept out of the home environment. We try to make the process as smooth as possible in the clinic, and provide additional time with 30-minute appointments, so that you can be as relaxed as possible. We suggest making these appointments at the end of our consultation blocks where possible, so that you do not have to walk into a waiting room of other people afterwards.
Sedation
Whether saying goodbye at home or in the clinic, you may wish your pet to have a sedative to calm then down, or so that they are unaware of what is happening. If you think you would like this – or that your pet needs this – please let us know at the time of booking, so we can allow additional time.
How is euthanasia performed?
In many species, we give an intravenous injection of a fast-acting anaesthetic agent. This is given via an intravenous cannula, placed at the time of the appointment. Your pet may need some hair to be removed to place the cannula, so we may clip one or more legs or an ear.
For those patients where intravenous access is not possible to obtain, we may suggest a sedative followed by an injection of the anaesthetic agent into the kidney, liver, or heart.
Some patients, such as rodents and parrots, require anaesthetic induction prior to us giving an injection, because they are too stressed and awake to perform euthanasia otherwise. In these cases, we cannot allow you to be with your pet during anaesthetic induction because of health and safety risks. We may therefore ask you to wait in the consultation room, and we will bring your pet through once they are asleep, and before we give the final injection.
Fish need to be anaesthetised in a small volume of water prior to euthanasia, for which we frequently use clove oil.
Both fish and reptiles are termed ‘cold-blooded’, which means they do not create their own heat. Euthanasia can be a prolonged event in some of these species, and we will advise you of whether you may be present with them or not. In general, you can be with smaller reptiles, but larger ones need to remain with us for the day.
In all cases, we give your pet an huge overdose of the anaesthetic agent, so that they go to sleep rapidly (or in an expected time for fish and reptiles) but do not wake up again.
What can I expect as my pet passes away?
When we give the anaesthetic injection, your pet will fall rapidly asleep. They will be able to both hear and feel you for around 30 seconds after the injection, so talking to them and cuddling them can help them to know that you are there.
After this time, their heart will stop and they will pass away.
It is very common for pets to lose control of their bladder and bowel at the time of passing, so we sometimes recommend placing a waterproof layer underneath them. Pets with pneumonia, heart conditions, or fluid build-up may also pass fluid through their nose.
Some pets might make gasping or crying noises, or paddle their limbs, after they pass away. This is because of calcium release in the body. Your pet has already passed at this time and will not be able to feel anything. This phase can last for 20 minutes or more, so it is best to be prepared in advance.
Birds are extremely reactive to light stimulus, and this continues even after they have passed away. It is light stimulation that causes them to flap their wings or even run around after death. For this reason, we always cover the head with a towel or a hand, to block light going into their eyes and into the gland just above the eyes. Light stimulation continues for at least 5 minutes after death, so we suggest keeping a hand or towel in place for the whole time. In most cases, this prevents any movement after death.
Confirming death
We will always check your pet thoroughly before we declare its death. For mammals and birds, we will check carefully with a stethoscope. We may need to use a doppler pulse detector for reptiles, and may need to heat them up to do this.
For all reptiles, it is important that the brainstem cannot continue to function. We will therefore perform a procedure called pithing, once we are sure they have passed away, to ensure their central nervous system is also no longer working. Disconcertingly, the brainstem of these species can otherwise remain active for some time after death. We would never perform this in front of you – even by request – so take your pet away for a few moments before returning them to you.
Options for burial and cremation
Following the passing of your pet, there are 5 options for what happens next. Regardless of which of these you choose, we also offer to take a foot or paw print of your pet, and to retain hair clippings or feather samples for you. Please let us know if you would like any of these.
Burial: in most cases, you can decide to take your pet home for a private burial, if desired. However, in accordance with the Food Producing Species legislation, any pet that falls under the Food Producing Species list (poultry, waterfowl etc.) cannot be buried at home, but must be cremated. (These species may also be consumed, but this plan must be stated in advance, so that no medications are given that could be passed to you.)
Cremation without ashes return: we are able to arrange ‘standard’ cremations of your pets with our partner crematorium. Pets are cremated in small groups rather than as individuals, and a sample of the ashes is scattered on the grounds at the crematorium. The ashes are not returned to you.
Cremation with ashes return: an individual cremation of your pet is carried out at our partner crematorium, your pet’s ashes are collected, and returned to you in the vessel of your choice. We can either arrange a courier for your pet to be collected from us, or you are welcome to take your pet to the crematorium yourself, giving at least 24 hours’ notice of your desire to do so. There are many options for the type of urn or casket that your pet is returned in, and the catalogue can be viewed here: https://www.pcsonline.org.uk/category/caskets-and-urns.
Donation to medical science: many veterinary schools are desperate for donations to help students to learn new skills and develop existing ones. Research establishments may also be looking for pets with certain conditions at certain times. Your pet will be treated with the utmost respect during and following is euthanasia, and can then help future vets to carry out safe, life-saving procedures on other pets. If you are interested in this option, please let us know.
Taxidermy: some people may wish to keep their pet with them in their current form, and taxidermy is the best option for this. If you are thinking of this, it is advisable to locate a taxidermist and make arrangements in advance of the time of euthanasia.
Coping with bereavement
If you are struggling to come to terms with the loss of a pet, do not feel that you are alone! There are a great many support groups available. We recommend contacting someone at an early opportunity – do not suffer in silence. Below are links to a few of the many advice pages and services available:
https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-bereavement-and-pet-loss
https://www.supportline.org.uk/problems/pet-bereavement/
https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/bereavement
https://www.theralphsite.com/index.php?idPage=21
http://www.petbereavementservices.co.uk/