Understand How to Get Ready for Your Pet’s Passing
Even though losing a pet is never easy, being mentally and emotionally prepared for it can minimize your distress. Here are four ways to help you prepare for and deal with your pet’s passing.
#1: Consider your pet’s quality of life
While your pet cannot communicate their illness to you, they might show signs of poor physical and mental health. As your pet ages or suffers from a chronic medical condition, you can evaluate their health and happiness using a quality of life scale. Using the quality of life scale, you may assess your pet objectively and determine whether they are suffering.
#2: Decide the appropriate time to arrange your pet’s euthanasia.
While the weight of determining when—and if—euthanasia is the right course of action is lifted by a pet’s unexpected death, you might wonder whether you failed to notice your pet’s condition. On the other hand, figuring out your pet’s readiness to die and when to schedule euthanasia is never easy. However, keep in mind that few animals die peacefully when they are sleeping, so humane euthanasia might be your final act of compassion for your suffering animal.
#3: Discuss how to care for your pet’s body
You might not be ready to take care of your pet when they pass away. Talking about how you would like to care for your pet’s body might help relieve stress if you know the end is near. You can decide to receive your pet’s ashes after cremation, which is a common option. Although it is still not generally accessible, aquamation is becoming more and more popular as an after-care alternative.
#4: To cope with your pet’s passing, turn to grief support organizations
As you grieve, reach out to support groups as well as your family and friends. Numerous veterinary colleges provide pet loss support hotlines, and there are a ton of pet grief organizations on social media that can be a good fit for your particular scenario. Never go through a difficult time by yourself.
If your pet’s health or happiness is deteriorating, ask our staff for assistance in determining their quality of life and making arrangements for their eventual death.