25 Aug 2010
In Home Euthanasia
Making a decision about whether it’s time to let a beloved pet go is one of the hardest things anyone loving a pet will have to go through. What can compound the difficulty of the decision is that most pets don’t like going to the vet’s. I’ve heard from many of my readers that, until they read Buckley’s Story, they had no idea that having a pet euthanized at home was even an option.
I write in Buckley’s Story: “There was never a doubt in my mind that when the time came, Buckley would die at home. I had never been comfortable with euthanasia done in veterinary clinics. Even though I had assisted with many of them in my years of working at animal hospitals, and they were usually peaceful experiences, I did not like the idea that an animal’s last moments would take place in such a sterile and unfamiliar setting. No matter how peaceful veterinarians and staff try to make this final transition, most pets are stressed by veterinary hospital visits, and pet owners can be left with their final memory being one of a stressful experience instead of the peaceful one it can be when done in the pet’s home.”
There are few veterinarians who offer home euthanasia. Those that do generally don’t advertise the fact. I feel that asking a veterinarian whether they offer this service is extremely important while the pet is healthy, rather than waiting until there is a need for the service and then to find out that it is not available.
Home euthanasias can make the final good-bye a peaceful, and sometimes even beautiful, experience. There will not be a stressful or upsetting car ride. You won’t have to see healthy pets or other pet owners as you walk into the clinic with your pet for the last time. By gathering family members around the pet, you can create a calming atmosphere and surround the pet with what she’s familiar with, providing comfort and support. You can even have the euthanasia conducted outside in the pet’s favorite spot in the yard. In home euthanasia also allows you to create a ceremony that suits your personal and religious beliefs. You will be able to spend as much time with the pet’s body after the ceremony as you need to without being disturbed by veterinary staff. You will be able to grieve in privacy and on your own terms.
I recently came across an online In Home Pet Euthanasia Directory and wanted to share this valuable resource with you. The site is still under development, and not every state is showing listings yet.
They just can’t let go properly when they have to pick up and go somewhere strange and uncomfortable near the end, it’s just not right. It can be difficult to have the memory in your home, but you have all those other memories from a life together to balance.
ya i have that experience too…lucky me, the vet still one of my relative…so she come to my house…doing euthanasia with love and care, seeing my cat going in deep…deep slept…and never woke up..but still…even we let ‘them’ go peacefully…and maybe we want our pet knew that we love them until the end…it still hard to loosing them…
Thanks for that information and that website. That is such a hard thing to go thru and be able to let go and not let them
suffer anymore. The next time that I need that service
that is something that I would like to consider.
Karen
I have never done that but it sure sounds better than taking them to the vet. It is so much nicer to do it right there at home where they are comfortable and it makes it so much easier on the animal.
That looks like a great website and thanks for this good information.
Bernadette, you’re right, having that final memory be something that took place in your home can be difficult, and it may lead some people to choose having it done at the vet’s office rather than at home. Like everything surrounding this difficult issue, it’s such an individual decision.
Hani, you’re absolutely right. No matter how peaceful the passing is, it still hurts.
Karen, I hope it will be a long long time before you have to consider this service.
Marg, I think in most cases it is much easier on the animal, and the person.
My senior cat, Fluffy, passed away May/2010 at 21 yrs old. I struggle with my decisions for her “passing” not knowing if what I did was right or wrong. I knew instantly when she was dying. I knew it was close to the end just by her body language. I made numerous appointments with the vet to have her euthanized, and never had the heart to take her. My problem wasn’t letting go, or accepting that my cat was nearing the end. My problem was that I didn’t want the last thing my cat seen to be a sterile environment with people she didn’t know and me not there. I didn’t want her even for 1 second to think I had abandoned her. I didn’t have any money for veterinary care, mspca told me they would euthanize whether I had money or not for the welfare of my animal only thing is that they would take her away and I couldn’t be there for her last moments. so I decided to let God do his work and let nature take over. I knew she was sick because she was peeing all over the place. And I was beginning to get really irritated with the pee (i have carpets only) and I think I may have let her know that I was annoyed, and I still feel really bad about that. It turned into a really stressful situation. Her last day on earth she was laying in the kitchen on the floor, and she just peed herself all over. I let her out on the porch where my boyfriend and his brother were while I cleaned the pee. Half hour later my boyfriend led me outside where the cat was laying and it looked like she was gasping for air. I panicked and immediately said this isn’t right, and was getting on my shoes to take her to the vet and put her out of her misery. I felt that I had made the wrong decision, like I had prolonged her suffering so I wouldn’t feel like she felt like I was abandoning her. My boyfriend picked her up. wrapped her in a towel and was going to take her upstairs where my aunt was and was going to ask for a ride to the vet. I went into my downstairs apartment to grab my purse, keys etc. I made it upstairs less than 3 minutes later and she had already passed away in my boyfriend’s arms. She really loved my boyfriend and I felt some comfort knowing she was with someone she loved very much at the last moment of her life. I still don’t know if what I did was right or not. I don’t know if it was cruel, if she wouldn’t have cared or not if I was there for her. If she would have even felt abandoned. I just thought it would be a scary experience and her last experience I didn’t want filled with fear. My cat never cried out in pain, her only problem was peeing everywhere. I didn’t feel right taking away her life because she had become an inconvenience. I don’t feel right playing God, I wish I had money to get her all the veterinary care she needed, but I didn’t. I was able to bury her in our yard, have a little prayer and stick some religious objects in her little casket that I kissed before placing them. I loved that cat with everything in me, and not a day goes by that I don’t think of how I could have done things differently. I wish I knew home euthanasia existed.
Lisa, I’m so sorry about Fluffy. 21 years is a good long time for a cat, but of course, it’s never long enough.
I hope in time, you can find peace with what happened with Fluffy. You made the best decision you could for her every step of the way, and I really believe that she knew you only had her best interests at heart. In the end, she was with someone she loved, in an environment that she knew – and that matters a great deal.
From your description, it doesn’t sound like she suffered, and that her end was peaceful. It’s agonizing to make the decision, but it’s also hard to second-guess yourself about whether you may have waited too long. Try to let go of these questions that have no answers, and try to focus instead on the love you shared with Fluffy for 21 wonderful years. The hole she left in your life, and your heart, will always be there, but hopefully, in time, you will be able to find peace, and only the happy memories will remain.
You’re in my thoughts.