Ensure a Calm & Compassionate End | Pet Euthanasia at Home
Compassionate Care is dedicated to helping your family and pet with a gentle end-of-life transition. We will refer an independent trained Veterinarian who can offer comprehensive services for you every step of this difficult period. From the moment of diagnosis to your pet’s final moments, these Veterinarians will provide caring and compassionate support. If you have a Veterinarian you trust, please contact your Veterinarian to take your pet under their care for Euthanasia. We are not interested in taking away business from your Vet! However, you must inform your Veterinarian Compassionate Care Pet Aquamation will provide Aquamation services. In this way flame cremation will not be a final option. Another choice, there are Veterinarians that will come to your home giving your furry family member the peace to pass in the familiar and loving environment of your home.
Pet Euthanasia at Home
For many pets, going to the vet is stressful and scary. Many of our 4-legged loved ones don’t like getting into a car, let alone being dragged into a building filled with noise, confusion, unusual smells, and other animals. Especially at the end of their life, it can be too much for them and you to bear.
An in-home euthanasia service allows your pet to pass on in the familiar and loving environment of your home. Practicing medicine in the home is more convenient for the family and more calming and comfortable for the animal. We want your pet and their families to be able to face this time with dignity, comfort and privacy and we are dedicated to providing a calm and peaceful transition.
Compassionate Care assists all companion animals, including dogs, cats, small animals and exotics.
The hardest question of all is when to euthanize a pet.
There is never a time that it becomes an easy decision to say goodbye to a beloved friend, even when we have exhausted all of our medical resources and we know that a disease may be terminal. What is most important for pet owners to understand is the quality of life of their pet, and this may not always be the easiest thing to recognize and evaluate. Even in the event of a medical crisis when we know that our four-legged friend is suffering, making the decision to let go remains a difficult and often times painful decision.
When you recognize that supportive medical and emotional care for your pet can no longer be provided, we at Compassionate Care support the choice to euthanize- we are here to work with your Veterinarian during this difficult time. After all, providing our loved ones with dignity and peace when they are struggling is the best gift we can give them when they have given us so much. Ultimately the quality of life of your pet is paramount in any decision that should be made- the following gives a description of aspects of quality of life to consider.
Defining “Quality of Life” – by Moira Anderson Allen, M.Ed.
Whenever one considers the painful choice of euthanasia, it is always advised to take your pet’s “quality of life” into account. How can you determine whether a pet is still experiencing a good quality of life — or whether its level of suffering is no longer acceptable?
That decision is individual to every pet, and every owner. Following, however, are some factors to consider when attempting to assess your pet’s quality of life:
MOBILITY: An older pet often loses mobility. A dog may no longer be able to climb stairs or hop into a car; a cat may lose the ability to jump onto a bed or chair. At this stage, however, your pet may still be healthy and happy, and you can easily make accommodations for its reduced ability.
If, however, your pet can barely move, that’s another matter. Can your pet get to its feet without assistance? Can it sit or lie down without collapsing? Can it walk? Can it handle basic functions, such as squatting on a litter box? Does it whimper or growl if you attempt to move it? I’ve seen dogs so crippled with hip dysplasia that they literally had to drag their immobilized hindquarters across the floor; this hardly represents the “quality of life” I want for my pets.
APPETITE/EATING ABILITY: Is your pet able to eat? Can it consume enough food (or digest that food) to remain properly nourished? Does it regurgitate immediately after eating? Is it unable to chew, or does it have difficulty swallowing? Does it enjoy eating, or do you have to coax every bite past its lips? A pet that is unable to eat or gain sufficient nourishment from its food is on a slow road to starvation.
BREATHING. A number of illnesses, including cancer, can affect the lungs. When a condition causes the lungs to fill with fluid or foreign matter (such as cancer cells), a pet quickly loses its ability to breathe easily or comfortably. You’ll notice that your pet may seem to be panting, or that it is laboring to breathe; often, you’ll see its stomach or flanks “pumping” as it can no longer breathe with just the chest muscles. It may also experience wheezing attacks. If such symptoms occur, ask for a chest x-ray to determine the condition of the lungs. If the problem is due to an allergy, infection, or asthma, medication may help; if it is due to fluids that are the result of cancer or a heart condition, however, little can be done.
DISCOMFORT: It can be difficult to determine whether a pet is in pain, as animals instinctively mask discomfort as much as possible. You can pick up clues, however, by watching its posture and expression. Does your pet’s face appear furrowed or “worried”, rather than relaxed and happy? Does it sit hunched or “hunkered” and tense, rather than relaxing and lying down? Lack of mobility can also be a sign of pain.
Another indication of pain is “denning.” An animal in pain will seek a safe place where it won’t be disturbed by other animals. If your pet has forsaken its usual territories or sleeping places for the back of the closet or a spot under the bed, this may be a sign that it is pain or distress and feels vulnerable.
A more obvious indication of pain is a pet’s reaction to touch. If your pet responds to touch by flinching away, hissing, snarling, or even snapping, this is a clear indication of pain. Sometimes this can indicate a localized pain; if the pet doesn’t want to be touched at all, however, it may indicate a broader discomfort
INCONTINENCE: Many pet owners feel terribly guilty over the natural annoyance they feel when a pet becomes incontinent. They feel they should be more loving, more patient. Incontinence, however, can also be stressful for the pet. As a basic survival mechanism, animals learn not to “mess where they sleep” (for the smell would draw attention to the location of one’s den). When an animal can no longer control when or where it urinates or defecates, you can be sure it is not happy with the situation.
MENTAL CAPACITY. Older pets occasionally develop signs of diminished mental capacity. They may seem to “forget” things, such as where a toy is located or what a command means. Such a pet may become confused by its surroundings, and this confusion can develop into fear. (In some cases, this “confusion” may be the result of hearing or vision loss, to which both you and your pet can often adapt.)
HAPPINESS: Determining whether your pet is “enjoying” life is certainly a subjective decision. However, if you have been a keen observer of your pet’s behavior and attitude during its lifetime, you are likely to be able to determine when it no longer seems “happy.” You’ll know when it no longer seems to take any pleasure from its food, its toys, its surroundings — and most of all, from contact with you and the rest of its family. Most pets are tremendously easy to please; when it no longer becomes possibly to raise a purr or a tail-wag, you can be fairly certain that your pet is receiving little joy from life.
RESPONSE TO TREATMENT: When a pet becomes ill, our natural response is to provide whatever treatment we can. This may mean tests, medications, even surgery. But drugs have side effects, repeated trips to the vet cause emotional distress, and more invasive treatments take a physical toll. Eventually, we may conclude that our efforts to treat a pet’s illness are more stressful to the pet than the condition itself — and that our efforts to save a pet’s life are actually diminishing, rather than enhancing, the quality of that life.
Copyright © Moira Allen.
We’ll support you
Your beloved companion needs you to consider what is best for them, even when it is a painful and difficult decision. Ultimately this decision is yours as you know your pet better than anyone else, but we can help you to make the most loving and compassionate decision. When this time arrives, if you do not have a Veterinarian to work with, we at Compassionate Care can refer you to a licensed Veterinarian clinic or hospital inside our network. Be sure to request Compassionate Care Aquamation to be the preferred choice of disposition for your Pet.
Consultation to help you decide
There are Veterinarians who will be more than happy to come to your home to do a basic consultation with your family. They can assess your pet’s condition, go over any issues you have been dealing with, and try to help you make the decision of whether it is time to say goodbye or if other measures can be taken to assist in improving your pets quality of life.
Caring Veterinarians are willing to help you proceed through making a decision towards a peaceful and dignified end to your beloved friends life, whether the process of letting go is through euthanasia or natural death. Rest assured that you will be guided through this difficult decision without judgment from us or from the Veterinarian you choose to use.