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We had to put down 3 cats a few years ago. Their deaths were only months apart and we never left them on their own at the end. I can understand those who don't have what it takes to stay to the end though. It tears a chunk out of you that you never get back.
I love dogs and cats and I have never forgotten they are just animals but that knowledge doesn't help when the dog or cat you love is leaving you.
The last cat was my best friend, assistant mechanic, yard helper, and carpenter apprentice. He and our younger son were like brothers and when our boy moved away the cat stayed. My wife and I were there for him at the end as we have been for our other pets and I think it made him more content. His passing broke my heart. I'm just glad there are Vets now to help with this. Back in the "old" days you had to do it yourself.
We use a vet that comes to our home even though the cost is double. They first give the animal a tranquilizer too relax them before they stop their heart. It’s the last gift you give them.
An article on Dailymail.com quoted a "tired, broken-hearted vet" in South Africa as saying most people don't understand that if they do not stay with their pet during euthanasia, the pet ends up frightened and looking around desperately for their owner as they are euthanized.
Broke my heart. Vets say it is the responsibility of the owner to be there. I agree...it's hard but our last responsibility to our beloved pet.
Breaks my heart, too. I'm surprised to read this. That's complete and absolute chicken (droppings) behavior, IME.
I'll write this quick and move on, to not remember the end so much as the beginning and her long, long life which was so nice for us both: when the end came for my little sweetie, my little kitty cat, November 2012 after 16 1/2 joyous years, I at least had just a little warning (about a month) to prep. And then her day came, and I made the big call dammit. No one helped me, I fly solo then as now and that's that. I don't rely on others for "propping me up" or other weak-kneed BS.
The RIGHT thing to do is to see it through, help them across the 'Bridge. And by God I did my duty, when the world's kindest vets quickly prepped my little one with IVs for the end. She was there, and not happy, but she saw me and.... purred and lay down...
I can't write more on that. Damn anyone who is not there for their pet's end, when it is the RIGHT thing to do for all the love they gave, in a long (or short) lifetime of service and pleasure to their owners.
Yeah, it was "hard." I'm a middle-aged, huge ogre of a man who takes little if-any **** from anyone, anywhere, at any time and I cried and cried with my little one, **** what anyone there thought. And I asked her remains be cremated and spread, with that of other beloved pets, where they do locally and legally. I'm pretty sure they did as I asked, they're an honorable vet by many, many accounts in the neighborhood.
I can bear no more of this. Do your duty, people! If it's "hard," well, too damn bad: muscle up, do the right thing!
I have never understood why vets couldn't prescribe a sleeping pill (sedative/hypnotic) to put the pet literally to sleep while still safe and secure at home and happy in the arms of its owner. Then it could be transported to the vet and the owner could stay for the deed or not; the pet wouldn't know the difference. Even if the pet parents stayed, the animals would be spared the ordeal of having to experience the usually scary for most pets trip to the vet's office and/or the pain of a needle. Has no one ever thought of this or what? It could also be administered to dogs being euthed in shelters; I've heard it's pretty traumatic for both the animals and staff, and understandably so. That said, of course pet owners should stay with their pets until the bitter end; your face and voice should be the last thing they see and hear. My vet wouldn't allow me to hold mine, for some reason, while he injected my last pet to be put down, but I did my best to "hold" him.
I said this before earlier in the thread but I'll say it again...
We put our cat down earlier this year, mouth cancer, 7 years old. Heartbreaking.
Say your goodbyes before they give the first shot. We stayed the whole way through but I doubt it would have made a difference. Once that first shot kicks in they might as well be dead already.
We use a vet that comes to our home even though the cost is double. They first give the animal a tranquilizer too relax them before they stop their heart. It’s the last gift you give them.
Again, why can they not give YOU the tranquilizer to give them (yes, it can be oral or even sprinkled in food)? Then they wouldn't care where the end came. As for charging double to come to the home, I think vets today are, for the most part, deplorably greedy.
When the pts is done in the vet's office...well that's where the pet gets her/his shots and gets touched by people he/she doesn't always know. It has a certain smell, certain noises.
I have liked to be with my pets at those times. I have seen them look around for me because they are weak and not always totally aware. So I am sure to stay near, touch them all the time and talk to them. I tell them they are good and speak soothingly.
Some vets have special rooms for putting pets to sleep, which is nice when they do.
Now, a few have passed at home. And I do prefer having a vet come to the home. Some are not in favor of that in case something goes wrong. But some are very experienced in that.
I always stay and then take my cat (all i can have in apt) home to be with my pet, I hold them and let my other pets spend time with them, They actually do, one of my other cats laid down next to my deceased kitty.
I have never understood why vets couldn't prescribe a sleeping pill (sedative/hypnotic) to put the pet literally to sleep while still safe and secure at home and happy in the arms of its owner. Then it could be transported to the vet and the owner could stay for the deed or not; the pet wouldn't know the difference. Even if the pet parents stayed, the animals would be spared the ordeal of having to experience the usually scary for most pets trip to the vet's office and/or the pain of a needle. Has no one ever thought of this or what? It could also be administered to dogs being euthed in shelters; I've heard it's pretty traumatic for both the animals and staff, and understandably so. That said, of course pet owners should stay with their pets until the bitter end; your face and voice should be the last thing they see and hear. My vet wouldn't allow me to hold mine, for some reason, while he injected my last pet to be put down, but I did my best to "hold" him.
As someone already mentioned, there is the option of having the vet come to the home and humanely euthanize. The animal winds up far less stressed, the euthanasia generally goes more smoothly, and if the household has other pets, it also gives them the opportunity to approach the animal once they've passed, in an effort to allow them to understand that their friend is gone. I don't think the animal would become nearly as stressed, and don't think that it really would be necessary for the owner to have to give them a full sedative first; the vet could easily do this while the owner(s) held the pet.
For myself, after a rather horrific euthanasia with one of my most beloved cats a few years ago (the vet gave him a sedative, so he was relaxed, free of pain, and actually started purring in my arms...but when the final shot was given he reacted horribly, the shock of his heart stopping, he appeared to be in immense pain...#%, that's #@$% hard to write and think about) I now insist that any animal I'm having euthanized be fully sedated and under first, before giving the final injection. This way I know that they won't experience any pain; they will drift off peacefully.
On a side note...my son and his girlfriend had to do this yesterday with her beloved cat. She'd had him for a few years before she met my son; 'Pumpkin' was her first pet, a rescue from the shelter where she'd been volunteering, she took him home when she saw that, as an older (originally feral) cat, no one was willing to take him. He was the most laid-back, beautiful little being I'd ever met, he loved cuddling, he put up with my son's cat and her wild antics without batting an ear, and he was one of those 'one in a million' creatures you just never forget. I haven't spoken to either of them since the day before yesterday, as I know that they're both beyond devastated and can't talk about it yet, but they scheduled a home euthanasia for Pumpkin; the final and best gift they could give him. May every pet be so blessed.
I don't want to be there. But I absolutely must be there. It is the least I can do for an animal friend who is part of the family.
I recall the last time I had to attend. It was my little buddy Denver, who was a cat. The vet sedated Denver in another room, and then brought him in to me. She told me I had as much time with him as I wanted. Denny's eyes were half-closed when she placed him in my lap, but they were looking straight into mine, as if he was trusting me; that whatever I directed would happen to him, would be for the best. I held him, talked softly to him, and skritched his head, as he always liked. While skritching, and looking into his eyes, and talking softly to him, I told the doctor to do the kind thing. She did.
Denny drifted off. His eyes closed, and he went peacefully to eternity in my arms. He didn't appear to be frightened; I just remember those trusting eyes, and them closing as they looked into mine.
That's why I must be there: in spite of it being a vet clinic (where nothing good ever happens, from a pet's point of view), with smells of other unknown animals, and among people that are strangers; your pet can derive some comfort from a familiar face, with familiar smells, a familiar voice, and familiar handling. Being there at the end is the least any pet owner can do.
You brought tears to my eyes. I've always stayed with my animals except for two times. It was unavoidable but it still haunts me.
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