Quick!! Removing a dead pet from the home services (gated, deal)

[Oldhag1]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Gag? Really. Picking up a beloved family pet makes you gag?

Originally Posted by Fairfax Mom

Why would it make you gag? Havent you loved your pet for years?

Death is a scary thing. Dead things are frightening. Different people handle and react to things differently. Don't judge her, she is having a bad enough day as it is.

[Alley01]

Come on...people may react differently, but I have loved all of my pets and lost quite a few over the years and yet have never had that reaction. They were family and it wasn't too long ago that I lost my cat while my husband was out of town. I have a toddler and still was able to treat her with the dignity she deserved. Although it was quite a shock, I would have never typed that and don't know anyone who would have either. I suppose I should be grateful that I wasn't one of those people that had a child and demoted their animals in such a way that I thought of picking up their dead bodies as being horrible, or even thought about what may happen when the sun came up. We all deal with loss differently, but most people aren't heartless...I certainly would have never considered animal control as an option to pick up a family member.

[Oldhag1]

This is no longer her beloved pet, but a decaying body. Like I said, people react differently. My father found his very beloved elderly uncle dead. He promptly threw up and couldn't even go back in the room, let alone touch him. My then teenage brother, on the other hand, sat with the body until the paramedics came. My father mourned his loss for years afterwards, his reaction did not reflect a lack of love or care, but his never touched that body again because he simply couldn't. Just because your reaction would be to touch or hold the dearly departed, does not mean that someone else's different reaction is wrong. How we handle grief is a very individual thing. We don't have paramedics that come for deceased pets or medical examiners. The is not a frequent event in person's life, and there really isn't a culturally normed protocol for it. Just so you know, most deceased pets end up at the landfill.

[Alley01]

Originally Posted by Oldhag1

This is no longer her beloved pet, but a decaying body. Like I said, people react differently. My father found his very beloved elderly uncle dead. He promptly threw up and couldn't even go back in the room, let alone touch him. My then teenage brother, on the other hand, sat with the body until the paramedics came. My father mourned his loss for years afterwards, his reaction did not reflect a lack of love or care, but his never touched that body again because he simply couldn't. Just because your reaction would be to touch or hold the dearly departed, does not mean that someone else's different reaction is wrong. How we handle grief is a very individual thing. We don't have paramedics that come for deceased pets or medical examiners. The is not a frequent event in person's life, and there really isn't a culturally normed protocol for it. Just so you know, most deceased pets end up at the landfill.

An animal is not the same as a human dead body. Most people don't have the emotional connection to a human that they do an animal. So, a human body is not something anyone wants to see. Justifying her behavior just puts you into the same group that she is. Cold and heartless. Do I want to be around dead human bodies? Heck no because I want to see my loved ones happy and healthy, not remember them dead, same reason open casket isn't something I believe in. But, I will treat a dead animal with dignity and respect to the very end, and have because it isn't the same. This thread is a lesson to all of us if we have a senior animal to find out what our options are before they die. Just because they have left us, doesn't mean that we can treat them differently from when they were alive (assuming that she did love her pet prior to it inconveniently dying when her husband was gone).

[Oldhag1]

Originally Posted by Alley01

An animal is not the same as a human dead body. Most people don't have the emotional connection to a human that they do an animal. So, a human body is not something anyone wants to see. Justifying her behavior just puts you into the same group that she is. Cold and heartless. Do I want to be around dead human bodies? Heck no because I want to see my loved ones happy and healthy, not remember them dead, same reason open casket isn't something I believe in. But, I will treat a dead animal with dignity and respect to the very end, and have because it isn't the same. This thread is a lesson to all of us if we have a senior animal to find out what our options are before they die. Just because they have left us, doesn't mean that we can treat them differently from when they were alive (assuming that she did love her pet prior to it inconveniently dying when her husband was gone).

I'm not the one lacking compassion here.

I do, however, agree this is something owners of elderly pets should look into when they first start showing signs of aging.

[Bigfoot424]

Regardless of my comment about the use of the word "Gag" I don't believe the OP was cold and heartless. I realize people react differently around death. I guess after 30 plus years in LE I've become somewhat desensitized when it comes to death although certainly not with someone close to me. I worked 4 police dogs and of course had to euthanize each one when the time came. Carrying my partners out of the vets office was something I did proudly but with a heavy heart.

Probably a bigger issue here is how long some people allow their pets to stay alive after their quality of life diminishes to a level way below what they were accustomed. Not saying the OP did this. I absolutely hate when I see people keeping their dogs alive when they are near the end. My sister kept her little ankle biter going until he was 17 and just finally died in his sleep. He had to wear a diaper for his last year and could barely walk. But my sis was unmarried and has no kids. Her dog was her family. When I had my first K9 and he retired he was soon thereafter diagnosed with Cancer. He had been retired two years and was now 11. When he showed signs of major discomfort I took him to the vet, who was a good friend and took care of all of our K9's, and spoke to him about how we make a decision when it's time. He couldn't give a definitive answer but he felt that when a dog no longer has the quality of like they'd become accustomed then it might be time. After mulling it over I made the horrible decision to have him euthanized. It was tough and heart wrenching but I had worked with this fellow for 7 years and watched him quickly age upon his retirement.

Before someone asks, our dogs are cremated by a service in MD then we put their ashes in a small memorial site we have at the academy.

[CSD610]

Probably a bigger issue here is how long some people allow their pets to stay alive after their quality of life diminishes to a level way below what they were accustomed.

Bigfoot424, I absolutely agree with you. We have a friend who is keeping her 2 dogs alive even though they have had zero quality of life for a couple years now. It is more heartbreaking to watch it happen. We have talked with her about it but she is single, never been married, no children but has these dogs. The saddest part of it all is that she really does not have the proper amount of time to care for them properly since she has 2 jobs, works odd hours and is rarely home.

[ChristineVA]

Aging pets are such a heartbreak. I have one now who just turned 13 and I am watching her everyday, looking for signs that she is in distress. I have owned about 5 dogs in my lifetime and I've never had one die on me naturally. I used to be very envious of people who've had that happen and did not have to make the choice of euthanasia. But then I read the OP's post and I think "Wow, I don't know if this is any better." A friend of mine had his 10 year old retriever die suddenly at home of a seizure and another dog (age 13) of a heart attack. Both were pretty traumatic for him.

It's really very hard having a sick dog, who is still wagging their tail when you come near them, who's still so happy to see you, but then having to call and make an appointment that you know is "the last visit." But I've had to do it for cancer and kidney failure in all cases. You just know when you look at the dog that they are just miserable. At that point, you've probably waited too long.

[Yankeesfan]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Before someone asks, our dogs are cremated by a service in MD then we put their ashes in a small memorial site we have at the academy.

That is very touching. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[EuroExpat]

Okay.. I feel silly having to explain for using the word "gag". I was very distressed and this was the first time I was dealing with a corpse of any kind. English is also my third language so things don't always come out as they should. She was a 70 lb dog that had died in the middle of the night on her pillow, sprawled in a "weird" position. She was very stiff. In fact when they picked her up they were unable to put her in a body bag and had to carry her out in that position. There was absolutely no way I could have moved her without getting ill, thus the word "gag". Seriously, have a little heart and don't judge me by my words of choice, it was a horrible, horrible day for me. I didn't come back to comment sooner since Bigfoot's first post left me crying for a long time.

She was very much loved and I had her since she was 3 months old, moving across the world with her when she was a puppy. I don't believe in afterlife so really, for me it was "just a dead animal body". I could no longer feel her stinky warm breath on me or see her tail wag, or hear her growl when the neighbor dogs barked. She was very sick last week but the vet gave her medicine and she was better for the past few days. Her death was a shock.

Anyway, thank you for those that offered suggestions.