Specialising in comfort & end-of-life care for pets and home pet euthanasia, we here at Vets2Home are very much aware of how traumatic coping with the death of a pet can be for pet owners and indeed their entire families. We do, however, also know that properly preparing for the loss of your pet can make the entire experience a little easier for you, your family and, perhaps most importantly, for your pet, so here are a few tips on how to prepare for losing a pet.
Preparing for the Loss of Your Pet
Preparing for losing your beloved furry companion is not just about making the decision to “put an end to your pet’s suffering”, calling the vet and discussing what is to be done afterwards.
It is about mentally acknowledging the situation and recognising that, as “every beginning has an end”, the end is inevitable – and it is about knowing what to expect, i.e. who you are dealing with and the when, where & how your precious furry friend’s life will come to a peaceful, pain free end.
Mental Acknowledgement and Recognition of the Inevitable
Over the years, we have found that writing about their pet can be an effective way for “pet parents” and their families to recognise and accept the inevitability of their beloved pet’s passing.
Write about the memories and experiences you shared with your pet; your pet’s unconditional love and loyalty, the joy he/she brought you and all the fun times you had together.
Make sure to write about those (most likely very rare) ‘not so good’ moments (i.e. when your pet made you cross, when he/she was maybe ill or suffered an injury, etc.), your concerns & worries and the way it makes you feel to see him/her suffer now, too.
In other words, create a journal of your pet’s life, complete with all the good times and the bad times, rare as the latter may have been. You may want to add photos of your pet and precious moments you shared and/or pictures drawn/painted by your children, too.
You don’t have to write everything in a single session – just write a little each day (even if maybe you don’t feel up to it!), letting your feelings and thoughts flow freely as you go. It often helps to start each new section or paragraph with “I/we feel…” or “I/we remember…” and, while you can, of course, create this journal online, many people find that using pen and paper makes the process – and their feelings – more tangible.
Giving your feelings such a “tangible” outlet rather than “bottling them up” will ultimately help you and your family to better manage and cope with the grief over losing your pet.
Knowing What to Expect
As important as it is for your pet’s sake, the decision to end your precious pet’s suffering is also extremely challenging and difficult. Walking “blindly” into such a situation will invariable add to the stress of it all, both for yourself/your family and your pet.
We therefore believe that it is imperative for families preparing for this “dreaded moment” to know exactly who they are dealing with, when and where they will say goodbye to their much-loved companion and how his/her life’s journey welcome to its end.
Based on this belief, we not only offer detailed information about who we are, what we do and how we do it on our Website but will also take the time to get to know you and your pet and explain precisely what will happen during the process of giving your pet the compassionate, respectful, pain free and peaceful farewell he/she deserves before we proceed at a time and place (i.e. your home, your pet’s favourite park or forest walk, etc.) of your choosing.
If you believe the time to say goodbye to your beloved dog, cat or indeed any other feathered, furry or scaled pet is near, contact our highly experienced, caring team of home care vets for advice and more detailed information now.