Ways to Prepare for Your Pet’s Passing

Although a pet’s passing is never easy, preparing for the eventuality can help ease your mental and emotional distress. Here are four ways to help prepare for—and grieve—your pet’s eventual passing.

#1: Assess your pet’s quality of life

Although they can’t express it to you, pets can show signs of poor physical and mental health. You can evaluate your pet’s wellbeing as they age or decline due to a chronic medical condition by using a quality-of-life scale. The quality of life scale enables you to assess your pet objectively and can assist in determining whether they are in pain.

#2: Decide when to schedule your pet’s euthanasia

While an unexpected pet death relieves you of the responsibility of determining when—and if—euthanasia is the right course of action, you might wonder if you failed to notice your pet’s sickness. On the other hand, deciding when to plan euthanasia and when your pet is ready to pass away is never easy. Humane euthanasia, however, can be your final act of love for your suffering pet. Keep in mind that few pets pass away gently while they are sleeping.

#3: Discuss how to care for your pet’s body

When your pet passes away, you might not be prepared to care for them. If you know your pet’s time is running out, talking about how you would like to handle their body may make you feel less stressed. Following cremation, you can choose to acquire your pet’s ashes, which is a typical choice. Aquamation is growing in popularity as a substitute for after-care, despite the fact that it is still not widely available.

#4: Rely on grief support groups to process your pet’s death

In addition to leaning on family and friends as you grieve, reach out to support groups. Many veterinary universities offer pet loss support hotlines, and a multitude of pet bereavement groups on social media may fit your unique situation. You never have to make your journey through grief alone.

If your pet is declining in health or happiness, ask our team for help in assessing their quality of life and preparing for their eventual passing.