Making The Decision
As our pets approach the end of their time, whether it be the end of their natural lifespan or due to a terminal illness, making a decision about euthanasia can be extremely difficult. We can sometimes find ourselves having to consider these sorts of decisions a lot more abruptly than we are prepared for.
No matter whether you’ve noticed a rapid or gradual deterioration in your pet’s health, it’s always important to assess their quality of life. As many health conditions are treatable or manageable, it’s important to have a discussion about any changes that you’re noticing with your regular veterinarian. Consulting with your regular veterinarian will help with identifying any underlying medical conditions that your pet may have. You can then be informed about any treatment/management options available, and discuss long term prognosis. By having these in depth discussions, you can ensure that any decision that you do make regarding your pet’s future is both informed and educated.
Decisions around euthanasia often focus largely on your pets quality of life. Quality of life is ultimately determined by your pets overall physical and mental wellbeing. As our pets are unable to verbally express how they feel, assessing their quality of life can be a little tricky. Fortunately, cats and dogs give us many clues as to how they may be feeling through their daily behaviour and attitudes.
When trying to assess your pet’s quality of life it’s important to think about questions like:
Are they still able to do all of their favourite activities?
Are they eating and drinking normally?
Are they toileting normally?
Do they seem comfortable?
Are they maintaining their body weight?
A simple yet effective way to assess your pets overall quality of life is to mark their good days and bad days on a calendar. Once the bad days seem as though they are starting to outweigh the good, it’s likely time to start discussing the option of a peaceful in-home pet euthanasia with your family members and veterinarian.
Remember that before making any big decisions, it always pays to discuss things with your veterinarian or give us a call. This is perhaps one of the hardest decisions you will ever have to make, so please never feel like you have to face this alone.
Resources
Below are some additional resources that we encourage you to browse through in order to prepare you and your family for making this big decision.
Please note the links below are to external sources and will direct you away from this site - pages will open in a new tab upon clicking.