End-Of-Life Guide for Your Pet: Is It Time?
Throughout our lives, we experience many major life changes. These can include happy moments of celebrations, accomplishments, moving to a new place, and even a “gotcha” day for a fur baby. Along with these happy moments will be experiences of sad times, too. The loss of beloved friends and family, and even pet loss. As your pet ages and reaches the end-of-life stage, we must accept the inevitable and prepare ourselves for that moment. Here, we will touch on an end-of-life guide for your best friend to help you prepare for the question, “Is it time for my dying pet?” In the meantime, make every moment together count and create some everlasting memories.
Defining Quality of Life
Caring for our pets is endlessly rewarding, and you look forward to time spent together, whether going for a walk or just relaxing on the couch together. But, as time goes on, there will be changes. Routines will be adapted to your pet’s age and health. At some point, a hard decision will need to be addressed to determine if your pet is dying. There is a point where all the love, attention, medicine, and special foods are just not enough. As a pet parent, you will be the expert on physical and mental changes in your fur baby and can make the appropriate decisions based on your beliefs and preferences.
Assessing Your Pet’s Quality of Life
Many factors need to be considered regarding end-of-life care for your companion and making the best possible judgments. Stepping back and really evaluating your pet’s overall health can be difficult without trying to let your emotions overcome the situation. We want to have as much time as possible with them, but we also want to make sure they do not suffer as they get older. Some quality of life scales for dying pets include Pain, Mobility, Appetite, Sleep, Behavior, Hygiene, and Enjoyment.
Pain
The first and most important consideration is how much pain your fur baby is experiencing. Pain control can be effective, but there will be a time when it is intolerable. Is your pet making noises or groans when moving? Or whimpering when even lying down? Can your pet breathe without difficulty?
Mobility
There will come a time when your pet may be unable to get up or move around independently. Special slings and harnesses are available so pet parents can assist them. Other options are wheeled carts and wagons. However, there may come a time when they will require complete assistance.
Appetite
Is your pet eating or drinking normally? Have they started vomiting or having diarrhea? Appetite is a huge factor in staying healthy. You might try offering a variety of foods, hand feeding, and placing food in your pet’s mouth to encourage swallowing by rubbing the neck.
Sleep
Is your pet having trouble sleeping? This can include pacing during normal sleeping times.
Behavior
Besides just the physical symptoms, pets can change mentally and behaviorally. Some signs of this might be pacing, getting lost, more clingy behavior, more aggressive behavior, or hiding.
Hygiene
Your pet must be able to be kept clean. This would include being brushed, combed, and able to move away from stool or urine if it has an accident. Are you still able to assist in cleaning their body and keeping sores doctored?
Enjoyment
Is your pet still enjoying the things that made them happy in the past? There could be a decline in the joy of normal activities, which could be signs of depression, loneliness, anxiety, boredom, or even being afraid. Our beloved pets have always communicated to us with their eyes and body gestures like handshakes and tail wagging. (Some even wiggle their whole body.) You might have to place their beds closer to family activities to keep them interested and interacting with the family. Pets are very social animals, and they can become depressed when they cannot participate in the family due to a lack of mobility.
Nothing could be sweeter than sharing your life with your faithful companion. They are there to greet you at the door, eagerly awaiting the kiss on the head or the pat on the back. As part of the family, they provided comfort to us when we needed it. Now, it is our turn to comfort them as they age and approach the end of life. So, when you see more bad than good days, it might be time to ask yourself a few questions, as heartbreaking as it might be.
Questions to Ask Yourself
- Is my pet experiencing pain or suffering?
- What are my thoughts on euthanasia for pets? Are there any concerns or fears regarding euthanasia?
- What is the most important deciding factor for me to consider euthanasia?
- Can my pet have bodily functions by itself?
- Will treatment improve or worsen my pet’s quality of life?
- How much longer can I reasonably expect my pet to live?
- Is my pet experiencing seizures? Or being uncontrollably violent or unsafe to others?
- If my veterinary team recommends euthanasia, why do I feel that my pet doesn’t exhibit the required symptoms and it is not an option at this time?
- Am I considering my family’s interests instead of my pet’s?
- Do I have the emotional and physical stamina to provide ongoing care for my pet, as well as the financial resources to possibly provide treatment?
Tranquil Tides Pet Aquamation hopes these reference tools will help in making that end-of-life decision. Looking at these scales frequently can help you make notes on any repeating behaviors that may be happening. This is especially helpful when it is so common for your beloved pet to have good days and bad days towards the end of life. So, you may think one day that it is time to say goodbye, and then the next day, your pet will have perked up and feels better. Tranquil Tides understands how confusing and frustrating this feels. We have experienced this ourselves! When that time comes, you will know with a heavy heart.
Consulting your Veterinarian
Navigating through this part of your pet’s life can be painful and difficult. This might be the time to involve your veterinarian and their staff for support to guide you through this period. There may be medical help to improve your pet’s life, or your vet may discuss euthanasia in the future. Remember, it is up to them to provide the necessary information for you to make the ultimate decision. Avoid making assumptions on your own and get all the options.
It’s important to point out that each pet is individual, and what constitutes a good/poor quality life for one pet may be normal for another. This leads to two points that some veterinarians feel you should take into consideration:
- Appetite. While it is a sign that a pet is not feeling well if their appetite is less, it is NOT an indication that they are feeling well if they ARE eating. Pets are animals, and they are hardwired to continue eating for survival despite pain or illness. So, you might feel they are OK if they are still eating. Some animals will still eat even in terrible pain or discomfort.
- Pain. Assessing pain in your beloved pet can be very difficult. There are many different tolerance levels and it might not be noticeable for a while. Some pets with very high tolerances might not be noticeable at all. Some clues to look for are pacing, panting, poor mobility, and poor quality of sleep.
Making the Hard, End-of-Life Decisions
I always say I would never change having any of my fur babies or future fur babies, even if it means going through the painful decision of saying goodbye over and over. They have brought me so much companionship and laughter, and I enjoy every day with them. But bringing them into my house also brought a lot of responsibility. It was up to me to take care of them until their final journey.
Handling the end-of-life choices for a dying pet is an extremely emotional and delicate journey. We want to fight for every moment of our pet’s life. Many people find themselves enduring numerous trips to the vet. The pet might endure several painful medical procedures. There will come a time when you need to navigate through the emotional and practical sides and prioritize your pet’s well-being and comfort.
You are not alone; there is support available. Visit our Grief Resources to find out more information.
Timing and Planning
Determining the quality of life for a dying pet is extremely hard, and deciding when the time has come is even harder. Making the decision to say good-bye is emotionally devastating enough without having to suffer through the uncertainty and guilt of making that decision. When you realize that your closest companion does not have the quality of life anymore and the time has come, planning ahead will make it a little less overwhelming.
While it is heart-wrenching, now is when your mind is calmer and clear-headed to prepare for that day. It is the kindest option when life is no longer worth living for them. Our caregivers are responsible for ensuring that our precious pets don’t suffer unduly. With that in mind, determine the day and which family members will be present. How will your fur baby be remembered? There are options like pet aquamation, fire cremation, and burial. Do you have a favorite spot to place an urn? Or maybe a favorite spot to scatter ashes? Figuring out this process will help take some of the pressure off a little so that you can enjoy the time left with your beloved pet. There are still memories to be made.
Tranquil Tides is here to assist you with pet aquamation, a water-based cremation service. We encourage people to give us a call. There is nothing better than having a listening ear to help you through this and decide on what is best for your fur baby. We offer custom picture engraving of your pet along with a variety of other urn choices. We also have memorabilia like ink paw prints, hair clipping keepsakes, and Pawpals Paw Print Keepsakes. Visit our Products Page to see our full line of products. Or, to begin your healing process and begin your end-of-life plan, call Tranquil Tides at 417-830-4794.
Coping with the Aftermath
There doesn’t seem to be a “guiltless” circumstance when it comes to losing a pet. Pet loss guilt is particularly present and overwhelming before and after the farewell journey. Our pets are like small children; as part of the family, there will be extreme sadness. You might even experience anticipatory grief, which is grief before a pet passes as you imagine life without them.
Whether before or after the end-of-life journey, it can help to talk to friends, family members, and your veterinarian. Ultimately, be kind to yourself as you navigate this difficult period and understand that having control over the uncontrollable is impossible. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a professional grief counselor for support if needed.
If you are having trouble coping, try to change your focus and not keep repeating the tragic loss over and over in your mind. Focus on happier times with your faithful companion or on tasks that need to be completed. The key is to have happier thoughts.
How Tranquil Tides Can Help
At Tranquil Tides, we grieve with you for the loss of your very special friend. We offer a water-based cremation service, pet aquamation, that is a gentle farewell to your pet. We service the Springfield-Nixa and surrounding areas in Southwest Missouri. We would love to meet with you and discuss how we can help honor your beloved companion. It helps to know you are not alone with a dying pet.
