When the Time is Near...

Naturally, you want to ease their way. While you may feel a need to take your pet to your veterinarian’s office for euthanasia, there are many things you can do at home to naturally help your pet through the process of “letting go” of life. Here are seven recommendations:

• As you wish to comfort your pet, speak soothingly to him or her. Keep lighting soft, and you may also want to put on some soothing classical or ambient music in the background.
• Since his or her circulation could be slowing down, you may wish to cover your pet with a blanket.
• Do not force him or her to eat. Keep their mouth moistened if possible, by gently dripping water onto their tongue.
• Recognize that when death is near, their senses will begin to fail. The first is their sense of smell, followed by the senses of taste and sight. The last to go will be their hearing.
• Gently reposition him or her, if needed, to make them more comfortable.
• Allow your pet to choose the place he or she wishes to lay down, and then make him or her as comfortable as possible by surrounding them with well-loved toys, pictures, or fresh flowers.
• Respect their need for solitude, but don’t feel a need to isolate your pet from the family. Just like you, your pet would like to be surrounded by those people he or she loves most. Stay close, but don’t crowd your pet, or make them nervous by being too close.