There is the option for you to take your pet home for burial, have them privately cremated where the ashes are returned to you, or they will be cremated communally.
Following euthanasia, your veterinarian or veterinary nurse or technician will help to gently clean your pet if necessary, and remove any intravenous cannula that was placed. Then, depending on whether you are burying your pet at home, having your pet cremated or are still undecided, a few different things may happen.
As the solution is injected, the animal loses consciousness and within minutes the heart and lungs stop functioning. Since the pet is not conscious, they do not feel anything. Most times, the animal passes away so smoothly, that it is difficult to tell until the veterinarian listens for absence of a heartbeat.
You will normally need to sign a consent form. Euthanasia is usually carried out by injecting an overdose of anaesthetic into the vein of the front leg, although the injection can be given to other areas of the body as well. The dog is held by a nurse, and a small patch of fur is shaved off.
Dogs do not know they are being put to sleep, but they can react to underlying pain when being handled by the vet, sense nervous energy, react to the injection, involuntarily vocalize, or have muscle spasms.
It may take a minute or two for the heart to stop. The doctor will listen carefully to your pet's heart to ensure it has stopped before pronouncing him or her gone. After that, there is no danger of your pet waking up. This is a very common fear for pet owners.
It's not a sign that you've done anything wrong or that you're somehow weak for being emotionally impacted by your pet's departure. After all, you and your pet were close. Feeling guilt is a sign of just how much you cared about your pet.
Choosing to stay with your pet during euthanasia is best because it alleviates their stress. Having you present reduces the anxiety and fear they may experience at the end of life. The process of dying can trigger anxiety in a pet. Having their loved one near relieves some of their discomfort.
Give them all the things they enjoy most – their favourite toys, their favourite food. You know what will make your pet feel most at ease in the time that remains. If you become tearful, ask a family member, friend or other trusted person to take care of your pet so you can leave the room and have a cry.
Yes, your dog knows how much you love him! Dogs and humans have a very special relationship, where dogs have hijacked the human oxytocin bonding pathway normally reserved for our babies. When you stare at your dog, both your oxytocin levels go up, the same as when you pet them and play with them.
A 16-year-old dog, depending on his size, is roughly the equivalent of an 80- to 123-year-old person.
If you ask a vet to put your pet down, it is called “owner-requested euthanasia” or “convenience euthanasia.” Your vet has the legal right to euthanize a healthy animal if: It is beyond behavioral rehabilitation. It is dangerous or has behavioral issues.
If you choose to have your pet cremated, you may choose between a private or a communal cremation. Private cremations are when your pet is cremated on its own and the ashes are returned to you in an urn. In a communal cremation, the pet is cremated with other pets, and usually, the ashes are spread in a pet cemetery.
Sometimes dogs will urinate or defecate when they are euthanized due to the total relaxation that happens. If this happens to your dog, it will do so when your dog is no longer aware of what is happening. Euthanasia does not hurt.
Breathing will slow down and then stop over the next several seconds. Cardiac arrest will soon follow, resulting in death. Typically, a peaceful death occurs within 30 seconds of intravenous administration.
The euthanasia injection
The pet will be given a concentrated overdose of the anaesthetic so that they peacefully fall asleep and then pass away. This usually happens quite quickly, often in less than a minute, and many owners are surprised by this. The injection is not painful.
Deep sedation or anesthesia is preferred to ensure the cat is fully asleep prior to administering the final injection. Sedation minimizes fear, anxiety, and pain; lessens the need for restraint; allows for closeness with caregivers; and can lessen unwanted side effects of the administration of euthanasia solutions.
You will get to choose what happens to your euthanized dog's body. You can keep the body to bury personally, have it buried at a pet cemetery, or choose cremation (either individually or with a group of animals, and with or without the ashes returned to you).
No veterinary surgeon is obliged to kill a healthy animal unless required to do so under statutory powers as part of their conditions of employment. Veterinary surgeons do, however, have the privilege of being able to relieve an animal's suffering in this way in appropriate cases.
The Euthanasia Process is Essentially Painless
Our vets want you to know that the euthanasia process is almost completely painless. Putting a pet to sleep is a two part process: A vet will start by giving your pet an IV which is usually painless or nearly painless, depending on your pet's tolerance for shots.
Euthanasia provides a painless, peaceful end for a pet who would otherwise continue to suffer. Your veterinarian has special training to provide your pet with a humane and gentle death. During the procedure, your vet will inject your pet with a sedative followed by a special medication.
Most vets had received such requests at least once; only about 7% had never received them. Almost 45% said it caused them or their staff a moderate amount of distress and 18.7% reported it caused them or their staff severe distress. Just over 75% said they never or only rarely carried out “inappropriate” euthanasia.
Humans develop a lasting attachment with their pets, which breaks at the loss of the pet. Regardless of the manner of death, a pet owner may perceive the death as traumatic and experience distress or exhibit posttraumatic stress symptoms.