Vet explains what happens in a pet’s final moment – it’s something every pet owner should hear
By iHeartDogs.com
October 25th, 2019
The hardest decision for a pet owner to make is when to euthanize their best friend.
It’s a decision that comes from love and is meant to end the pain of a pet who is sick or suffering. It allows the pets to avoid the illness suffering their final years would bring. Nevertheless, it is a difficult decision to make and it’s painful to think about life without your best friend. Most pet owners plan on being right there with their pets as they pass away.
Surprisingly, there are some pet owners who choose to not be with their friends as they are euthanized.
Some people claim that watching their pet die would be too painful and they wouldn’t be able to watch. Even so, how could someone abandon their pet to die all on their own?
Some people may think that it doesn’t matter if their pet can see them during euthanasia or not…but one vet says it really does matter.
The Hillcrest Veterinary Hospital recently made a Facebook Post where a vet shared pets actions in their final moments.
This vet asked pet owners to stay with their pets when they are on the operation table:
“Do not make them transition from life to death in a room full of strangers, in a place they don’t like. The thing people need to know that most of you don’t is that they search for you when you leave them behind.
They search every face in the room for their loved person. They don’t understand why you left them when they are sick, scare, old, or dying of cancer and they need your comfort.”
Dr. Evan Shaw agrees whole-heartedly with the post.
He has euthanized many pets in his career and he saws that pets handle passing away better when their owners are with them during the process. He commented on the phenomenon saying:
“I have a lot of return clients and I have found that people who aren’t there at the end of their pet’s life find it to be on their biggest regrets at a later point. I totally understand how hard it would be, but death is ultimately a part of life and needs to be experienced to help the grieving process.”
Jessi Dietrich spoke with another vet about this. She received a similar response.
“He said when he has to put an animal down 90% of owners don’t actually want to be in the room when he injects them, so the anima’s last moments are usually them frantically looking around for their owners and to be honest, that broke me.”
That fact alone makes me want to go home, hug my dog and say I’ll never leave her.
Please do not abandon your pet in their final moments. Your pet loves you so much and they show it every day. Make sure that you show them how much you love them in return.
In 2014, inspired by his rescued Siberian Husky Splash, Justin Palmer started a Facebook page called I Love Dogs. The page quickly grew to over a million fans and in 2015, Justin cofounded iHeartDogs.com with Marshall Morris, an army veteran. Inspired by their passions for helping shelter dogs and supporting our veterans, Justin and Marshall built a line of products that give back to shelters and raise money to provide service dogs for veterans in need.
