March 21, 2023 • 25 mins
This is truly the last topic I want to write about, but I know how important it is and hopefully, it can help at least one person in this painful process. I want to provide my complete experience and answer common questions/concerns about dog euthanasia at home.
The passing of a dog is extremely painful. I’d argue it’s personally one of the most challenging experiences of my life.
In this article, I want to dive into all things in-home euthanasia because choosing this route for the passing of my dog, Buddy, was the best choice I could have made. I hope that if you’re nearing this part of your dog’s life you can find solace, comfort, and a small sense of hope by understanding what in-home euthanasia entails.
This will be a long article because there are SO many questions and concerns around this topic and I want to help you make an informed decision for your dog.
Here’s what we will cover in this article:
What is at-home euthanasia
-How do you know if it’s time to put your dog to sleep
-At-home euthanasia pros & cons (there are many)
-How does in-home euthanasia work, what is the process like
-Ways to memorialize a dog
I’ll also let you know about one of the most challenging parts of the experience that NO one told me about beforehand.
While I will only choose at-home euthanasia in the future, I want to dive into the pros and cons of in-home euthanasia for your dog.
Before we dive into each benefit or drawback, a quick overview.
Here are some pros & benefits of at-home euthanasia:
-Around your other dogs for closure
-Familiar & comfortable environment, just like someone coming over
-NOT the vet office, some dogs have real fears
-Feels more like a beautiful send-off
-You have control over the situation
And of course, here are some cons and disadvantages of at-home euthanasia:
-Cost
-A lasting memory/visual reminder of where your dog passed away
-It can be painful to be in the room as it happens
HOW TO MEMORIALIZE A DOG
Nothing will replace your dog, it’s that simple. But, there are some creative ways you can choose to memorialize your four-legged friend.
Here are some dog memorial ideas:
-Keeping ashes to spread at favorite places and keep in a decorative urn
-Shadow box with a paw print, fur clipping, picture, etc.
-Artwork, mugs, clothes, etc.
-Tattoo
-Photo album
-Necklace or other jewelry
The passing of a dog is a terribly challenging and painful experience. I hope that this article gave you some insight as to why choosing in-home euthanasia can be a great option for your dog’s end-of-life care.
While the cost can be higher than euthanasia at a vet’s office, the peace of having your pup’s final moments take place in the comfort of your home is priceless.
Whatever decision you make, do your best to build a support system around you during a challenging time like this. Losing a pet is a dark time and having friends and family (and mental health professionals) in your corner can give you light and hope on the dimmest days.
Time makes the pain more manageable, but our dogs stay forever in our hearts.
Have questions about dog euthanasia at home? Please leave a comment (on the blog) and I’ll do my best to help!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is the perfect pup podcast.Helping you build a better
relationship with your pup presented by pop forward.
Hello, pop parents, and welcome to today's episode of the
perfect pup podcast. My name is Devin.
This is my least favorite episode I've ever done and I
really didn't want to do it but I knew deep down that it is an
(00:20):
important topic and I hope that I can help at least one person
to make this experience. Better if that's possible.
Today we're going to talk about at home, euthanasia for your dog
and a couple points here really quick.
I'm not talking about doing it on your own.
I'm talking about the vet comingto your home when it is time to
(00:41):
put your dog to sleep. And second, we're going to be
talking about death and grief and what this process looks
like, for at-home euthanasia. So if that's triggering for you,
or if that's too difficult to listen to, I totally understand.
Join us on the next But let's get right into this topic before
we go dive deep into it. I do want to mention that
(01:04):
towards the end of this episode I'm going to talk about one
thing that I haven't been able to find anywhere else online or
known really mentioned. When I was researching at home
euthanasia, that I really wish Iwould have known about.
So be sure to stick around for that.
If we're going to talk about euthanasia, we need to
understand what that is, conceptually right?
Like we all have an idea, right?But Loosely translated it,
derives from Greek and it means The death and I think it's
(01:29):
important to keep that in mind. As we talk about this difficult
topic. Our dogs are extremely important
in our lives, they become family, and the topic of death.
It's challenging. There's no two ways around.
It is a terribly painful experience, but I do believe
that euthanasia provides an opportunity to help your dog.
(01:52):
Have an easier death and to avoid severe pain and problems.
And as they age or as different health concerns pop up.
So again, remember it can be something that is a opportunity
to give your dog to help them bedone with suffering essentially.
So we're going to talk about this and again I want to
(02:13):
emphasize when I say at home euthanasia, this is not you
doing this. This is a trained professional
probably 99 out of 100 times. It's a vet, they're coming to
your home to perform a euthanasia that would typically
take place in A vet's office. So before we kind of get into
that process and some of the pros and cons, we do need to
(02:33):
talk about how to know when it'stime to put your dog to sleep.
I will say, I'm going to try as hard as I can, and this episode
do a few things. Number one, I want to be as
empathetic as possible to everyone's different situations
and I also want to share some ofmy own personal experiences
without, you know, getting into too many intimate details about
(02:56):
my Experience with that home euthanasia.
But again, my goal here I didn'treally know about this and it
was something I learned about really kind of late on in my
dog's life, that passed away andwe end up doing this and I just
hope that everyone can understand that this is an
option. If you're wondering how to know
when it's time for your dog to be put to sleep, only you can
(03:17):
make that decision, your vet canand should help you and should
guide you in understanding your dog situation but it's up to
you. It's up to you.
As the caretaker for your dog tomake this decision.
So some questions you can ask yourself, is your dog in
noticeable pain? Is your dog, not enjoying things
that they used to? Can they still control their
(03:40):
bowels? Are they able to stand and walk
on their own? Can you provide the likely
increased? Medical Care and, and physical,
and emotional attention that your dog is going to need.
As, you know, make this decisionthe most important.
Orton thing you can do though isgo and take quality of life
(04:01):
test. There's some some that are kind
of interactive, there are some self assessment self-scoring.
Essentially, it's going to ask you to rate some of these
questions that I asked as well as questions you have for
yourself about how you're feeling about, you feel about
care, and where you're at, in your ability to be ready to let
your dog pass on. It's not an easy decision.
(04:22):
I'll say that. It's one of the most difficult
that I've ever had to make my wife and I and There are still
days, there are Still Moments where you sit there and question
and think to yourself, you know,could have my dog live longer.
Did I make the right choice? And that's hard.
It's so hard. But remember that there's
probably not a specific day where the timing is going to be
(04:42):
right? It's more of a window of time
and every dog situation is different.
I'll give a quick back story, on, on my dog, his name is
Buddy. Buddy was specifically in my
life for about 56 years. He was my wife's dog, since she
was about, Out 10. So he has been there through
everything for her and we went on a cross-country road trip
(05:03):
with our dogs brought all three and while we were there towards
the end of the trip, but he started having some health
issues but nothing major. He just was, you know, he was 15
and a half at the time and he was just starting to, he had
some vomiting and he was a little bit lethargic and just
kind of acting not himself. We get home and very quickly.
He starts to decline, we do a lot of tests, we go to the vet
(05:26):
multiple We do some scans and I'm not a professional.
I don't understand all these terms.
But his bilirubin levels were extremely high, which shows that
he has kidney issues. There was pancreatitis, the
numbers were off the charts and luckily we had a neighbor nearby
us who is a doctor and she was able to kind of walk us through
(05:47):
some of these things as well. On top of getting
recommendations from our vet. And you know what happened
really quickly? We got home from that trip on
like a Tuesday. And, you know, by Friday, we got
some those terrible results backand by Saturday morning, we made
the choice. The terrible choice to to put
buddy to sleep. And again, I just want you to
have the context. As to I'm going to talk about my
(06:09):
experience, specifically, With Buddies euthanasia and some
details, just to give you a visualization of what this
process looks like, and what youcan expect, if you choose to go
this route so quickly. Let's talk about some pros and
cons the main cons. Like the probably the biggest
one is probably. Ice it is typically more
expensive to do a euthanasia at home versus at the vet's office.
(06:33):
Some vets will do this for the same price that they would.
If you were to come in, they'll just come to your house to do a
house call in other instances. It's not the case I can run
anywhere from two hundred to a thousand dollars, depending on
all the different parts that go along with it.
And if there's, you know, if it's a last-minute thing, if you
choose to do cremation that, youknow, cost more versus a burial
(06:54):
at your home. If you choose cremation, it
Costs more to do a private versus a group.
Cremation. Like and these are hard topics
but a lot of people don't think about these questions even
though they're challenging and they don't think about it until
the last minute until this moment is approaching.
And I think as much as we can beprepared, it's advantageous.
Some other cons is that if you're doing this at home
(07:15):
euthanasia, it's happening in your home, you will constantly
have a visual reminder of where it happened for some people.
That's a con for some people, that's a pro.
Some people You know, it kind ofprovides provides that Solace
and peace and a memory of your dog for other people.
It's just too hard and, you know, being in the room.
It's hard. It's super challenging, you
(07:37):
know, in most instances you're going to be in the room whether
it's at the vet's office or at home this is more of my opinion.
I think it's so important if you're capable of doing this to
be with your dog and their last moments to be able to be there
and comfort them, some of the pros of at home euthanasia.
Number one, you get closure for your other pets.
(07:59):
If you have other dogs or cats or other pets in your home, they
understand death. They know when a life has
ceased. And if you just leave with one
dog and you don't come back withtheir pet sibling, I think that
can be really hard on them and that was one of the biggest
factors for us, for choosing at home euthanasia, is we wanted
our two other dogs to be able tohave that closure with Buddy.
(08:22):
Some other Pros is it's a familiar environment and you
know, you don't have have to go to the vet's office.
A lot of dogs really don't like the vet.
They've had bad experiences or it makes them nervous or scared.
And, you know, for some dogs having that be their last
experience, would maybe just be too much for them and it would
be stressful and that's really not enjoyable and it's tough for
(08:44):
us to watch as the human. So, being in a familiar
environment, it's so much more peaceful for the dog.
And on that note. Another point is it made the
experience for us feel more likekind of a beautiful send-off.
Is we're going to the vet and it's this kind of dark
experience, like yeah, of course, it was painful and dark
and challenging but it made it more of a calming and peaceful
(09:09):
experience in our home and aboveall you get to kind of control
the situation. If you want your dog to be in
their favorite bed, you can do that if you want them to have
their favorite toy next to them,you can do that if you want the
room to be dark or if you want to light a certain candle or
Whatever it is. You get to be in control of the
situation. When you go take your dog to the
(09:31):
bet that to be put to sleep, it's just, you know, vet offices
are kind of cold. They're not the most welcoming
and comforting places if we're being frank and being able to do
it in your home is. It's so advantageous to just be
able to kind of dictate more of that day and what your
experience will be. All right, I want to talk about
the process now. And again, I kind of gave a
(09:55):
trigger warning at the beginningbut This is tough for you to
hear. I totally understand.
It's tough for me to talk about.But again, I'm just hopeful that
one person can hear this and be able to experience the benefit
of an at-home euthanasia and know what to expect, because
it's a scary time. There's so many thoughts and
feelings, and emotions, and, andtrying to think through all this
(10:16):
as tough. So I'm hopeful that you can kind
of learn about it now and have this in your brain when that
time does arrive the day of as much as you can.
And then or Or the day before, depending on the timing, give
your dog a send off and it'll look different for every dog,
but, you know, giving them theirfavorite treat or snacks or
something. They don't normally get, you're
going on their favorite walk. If they like car rides, letting
(10:39):
them go on a car ride, having friends and family.
Come over to be able to say goodbye before this process
happens. You know, your dog figure out
what they love best and just be able to offer them as much as
you can of that in their last last time on Earth prepping your
home and yourself. Your dog.
You know I like to clean and I'mpretty clean person but I think
(11:01):
overall it's a good idea. If you're going to do an at-home
euthanasia to have your home andspecifically the room where it
will occur be kind of clean and tidy.
There's just something a little more peaceful about that we
chose to give Buddy a bath. It just felt like it was kind of
a more dignified situation especially older dogs and dogs
that are getting sick. There's a lot of smells that go
(11:22):
on and it felt dignified to havehim.
Be bathed and clean and for yourself.
The day of this won't be easy, but do your best to get, you
know, a good night's sleep before and have a good meal.
And try as much as you can to take care of yourself, mentally,
and physically will say before, when you're kind of scheduling
this out with a vet sometimes, it'll be again your own personal
(11:43):
event that you're used to or if they don't do that, you may have
to go to a specific service thatdoes at home euthanasia.
There are of course going to want to see medical records and
and basically sign off that. This is something that should be
done. But when they arrive, they're
going to You know, just do a meet-and-greet and kind of talk
to you. Get to know you are vet.
She was super nice. She asked us about, you know,
(12:04):
just about Buddy, and what we loved about him, and let us ask
questions there. Of course, going to be a lot of
questions. And so she answered all of our
questions. She was super knowledgeable and
most vets who I've read, or heard about online or talk to
people, you know, the ones who are doing these at home
euthanasias. They understand how difficult it
is, and their goal is to make itas peaceful.
(12:26):
And calm and positive experiences, it can be to ask
them questions, bring up your concerns, you know, they'll walk
you through. What that process will look
like, typically what they do. Once you've kind of done that
initial meet-and-greet, you'll get your dog in a spot where you
want this to take place our vet specifically most of them,
they're going to specifically ask for your permission to start
(12:47):
the process. They want you to know that it's
under your control and when you're ready, you'll be able to
do it. The first thing you'll get is a
cocktail that has kind of pain, meds, sedation relaxation.
It's a lot of different medicines in one.
It's administered typically justvia a shot under your dog's
(13:07):
skin. It's not very painful.
It may not even notice it. It works pretty quickly to just
kind of, put your dog into a state of sleep and relaxation.
They're going to be less attentive to movement.
Our vet told us to not move a whole lot, and just kind of sit
there and be with Buddy after a few minutes.
You're from 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of your
(13:28):
dog, and those types of things, the event will do just kind of a
sedation. Check to make sure that your dog
is not responding to a stimulus and that they are in that kind
of dream sleep State. At this point, our vet, she left
the room and she gave us the opportunity to say our final
good-byes and I won't share the details, but I will say that
(13:49):
it's It's a powerful moment to be able to kind of have that
last conversation with your dog,while they're still alive and to
have that opportunity to, you know, say your good-byes and
give the pets and be there with your dog while they're still
breathing and they're still alive.
Even if they're in that kind of relaxed, sedated State, once our
(14:10):
vet came back in, she ask for a permission again, which was very
nice and she administered via anIV.
I believe it was in his arm. A medicine that just makes your
dog's heart stopped beating. It's very quick and again, they
are sedated. They're relaxed.
There is no pain. Like we talked about euthanasia
(14:31):
means easy death and this process is relatively quick.
Your vet will verify that your dog's heart beat as stopped at
that point. You'll also typically put potty,
pads down for this process starts because when dogs pass
away, they can lose control of their bowels and it's just
easier to have potty pads that are so you're not Having to deal
(14:52):
with cleaning up a mess as you're dealing with this,
terrible moment in your life, the part that no one told me
about and I wasn't anticipating that ended up being kind of one
of the most difficult Parts was once buddy had passed, but it
was about 35 to 40 pounds. She had brought carrier kind of
a wagon type carrier to help, get him to the car to be taken
(15:14):
to be cremated. I had to help pick him up and
put him in that wagon. I know.
No one told me about that. I don't blame the vet by any
means. It's just one of those things I
didn't read anything about online and it hit different.
It was this moment of kind of realization.
I've been terribly sad and in shambles basically the whole
(15:37):
time but when that moment hit itwas, you know, it was more real.
And I just wanted to bring that up so that someone else can be
aware that that might be the case.
If your dog is over, you know, 20 25 pounds might need to help
with carrying your dog out. The car or into a stroller
whatever you know wagon your vetmay have brought to make that
happen. Our vet also gave us an
(15:58):
opportunity for our dogs to kindof say a goodbye.
They had just been sitting therethe whole time, not really doing
anything just kind of observing and it was interesting because
once buddy was in the wagon, they both kind of got more
interested in went out and sniffed and they both just kind
of barked. And it was a peaceful moment of
(16:18):
they're saying goodbye and they got that closure.
ER, then typically, you know, again, your vet will take, if
you're doing cremation, that we'll take the dog with them to
the Crematory, they'll typicallysend the ashes back to you, or
you may arrange to go, pick themup.
If you're doing a burial in yourhome or yard, you'll, you know,
of course, be in charge of that experience.
I want to talk a little bit about grief and the process of
(16:43):
losing a dog and I'm not a mental health expert, so I would
just recommend looking up the stages of grief.
Again, if you can research thesethings beforehand, it helps to
have them in your brain because and this day when it happens,
it's just a flood of emotions and pain and suffering, and it's
(17:04):
hard to think clearly at all. And the more you can kind of
prep yourself mentally and understand, you know, about the
stages of grief and and what that process looks like the
better off. Will be and I will say above all
in this instance, do as much as you can to get a support group
around you. You know, you may choose to do
(17:24):
the actual euthanasia experiencealone or just with, you know,
one or two close friends or family members try to have a
support group around you. People, you can call people, you
can talk to getting mental, professional help, super
important, if that's necessary for you and again don't discount
that this is death, this is grief, this is severe pain.
(17:46):
Pain and getting the help of of a professional is a great thing
to do and can help you in so many ways.
So I just highly recommend that and I'm not a mental health
professional, but I will say, let yourself feel whatever that
is there will be anger sadness, moments of Joy, remembering the
(18:09):
good memories, there will be pain.
There will be suffering like just let yourself feel and don't
Rush yourself into getting over it or being okay.
Because Your dog is a part of your life and their family and
they are with you every day. They're in your home every day
(18:30):
and for your dog, to no longer be with you.
It's terrible. And so let yourself feel it says
the worst episode ever had to do.
Sorry, it sucks. This is the worst.
But again, I want people to knowI want people to be able to have
the peaceful experience of Your dog being put to sleep at home
(18:51):
in the comfort of your home. So let's talk about some ways
you can memorialize your dog because again that's part of the
grieving process, it's part of the stages of grief.
So there's some ways you can memorialize your dog.
If you're just listening, I'm going to show some things that
you can see on YouTube. You can also go to the article
on the pup furred website, corresponds with this episode to
see pictures of what I'm talkingabout.
(19:13):
There's a few things you can do to memorialize your dog and
these are some things that I've done and others, that others are
recommended. The one thing if You choose to
have your dog cremated, you can get a decorative earn to
moralize your dog. This is what ours looks like for
buddy. It's a simple.
Nice, elegant box that has his ashes in it.
We keep an eye on her mantle. We have taken his ashes and
spread, some of his ashes. And some of his favorite places
(19:35):
parks, that he used to love mountains that we often explored
with him, different places that were important to him and us
together. It can be a nice way to
memorialize your dog, is being able to spread their ashes and
display them in your home. Another thing that you can do,
Is a shadow box, some people will put a picture of their dog,
or they'll put clippings of their dog's fur.
(19:57):
They might put, you know, a quote about their dog or
something funny, a funny story and even a paw print.
Our vet, who did our euthanasia for Buddy?
She brought a like, pop printingmold and right after he had
passed G pressed his paw into the mold and we're able to have
that with us, looks something like this.
(20:18):
There are a lot of different options.
Options, you can make things on your own.
You can go to places like Etsy or you know, find someone on
Instagram and makes these types of things.
You can also look at getting artwork done, you can do
clothing, you can do mugs, you know, nowadays you can put your
dog's face on pretty much anything.
It can be very nice to, you know, maybe find a local artist
or someone, you know, and commissioned them to make a
(20:39):
piece of art of your dog. We have one of all, three of our
dogs and it's nice. It's nice to have that piece
that memory of your dog if you have tattoos, Or are into
tattoos, you can get a tattoo ofyour dog.
Some people do paw prints, some people do a portrait, some
people do, their dog's name, thedate that they passed away the
day. They were born, you know,
(20:59):
there's a lot of different things that you can do.
I personally got a tattoo of Buddy on my wrist and I get to
see him every day and it's a wayfor me to in tough moments or,
you know, even moments outside of the pain of his passing just
to look down. And remember, Everybody and have
(21:20):
them be still kind of a part of my life permanently.
I'll just show this for those onvideo.
You can see my tattoo of buddy, I highly recommend it.
It was very therapeutic for me. I had a tattoo artist who
specialized in kind of dog tattoos at the time and it was a
great experience to kind of memorialize him on my body.
(21:42):
And again it's not for everyone,not Everyone likes tattoos or
has them, that's okay. Another thing you can do is a
photo album. This is one of my Pieces of kind
of Memorial that we did for buddy.
I reached out to family and friends and ask them to provide
a memory or a quote or an experience or something.
They loved about Buddy and I gathered photos and had it Bound
(22:07):
in a book with the quotes in this kind of story is there and
it's our buddy book and we get to read like look at it whenever
we want on display and people can look at the pictures and
it's a all way to commemorate your dog.
I use chat books for mine. This is what it looks like.
You know, you've got pictures and and quotes on some of the
(22:30):
pages, it's just it's a nice way.
Chapbooks chapbooks, makes it really easy to just upload your
pictures and add text where you want it and then you know just
pay and it's relatively cheap aswell.
Another nice way to memorialize a dog is with a necklace or
jewelry. There are Brands specifically on
Etsy and I'll link them in the blog post.
Down the pub for a website that will, you know, make kind of
(22:52):
mini urns that you can wear yourdog's ashes or they'll make
custom necklaces or rings, you know, other earrings jewelry
that you can again we're to commemorate your dog.
And I think it's important to memorialize our dogs.
And even when they're not with us here, physically, their
memory is always going to be with us.
(23:13):
So it's nice to kind of have those pieces that remind us of
them in the great memories that We've had to recap.
I highly recommend at home euthanasia.
When your dog is ready to be putto sleep.
I the experience I know it wouldnot have been as peaceful and
calm and generally positive if we would would have done it at a
(23:34):
vet's office, being able to be in control of the situation and
know that our dog was comfortable know that buddy was
around the people he cared aboutin a spot that was familiar with
him and he just was able to be at home and pass on.
At home with us. I cannot recommend this enough
for those who are having to makethis tough decision.
(23:56):
And again, I want to emphasize this decisions difficult and
it's one that should be taken lightly, but I hope that you can
think about your dog's well-being, as well as your own,
as you kind of come to this conclusion, and I hope that you
can choose at home euthanasia. If it's feasible for you.
If you have questions about this, I'm I wouldn't be happy to
(24:17):
try and answer as many as I can.The best place to probably get
those to me, would be going to the blog post about this topic
and leaving a comment, and I'll do my best to respond.
I just want to say one last point, about the passing of our
dogs. It's a terribly painful, and sad
and excruciating experience. It's one of the hardest things.
(24:37):
I've personally done in my life and I just hope us all as
parents dog lovers, we cherish our moments with our dogs.
It's easy to get frustrated. Dated, we talk a lot about
problem, behaviors and challenges on this podcast, but
remember that, as dark as this may sound, your dog won't be
(24:57):
here forever. You will likely outlive your dog
and while you will have the memories, they will not always
be with you. So when you finish this episode,
go cuddle, your dog, go snuggle your dog, give them love, give
them praise. Other than that, we'll catch you
on the next episode.
This is the perfect pup podcast.Helping you build a better
relationship with your pup presented by pop forward.
Hello, pop parents, and welcome to today's episode of the
perfect pup podcast. My name is Devin.
This is my least favorite episode I've ever done and I
really didn't want to do it but I knew deep down that it is an
(00:20):
important topic and I hope that I can help at least one person
to make this experience. Better if that's possible.
Today we're going to talk about at home, euthanasia for your dog
and a couple points here really quick.
I'm not talking about doing it on your own.
I'm talking about the vet comingto your home when it is time to
(00:41):
put your dog to sleep. And second, we're going to be
talking about death and grief and what this process looks
like, for at-home euthanasia. So if that's triggering for you,
or if that's too difficult to listen to, I totally understand.
Join us on the next But let's get right into this topic before
we go dive deep into it. I do want to mention that
(01:04):
towards the end of this episode I'm going to talk about one
thing that I haven't been able to find anywhere else online or
known really mentioned. When I was researching at home
euthanasia, that I really wish Iwould have known about.
So be sure to stick around for that.
If we're going to talk about euthanasia, we need to
understand what that is, conceptually right?
Like we all have an idea, right?But Loosely translated it,
derives from Greek and it means The death and I think it's
(01:29):
important to keep that in mind. As we talk about this difficult
topic. Our dogs are extremely important
in our lives, they become family, and the topic of death.
It's challenging. There's no two ways around.
It is a terribly painful experience, but I do believe
that euthanasia provides an opportunity to help your dog.
(01:52):
Have an easier death and to avoid severe pain and problems.
And as they age or as different health concerns pop up.
So again, remember it can be something that is a opportunity
to give your dog to help them bedone with suffering essentially.
So we're going to talk about this and again I want to
(02:13):
emphasize when I say at home euthanasia, this is not you
doing this. This is a trained professional
probably 99 out of 100 times. It's a vet, they're coming to
your home to perform a euthanasia that would typically
take place in A vet's office. So before we kind of get into
that process and some of the pros and cons, we do need to
(02:33):
talk about how to know when it'stime to put your dog to sleep.
I will say, I'm going to try as hard as I can, and this episode
do a few things. Number one, I want to be as
empathetic as possible to everyone's different situations
and I also want to share some ofmy own personal experiences
without, you know, getting into too many intimate details about
(02:56):
my Experience with that home euthanasia.
But again, my goal here I didn'treally know about this and it
was something I learned about really kind of late on in my
dog's life, that passed away andwe end up doing this and I just
hope that everyone can understand that this is an
option. If you're wondering how to know
when it's time for your dog to be put to sleep, only you can
(03:17):
make that decision, your vet canand should help you and should
guide you in understanding your dog situation but it's up to
you. It's up to you.
As the caretaker for your dog tomake this decision.
So some questions you can ask yourself, is your dog in
noticeable pain? Is your dog, not enjoying things
that they used to? Can they still control their
(03:40):
bowels? Are they able to stand and walk
on their own? Can you provide the likely
increased? Medical Care and, and physical,
and emotional attention that your dog is going to need.
As, you know, make this decisionthe most important.
Orton thing you can do though isgo and take quality of life
(04:01):
test. There's some some that are kind
of interactive, there are some self assessment self-scoring.
Essentially, it's going to ask you to rate some of these
questions that I asked as well as questions you have for
yourself about how you're feeling about, you feel about
care, and where you're at, in your ability to be ready to let
your dog pass on. It's not an easy decision.
(04:22):
I'll say that. It's one of the most difficult
that I've ever had to make my wife and I and There are still
days, there are Still Moments where you sit there and question
and think to yourself, you know,could have my dog live longer.
Did I make the right choice? And that's hard.
It's so hard. But remember that there's
probably not a specific day where the timing is going to be
(04:42):
right? It's more of a window of time
and every dog situation is different.
I'll give a quick back story, on, on my dog, his name is
Buddy. Buddy was specifically in my
life for about 56 years. He was my wife's dog, since she
was about, Out 10. So he has been there through
everything for her and we went on a cross-country road trip
(05:03):
with our dogs brought all three and while we were there towards
the end of the trip, but he started having some health
issues but nothing major. He just was, you know, he was 15
and a half at the time and he was just starting to, he had
some vomiting and he was a little bit lethargic and just
kind of acting not himself. We get home and very quickly.
He starts to decline, we do a lot of tests, we go to the vet
(05:26):
multiple We do some scans and I'm not a professional.
I don't understand all these terms.
But his bilirubin levels were extremely high, which shows that
he has kidney issues. There was pancreatitis, the
numbers were off the charts and luckily we had a neighbor nearby
us who is a doctor and she was able to kind of walk us through
(05:47):
some of these things as well. On top of getting
recommendations from our vet. And you know what happened
really quickly? We got home from that trip on
like a Tuesday. And, you know, by Friday, we got
some those terrible results backand by Saturday morning, we made
the choice. The terrible choice to to put
buddy to sleep. And again, I just want you to
have the context. As to I'm going to talk about my
(06:09):
experience, specifically, With Buddies euthanasia and some
details, just to give you a visualization of what this
process looks like, and what youcan expect, if you choose to go
this route so quickly. Let's talk about some pros and
cons the main cons. Like the probably the biggest
one is probably. Ice it is typically more
expensive to do a euthanasia at home versus at the vet's office.
(06:33):
Some vets will do this for the same price that they would.
If you were to come in, they'll just come to your house to do a
house call in other instances. It's not the case I can run
anywhere from two hundred to a thousand dollars, depending on
all the different parts that go along with it.
And if there's, you know, if it's a last-minute thing, if you
choose to do cremation that, youknow, cost more versus a burial
(06:54):
at your home. If you choose cremation, it
Costs more to do a private versus a group.
Cremation. Like and these are hard topics
but a lot of people don't think about these questions even
though they're challenging and they don't think about it until
the last minute until this moment is approaching.
And I think as much as we can beprepared, it's advantageous.
Some other cons is that if you're doing this at home
(07:15):
euthanasia, it's happening in your home, you will constantly
have a visual reminder of where it happened for some people.
That's a con for some people, that's a pro.
Some people You know, it kind ofprovides provides that Solace
and peace and a memory of your dog for other people.
It's just too hard and, you know, being in the room.
It's hard. It's super challenging, you
(07:37):
know, in most instances you're going to be in the room whether
it's at the vet's office or at home this is more of my opinion.
I think it's so important if you're capable of doing this to
be with your dog and their last moments to be able to be there
and comfort them, some of the pros of at home euthanasia.
Number one, you get closure for your other pets.
(07:59):
If you have other dogs or cats or other pets in your home, they
understand death. They know when a life has
ceased. And if you just leave with one
dog and you don't come back withtheir pet sibling, I think that
can be really hard on them and that was one of the biggest
factors for us, for choosing at home euthanasia, is we wanted
our two other dogs to be able tohave that closure with Buddy.
(08:22):
Some other Pros is it's a familiar environment and you
know, you don't have have to go to the vet's office.
A lot of dogs really don't like the vet.
They've had bad experiences or it makes them nervous or scared.
And, you know, for some dogs having that be their last
experience, would maybe just be too much for them and it would
be stressful and that's really not enjoyable and it's tough for
(08:44):
us to watch as the human. So, being in a familiar
environment, it's so much more peaceful for the dog.
And on that note. Another point is it made the
experience for us feel more likekind of a beautiful send-off.
Is we're going to the vet and it's this kind of dark
experience, like yeah, of course, it was painful and dark
and challenging but it made it more of a calming and peaceful
(09:09):
experience in our home and aboveall you get to kind of control
the situation. If you want your dog to be in
their favorite bed, you can do that if you want them to have
their favorite toy next to them,you can do that if you want the
room to be dark or if you want to light a certain candle or
Whatever it is. You get to be in control of the
situation. When you go take your dog to the
(09:31):
bet that to be put to sleep, it's just, you know, vet offices
are kind of cold. They're not the most welcoming
and comforting places if we're being frank and being able to do
it in your home is. It's so advantageous to just be
able to kind of dictate more of that day and what your
experience will be. All right, I want to talk about
the process now. And again, I kind of gave a
(09:55):
trigger warning at the beginningbut This is tough for you to
hear. I totally understand.
It's tough for me to talk about.But again, I'm just hopeful that
one person can hear this and be able to experience the benefit
of an at-home euthanasia and know what to expect, because
it's a scary time. There's so many thoughts and
feelings, and emotions, and, andtrying to think through all this
(10:16):
as tough. So I'm hopeful that you can kind
of learn about it now and have this in your brain when that
time does arrive the day of as much as you can.
And then or Or the day before, depending on the timing, give
your dog a send off and it'll look different for every dog,
but, you know, giving them theirfavorite treat or snacks or
something. They don't normally get, you're
going on their favorite walk. If they like car rides, letting
(10:39):
them go on a car ride, having friends and family.
Come over to be able to say goodbye before this process
happens. You know, your dog figure out
what they love best and just be able to offer them as much as
you can of that in their last last time on Earth prepping your
home and yourself. Your dog.
You know I like to clean and I'mpretty clean person but I think
(11:01):
overall it's a good idea. If you're going to do an at-home
euthanasia to have your home andspecifically the room where it
will occur be kind of clean and tidy.
There's just something a little more peaceful about that we
chose to give Buddy a bath. It just felt like it was kind of
a more dignified situation especially older dogs and dogs
that are getting sick. There's a lot of smells that go
(11:22):
on and it felt dignified to havehim.
Be bathed and clean and for yourself.
The day of this won't be easy, but do your best to get, you
know, a good night's sleep before and have a good meal.
And try as much as you can to take care of yourself, mentally,
and physically will say before, when you're kind of scheduling
this out with a vet sometimes, it'll be again your own personal
(11:43):
event that you're used to or if they don't do that, you may have
to go to a specific service thatdoes at home euthanasia.
There are of course going to want to see medical records and
and basically sign off that. This is something that should be
done. But when they arrive, they're
going to You know, just do a meet-and-greet and kind of talk
to you. Get to know you are vet.
She was super nice. She asked us about, you know,
(12:04):
just about Buddy, and what we loved about him, and let us ask
questions there. Of course, going to be a lot of
questions. And so she answered all of our
questions. She was super knowledgeable and
most vets who I've read, or heard about online or talk to
people, you know, the ones who are doing these at home
euthanasias. They understand how difficult it
is, and their goal is to make itas peaceful.
(12:26):
And calm and positive experiences, it can be to ask
them questions, bring up your concerns, you know, they'll walk
you through. What that process will look
like, typically what they do. Once you've kind of done that
initial meet-and-greet, you'll get your dog in a spot where you
want this to take place our vet specifically most of them,
they're going to specifically ask for your permission to start
(12:47):
the process. They want you to know that it's
under your control and when you're ready, you'll be able to
do it. The first thing you'll get is a
cocktail that has kind of pain, meds, sedation relaxation.
It's a lot of different medicines in one.
It's administered typically justvia a shot under your dog's
(13:07):
skin. It's not very painful.
It may not even notice it. It works pretty quickly to just
kind of, put your dog into a state of sleep and relaxation.
They're going to be less attentive to movement.
Our vet told us to not move a whole lot, and just kind of sit
there and be with Buddy after a few minutes.
You're from 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of your
(13:28):
dog, and those types of things, the event will do just kind of a
sedation. Check to make sure that your dog
is not responding to a stimulus and that they are in that kind
of dream sleep State. At this point, our vet, she left
the room and she gave us the opportunity to say our final
good-byes and I won't share the details, but I will say that
(13:49):
it's It's a powerful moment to be able to kind of have that
last conversation with your dog,while they're still alive and to
have that opportunity to, you know, say your good-byes and
give the pets and be there with your dog while they're still
breathing and they're still alive.
Even if they're in that kind of relaxed, sedated State, once our
(14:10):
vet came back in, she ask for a permission again, which was very
nice and she administered via anIV.
I believe it was in his arm. A medicine that just makes your
dog's heart stopped beating. It's very quick and again, they
are sedated. They're relaxed.
There is no pain. Like we talked about euthanasia
(14:31):
means easy death and this process is relatively quick.
Your vet will verify that your dog's heart beat as stopped at
that point. You'll also typically put potty,
pads down for this process starts because when dogs pass
away, they can lose control of their bowels and it's just
easier to have potty pads that are so you're not Having to deal
(14:52):
with cleaning up a mess as you're dealing with this,
terrible moment in your life, the part that no one told me
about and I wasn't anticipating that ended up being kind of one
of the most difficult Parts was once buddy had passed, but it
was about 35 to 40 pounds. She had brought carrier kind of
a wagon type carrier to help, get him to the car to be taken
(15:14):
to be cremated. I had to help pick him up and
put him in that wagon. I know.
No one told me about that. I don't blame the vet by any
means. It's just one of those things I
didn't read anything about online and it hit different.
It was this moment of kind of realization.
I've been terribly sad and in shambles basically the whole
(15:37):
time but when that moment hit itwas, you know, it was more real.
And I just wanted to bring that up so that someone else can be
aware that that might be the case.
If your dog is over, you know, 20 25 pounds might need to help
with carrying your dog out. The car or into a stroller
whatever you know wagon your vetmay have brought to make that
happen. Our vet also gave us an
(15:58):
opportunity for our dogs to kindof say a goodbye.
They had just been sitting therethe whole time, not really doing
anything just kind of observing and it was interesting because
once buddy was in the wagon, they both kind of got more
interested in went out and sniffed and they both just kind
of barked. And it was a peaceful moment of
(16:18):
they're saying goodbye and they got that closure.
ER, then typically, you know, again, your vet will take, if
you're doing cremation, that we'll take the dog with them to
the Crematory, they'll typicallysend the ashes back to you, or
you may arrange to go, pick themup.
If you're doing a burial in yourhome or yard, you'll, you know,
of course, be in charge of that experience.
I want to talk a little bit about grief and the process of
(16:43):
losing a dog and I'm not a mental health expert, so I would
just recommend looking up the stages of grief.
Again, if you can research thesethings beforehand, it helps to
have them in your brain because and this day when it happens,
it's just a flood of emotions and pain and suffering, and it's
(17:04):
hard to think clearly at all. And the more you can kind of
prep yourself mentally and understand, you know, about the
stages of grief and and what that process looks like the
better off. Will be and I will say above all
in this instance, do as much as you can to get a support group
around you. You know, you may choose to do
(17:24):
the actual euthanasia experiencealone or just with, you know,
one or two close friends or family members try to have a
support group around you. People, you can call people, you
can talk to getting mental, professional help, super
important, if that's necessary for you and again don't discount
that this is death, this is grief, this is severe pain.
(17:46):
Pain and getting the help of of a professional is a great thing
to do and can help you in so many ways.
So I just highly recommend that and I'm not a mental health
professional, but I will say, let yourself feel whatever that
is there will be anger sadness, moments of Joy, remembering the
(18:09):
good memories, there will be pain.
There will be suffering like just let yourself feel and don't
Rush yourself into getting over it or being okay.
Because Your dog is a part of your life and their family and
they are with you every day. They're in your home every day
(18:30):
and for your dog, to no longer be with you.
It's terrible. And so let yourself feel it says
the worst episode ever had to do.
Sorry, it sucks. This is the worst.
But again, I want people to knowI want people to be able to have
the peaceful experience of Your dog being put to sleep at home
(18:51):
in the comfort of your home. So let's talk about some ways
you can memorialize your dog because again that's part of the
grieving process, it's part of the stages of grief.
So there's some ways you can memorialize your dog.
If you're just listening, I'm going to show some things that
you can see on YouTube. You can also go to the article
on the pup furred website, corresponds with this episode to
see pictures of what I'm talkingabout.
(19:13):
There's a few things you can do to memorialize your dog and
these are some things that I've done and others, that others are
recommended. The one thing if You choose to
have your dog cremated, you can get a decorative earn to
moralize your dog. This is what ours looks like for
buddy. It's a simple.
Nice, elegant box that has his ashes in it.
We keep an eye on her mantle. We have taken his ashes and
spread, some of his ashes. And some of his favorite places
(19:35):
parks, that he used to love mountains that we often explored
with him, different places that were important to him and us
together. It can be a nice way to
memorialize your dog, is being able to spread their ashes and
display them in your home. Another thing that you can do,
Is a shadow box, some people will put a picture of their dog,
or they'll put clippings of their dog's fur.
(19:57):
They might put, you know, a quote about their dog or
something funny, a funny story and even a paw print.
Our vet, who did our euthanasia for Buddy?
She brought a like, pop printingmold and right after he had
passed G pressed his paw into the mold and we're able to have
that with us, looks something like this.
(20:18):
There are a lot of different options.
Options, you can make things on your own.
You can go to places like Etsy or you know, find someone on
Instagram and makes these types of things.
You can also look at getting artwork done, you can do
clothing, you can do mugs, you know, nowadays you can put your
dog's face on pretty much anything.
It can be very nice to, you know, maybe find a local artist
or someone, you know, and commissioned them to make a
(20:39):
piece of art of your dog. We have one of all, three of our
dogs and it's nice. It's nice to have that piece
that memory of your dog if you have tattoos, Or are into
tattoos, you can get a tattoo ofyour dog.
Some people do paw prints, some people do a portrait, some
people do, their dog's name, thedate that they passed away the
day. They were born, you know,
(20:59):
there's a lot of different things that you can do.
I personally got a tattoo of Buddy on my wrist and I get to
see him every day and it's a wayfor me to in tough moments or,
you know, even moments outside of the pain of his passing just
to look down. And remember, Everybody and have
(21:20):
them be still kind of a part of my life permanently.
I'll just show this for those onvideo.
You can see my tattoo of buddy, I highly recommend it.
It was very therapeutic for me. I had a tattoo artist who
specialized in kind of dog tattoos at the time and it was a
great experience to kind of memorialize him on my body.
(21:42):
And again it's not for everyone,not Everyone likes tattoos or
has them, that's okay. Another thing you can do is a
photo album. This is one of my Pieces of kind
of Memorial that we did for buddy.
I reached out to family and friends and ask them to provide
a memory or a quote or an experience or something.
They loved about Buddy and I gathered photos and had it Bound
(22:07):
in a book with the quotes in this kind of story is there and
it's our buddy book and we get to read like look at it whenever
we want on display and people can look at the pictures and
it's a all way to commemorate your dog.
I use chat books for mine. This is what it looks like.
You know, you've got pictures and and quotes on some of the
(22:30):
pages, it's just it's a nice way.
Chapbooks chapbooks, makes it really easy to just upload your
pictures and add text where you want it and then you know just
pay and it's relatively cheap aswell.
Another nice way to memorialize a dog is with a necklace or
jewelry. There are Brands specifically on
Etsy and I'll link them in the blog post.
Down the pub for a website that will, you know, make kind of
(22:52):
mini urns that you can wear yourdog's ashes or they'll make
custom necklaces or rings, you know, other earrings jewelry
that you can again we're to commemorate your dog.
And I think it's important to memorialize our dogs.
And even when they're not with us here, physically, their
memory is always going to be with us.
(23:13):
So it's nice to kind of have those pieces that remind us of
them in the great memories that We've had to recap.
I highly recommend at home euthanasia.
When your dog is ready to be putto sleep.
I the experience I know it wouldnot have been as peaceful and
calm and generally positive if we would would have done it at a
(23:34):
vet's office, being able to be in control of the situation and
know that our dog was comfortable know that buddy was
around the people he cared aboutin a spot that was familiar with
him and he just was able to be at home and pass on.
At home with us. I cannot recommend this enough
for those who are having to makethis tough decision.
(23:56):
And again, I want to emphasize this decisions difficult and
it's one that should be taken lightly, but I hope that you can
think about your dog's well-being, as well as your own,
as you kind of come to this conclusion, and I hope that you
can choose at home euthanasia. If it's feasible for you.
If you have questions about this, I'm I wouldn't be happy to
(24:17):
try and answer as many as I can.The best place to probably get
those to me, would be going to the blog post about this topic
and leaving a comment, and I'll do my best to respond.
I just want to say one last point, about the passing of our
dogs. It's a terribly painful, and sad
and excruciating experience. It's one of the hardest things.
(24:37):
I've personally done in my life and I just hope us all as
parents dog lovers, we cherish our moments with our dogs.
It's easy to get frustrated. Dated, we talk a lot about
problem, behaviors and challenges on this podcast, but
remember that, as dark as this may sound, your dog won't be
(24:57):
here forever. You will likely outlive your dog
and while you will have the memories, they will not always
be with you. So when you finish this episode,
go cuddle, your dog, go snuggle your dog, give them love, give
them praise. Other than that, we'll catch you
on the next episode.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.