What to do when your pet dies?

R

Rose65

Well-known Member
Location
United Kingdom
Our family dog is getting old and obviously weaker by the day. We dread the end so much, it could happen unexpectedly at home.
However, it is better to have a contingency plan. I have found a local pet cremation service with excellent reviews and that is where ours will go. It means individual cremation and ashes back, done compassionately with a family run business. I don't want to leave it to the vets, especially with their appallingly high charges for everything.

So what have pet owners here done when pets, especially cats and dogs have passed away? Any advice appreciated, especially my worry of what to do if our dog dies at night or out of hours.
 

We eventually had to have our darling Kelpie cross, Bill, put down because of an aggressive cancer. The vet came to our house and gave an
injection into his paw, and he was gone in a couple of minutes. My husband had prepared a large hole in the ground, and the vet told us to wait
a couple of hours and then wrap him in a large blanket and then bury him.
 
I live on a farm so I have a Pet Sematary- spelling intended.

Losing a pet is never easy but, given your worries, you might consider letting your dog “go on” a few days too soon rather than wait until the dog is suffering. Most areas have 24/7 emergency animal clinics, if you want to start searching for one, buy my experience was that it cost me triple to have my kitty PTS’d.

As with @oscash , my 125# Rottweiler had bone cancer and the vet came to our farm, where she is laid to rest.

I think the cremation is a great idea, just please don’t try to hang on once your dog starts to really go downhill. It deserves to be at peace sooner, if at all possible.
 

My tiny chihuahuas were both buried in the yard. One died naturally, the other was humanely euthanized at age 17.

My husband’s 60 pound mix was also humanely euthanized. Out vet partners with a cremation service. For a fee, we had the option of getting ashes back and a variety of urns, paw print plaque etc, or no ashes returned, after the cremation.

We chose the latter, so once Racer was euthanized, we left his body with the vet, took his collar and a clipping of hair, and I made a framed remembrance of him with those things and a couple of favorite pictures. I bought the specialized frame from Amazon.
 
During my entire life span any pets that have died were buried on the property. I've never had a pet cremated nor have I built boxes to bury them in, typically I'll wrap them in a blanket for burial, then mark the grave with a large stone.
 
I've buried my pets (whom I think of as family). Digging the grave, laying their bodies into it, shoveling the earth over them and placing a permanent grave marker were all acts of closure as I said goodbye to my friends. Seeing the graves now gives me a feeling of fondness and gratitude for having known them.
 
yes all of our dogs have beeen cremated and we got the ashes in beautiful urns, and then buried them in the garden. Two years ago my daughter lost 2 of her dogs in the same day.... it was horrendous, she's still not able to talk about it even now.. 2 years on...

this is my gorgeos grandfurkid Scruffy buried in my garden...

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...and these were our gorgeous 2 that died together.... 2 years ago...aged 14 and 15...

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Teacher Terry said:
@hollydolly , I can’t even imagine losing two dogs in the same day. How heartbreaking for your daughter. It sounds like those two dogs were soulmates and so they went together. I guess that’s the only consolation in that horrible day.
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you're right that's all we hang onto, that the 2 ''brothers' lived and died together ...I still cry now as I am as I type this.. over them because they were such sweet dogs, the best, and their deaths were so sudden and unexpected .....and I hope they are playing together over Rainbow bridge with their big brother Scruffy as they always did in life..

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I "only" had a bird (dove) for 10 years, but she meant as much to me as any pet could. When I knew the end was close, I prepared a burial container [I used a heavy plastic shoe box] and a clean cloth to wrap her in, and kept it in the closet.

Then, I gathered information about the pet cemetery about 40 miles away, and contacted the cemetery owner with specific questions I had before hand. When she died, I called him and he met me the next morning at the cemetery, and I was present when he buried her. About 6 weeks later, he erected a small marble monument with her name on it. The charge for everything was $200.00.

I sometimes visit her grave.
 
astralcat said:
My present cat is in kidney failure, stage 2. When the time comes, I was thinking of having someone come to my home rather than taking her to a vet's office. She doesn't need that extra stress.
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I’ve had my last four dogs put to sleep at home and it was much nicer for the dogs. They were not stressed out at all and sat in my lap while that happened. It cost twice as much here to have it done at home but it’s been worth every dime to me.
 
We've only had cats and we've lost many. Only one, Milo, died peacefully at the house. He was laying in the family room and I told hubby to say goodbye before he went to bed because I could see the signs. He was gone in the morning. We had him cremated.

Our other cats we've had euthanized at the vet, cremated and we've kept the ashes. Our 6-year old cat, Toby, passed away several years ago due to severe asthma. We'd taken him to the vet and had him treated. It was a Saturday and I watched him panting for air on the arm of the couch. The vet was closed so we had to take him to a 24 hour operation to be euthanized. Not only did they cremate him they made a plaster cast of his paw print and provided it to us. I still walk by and touch it every now and then.

Sorry, I'm choking up just writing this. Every loss of a pet is devastating and takes so long to move past.

This in remembrance of Toby, who died way to soon.

Toby 1.jpg
 
There are several cats buried in the back yard here, each one more precious than the other. I have the ashes of my last wonderful kitty here with me. Years ago we moved from New Haven shortly after the death of our orange sweetheart, Pumpkin. He is buried there in the back yard under a clump of lavender. I wish he were here with the others.
 
Every single night I say a prayer for my beloved pets that have passed on. Almost all of them are buried on our property in various special places. But I am sure they are still here in spirit. I can feel them sometimes, it's quite powerful. When I leave this world we will be united again...
 

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