Euthanasia with Paws to Sleep
What will actually happen?
You can be with your pet for the whole process or for as much or as little as you wish. Some guardians say goodbye at the start or once the pet is sedated, others want to stay with their pet 'til the process of passing over is complete, or sometimes people move to the next room at some point during the process. There is no wrong or right. Just whatever feels right for you. Below we describe the gentle process for anyone wanting to know more about what will happen.
SEDATION
Dogs and cats are first gently sedated.
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A small injection is administered to assist your pet to lie down which will take effect after approximately 5-10 minutes; sometimes an additional injection is needed to get a deeper sedation.
EUTHANASIA
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With dogs, either a catheter is introduced into the back foot or we may access a vein on a front leg; their coat will need to be clipped to allow for this.
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Cats usually receive an injection into the abdomen but we may need to clip hair to access a vein on a front leg
... all options allow you to remain at the head of your pet or hold them to say your final goodbyes.
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With rabbits, a local anaesthetic cream is used on the ear followed by an injection into the ear.
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In all cases, once a vein is secured, the injection that is given next works very quickly and painlessly to stop the heart beating.
Virtually all pets go through this process very peacefully. Occasionally, there will be some panting and heavy breathing, but this is a normal part of the process. The vet will listen to the chest to ensure the heart has stopped. It is important to note that during this process, your pet may urinate or defecate; this is again all part of the normal process of the body letting go. It is also worth noting that the eyes usually stay open (this surprises a lot of people).
It's not always a smooth process in all cases. Sometimes it is difficult to secure a vein and we have to attempt this at several sites, and sometimes we need to find an alternative route, but this is very rare. It's worth noting that in cases with heart disease or breathing difficulties , the sedation process can be more difficult and getting as deep a sedation as usual may not be possible. All cases are tailored to whatever is needed based on the history and whatever we are presented with, but the main focus being that the process is peaceful for the pet.
Once complete, you decide how long you would like your companion to stay with you. Some prefer to have their pet’s body removed straight away, some after a few moments or a few hours and some prefer to wait until the following day. This is entirely your decision.
NOTE: Occasionally, we need to do a home visit to a dog who is anxious about people or injections. Please let us know if this is the case and we may be able to provide some medication to give to your dog at the start of our visit, and without your dog knowing we are outside. This is a gel, administered orally into the cheek or it can be a paste put into food. If your dog gets very upset when we enter the home, it will be difficult for us to administer our injectable sedatives and there is less chance that these will be effective, so it’s better if they are calmed before we come in in these cases. If you think this may be an issue, please contact us to discuss prior to booking. We are able to support with euthanasia of dogs with bite history and it is very supportive for these cases to have an oral sedation before we enter and we ask that they are muzzled throughout the process.