Euthanasia & Aftercare

Euthanasia – a very scary word for pet owners. When most people think of euthanasia, the thing that comes to mind is a needle with something in it that will cause the pet to die. What many people don’t realize is that it is not a painful death. On the contrary, it is a very humane and peaceful way to end a beloved pet’s suffering and poor quality of life. Poor quality of life is determined by exactly what the animal can’t do anymore (play, walk, or walk without severe pain, eat, drink, etc.), or a condition that is terminal and in the advanced stages. When those things happen, the pet goes into a depression, isolates itself, whines or cries (mostly due to pain), and is totally miserable. Animals don’t have quite the cognitive function as humans and have no one that can explain to them exactly why bad things are happening to them.

The word euthanasia comes from the Greek word “euthanatos” – “eu” meaning “good”, and “thanatos” meaning “death”. Euthanasia is performed by injecting a substance into a vein that is usually a very strong barbiturate called sodium pentobarbital. This is a controlled substance or narcotic that causes an animal to go quickly into a sleep state, or unconsciousness, thus the term “put to sleep”. Not a very accurate phrase, as some may think that the animal might wake up (especially children). This drug depresses the nervous system and induces anesthesia (unconsciousness). Quickly, the heart and breathing will start slowing down, until, within a few minutes or even seconds, they both stop. The breathing will stop before the heart. The doctor or certified technician will listen with a stethoscope to hear when the heart stops and record the exact time of death. This is a painless death, although the animal may experience “agonal” breaths (air leaves the lungs and passes by the larynx or voice box causing a sound), “paddling” of the feet, muscle twitching, defecation or urination due to relaxation of the muscles. All of these reactions are strictly involuntary. Owners who want to be with their pet at the time of euthanasia should be warned of those possibilities, as they can be disturbing. Euthanasia is certainly a gift we can give our pets as a means of “dying with dignity” when the time is right.

Aftercare is what is done with the pet after death, no matter the pet died. The most common way of handling the pet after death is cremation. Pet crematories will usually offer one of two options – either a group or communal cremation, where the pet is cremated with other pets and ashes are spread somewhere nice, or they can opt for a private cremation, where the owner receives the ashes of their pet back in a suitable container or urn. Private cremations are done individually in a crematory and receive a certificate of cremation, verifying that the cremains are indeed the pet of that family. At the Denver Pet Cemetery, where I am the marketing specialist, we spread most of the ashes from the group cremations (also called “cremains”) on our beautiful pet cemetery.

What few crematories offer is a place in which pets can be buried. Pets are usually not allowed into the same cemeteries as humans, so there is a need for this service. The Denver Pet Cemetery, located in Commerce City is one of few cemeteries in the state of Colorado that caters exclusively to pets. Our cemetery has been at its current location since 1939 and is a loving way to memorialize someone’s pet. There are plenty of people who do not agree with cremation and may want to opt for burial. Not as many people will bury their pets as opposed to cremating them, but it is a nice option for the pet owner. We have generations of pets from the same family all buried in a row in several instances. The pet does not have to be embalmed, but is placed into a pretty casket with a special blanket and pillow and receives a marker of choice with anything the owner might want to say on the marker. It is more costly to bury a pet as opposed to cremation, but it is a fraction of what it would cost for a human burial. We are open from dawn to dusk, so in your spare time, come by and walk the historic grounds. Most of our clientele are veterinary hospitals, but pet owners are welcome to come in on their own to arrange for their pet’s aftercare.

I have been a certified veterinary technician since 1996, so I understand how euthanasia and aftercare works, as I have performed euthanasia, had some of my pets euthanized, and have worked in the aftercare business.