How to Care and Support a Dying Animal
Not a very comfortable topic, and for me reading this as it may happen for you, it left me questioning some of the decisions I made around my pets deaths.
Not in a bad way, but with an open mind, and a soft heart. For me what wasn't addressed so clearly, was the pain concept.
I so very clearly remember Zoey's death, and we had wanted an in home euthanasia, but it wasn't to be had. Her timing was on a very busy Saturday, and quite frankly our vet clinic, couldn't support the absence of one of the busy vets that would do in home euthanasia.
Questions remain in my mind. Zoey was at peace laying on the blanket with myself and my pack all around her. It was a magical time, soft air and warm for that time of year. While her breathing was not too stressed at all, when the time came to leave for the clinic, she would not get up for my husband - it hurt her to move! She how-ever went with me, every step a little painfull gasp, she would not use our pulley cart, getting her up into the car - more pain - and out of the car more pain.
Would she have died later that day - peacefully on her blanket with her family surrounding her with love? IDK. The thought of her being in pain, was just too too scarey for me, pain that we could not relieve.
I spent the previous night up with her, giving her Reiki treatments and very gentle massage - I slept when she slept.
I think she was ready to go that day - and she might have preferred to do it at home. If there were an option with dogs that are terminal to put in some sort of medical gizmo, that if and when the time came, we could turn up the pain meds, and allow her to slip away, I think we would have made that choice.
This is a very hard subject to talk about - there are few vets well versed in the subject and my understanding is that it is not even a part of the teaching curriculum.
Death is the natural conclusion to life. And yet we know so little about it. We have no milestones - that we can look at and say to ourselves - awh here we are ...and here is what maybe next.
I remember taking my Dad off his ventilator, somehow I thought death would be rather soon - instead it was about 12 hours later - the hospital had moved him out of his ICU room when I had gone out for supper - I came back to trying to find out where he was. He was put onto the general floor - terrible place to die. They had lost all the little memories of home and flowers and such that I had had all around him in his ICU room, as well as the portable radio, with CD's of his favourite artists. I was very angry about that, and did not want to take the time, and/or had the energy to go back home and re-collect some things. He died in a sterile room, with-in a stressed environment and only myself there to be with him.