It can be hard to know when the time is right to humanely euthanize a beloved pet. If you have any questions regarding your pet’s health or the process, please contact us. Often, we have been closely associated with you and your pet and can help you with this decision or provide further medical advice.

At Salmon River Mobile Veterinary Clinic, our vets offer quality-of-life assessments to help pet parents make informed and compassionate decisions. While the final choice is up to you, we will help you better understand your pet’s current situation and whether they are suffering.

First, decide whether you would like to be present during the procedure. As difficult as it may be to watch, remember that your presence will be a comfort in your pet’s final moments. Also, decide if you would like family members or friends to be present. This can often be a frightening and confusing procedure for children, so if you decide children will be present, we ask you to please try to prepare them as much as possible.

Second, plan in advance for your pet’s after care. We are currently unable to accommodate options for your pet’s remains. If cremation is your desire, there may be options available with nearby providers of these services. If we are performing the euthanization at one of our mobile locations or inside our mobile truck, you will want to bring a blanket or towel to wrap your pet’s remains in for transport to your home. Many clients bring a box or favorite pet bed. It is completely up to you, but please be prepared to take your pet’s remains with you.

You and your family can have your pet comfortable and situated prior to our arrival, or you can bring them into our mobile clinic. Depending on your pet’s condition, they will typically receive an initial injection of a sedative to help them relax, minimize stress, and remain pain-free. The sedative can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to take full effect and often causes pets to peacefully fall asleep.

Once your pet is relaxed and comfortable, an overdose of an anesthetic will be given intravenously either through a catheter or direct needle injection. The anesthetic travels quickly throughout the bloodstream, causing quick sedation, unconsciousness, and a painless cardiac arrest which results in death. This typically occurs within 30 seconds to 1 minute.

If vascular access is not obtainable, the injection can be delivered within a body cavity. This is often the only option with very small animals, pocket pets, and exotics. Passing will take longer using this route, however, it is as painless as intravenous injection. After the injection, death will be confirmed using a stethoscope, and a verbal confirmation of passing will be conveyed to you.

There are some post-death events that can occur and are completely normal. These include: loss of urinary bladder or bowels, agonal breathing (resembles gasping for breath), sighing or vocalization as air is expelled from the lungs, and muscle twitching. These are all normal occurrences and do not indicate any form of pain or stress as the animal has already passed. There are merely the body’s natural post-mortem reflexes.