Euthanasia
No one ever wants to say goodbye to a pet. However, since their lives are so much shorter than ours, facing a pet’s final moments is inevitable for most pet parents, and the decisions at the end of a pet’s life can be some of the most difficult for a pet’s family to make.
As your pet nears the final stages of life, our compassionate team at Bramalea Animal Hospital will be with you every step of the way to offer you guidance, advice, and support and to provide your beloved pet with comfort, peace, and dignity.
What Is Palliative Care?
Palliative care, also sometimes called end-of-life care, is the veterinary care that we provide a pet who is approaching the end of their life or has been diagnosed with a terminal illness or injury, a condition that cannot be cured and that will lead to the end of a pet’s life.
Palliative care is not intended to be curative but rather to relieve pain, provide a pet with comfort, and improve their quality of life during their final months, weeks, days, or moments. Palliative care includes treatments like pain medications, fluid therapy, nutritional support, and more.
What Is Euthanasia?
Euthanasia comes from the Greek words for good and death, and it’s intended to limit suffering and allow pets to pass away peacefully with dignity, comfort, and peace.
How to Know When Palliative Care or Euthanasia Is the Right Choice for Your Pet
We recommend providing pets with palliative care as long as it is helping them maintain some quality of life. Euthanasia is typically recommended when a pet’s quality of life begins to diminish significantly due to suffering.
Signs of diminishing quality of life include:
- Difficulty breathing
- Extreme pain and lethargy
- Inability to move around
- Loss of bowel control
- No longer eating or drinking
- Social isolation and withdrawing from the family
Making decisions at the end of a pet’s life can be extremely difficult. Our veterinarians and pet care team will be here for you every step of the way.
At Bramalea Animal Hospital, We're Here for You!
When a pet is nearing the end of their life, their health and condition can sometimes shift rapidly. If at any time, you have questions for our veterinarian or feel concerned about your pet’s condition and quality of life, we sincerely welcome you to contact our office.
We can talk with you about your observations of your pet and provide you with ongoing advice and guidance every step of the way to help you make the most compassionate choices on behalf of your dear pet.
