How Will I Know It’s Time to Say Goodbye?
You don’t have to make this decision alone. Our quality-of-life resources can help you and your veterinarian navigate this last stage of life and determine what’s best for your beloved pet.
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Quality-of-Life Scale
Use this helpful tool to help to evaluate your pet and provide it to your veterinarian, aiding the conversation about quality of life.
Additional Quality-of-Life Tools
Answer some questions about your pet's mental and physical health to receive a quality-of-life score and recommended next steps.
Pet Loss Support Resource Center
We know how hard it is to cope with the loss of a pet, so we're here for you during this devastating time. Explore some of Lap of Love's pet loss support resources and discover the best ways to begin processing your painful loss.
Our dedicated Support Center is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including weekends and holidays. We are here to answer questions and schedule appointments.
Assessing Quality of Life
Every caregiver wants to ensure their pet is having more good days than bad. The best way to do that is to regularly assess your pet’s quality of life and look for trends. The assessment is subjective and dependent on your pet’s specific condition, personality, and your own beliefs. Because they cannot tell us how they feel, our assessments are often subjective. However, when monitored over time, the changes to your pet’s quality of life provide a measurement to help you act in their best interest.
Conducting a quality-of-life assessment on a regular basis will help you:
- Monitor your pet’s physical health and happiness
- Identify signs that your pet is struggling
- Track symptom progression over time
- Share important information with your veterinarian
- Avoid prolonged suffering or an emergency situation
- Facilitate an educated decision about euthanasia that fits your and your pet’s needs
Pain and anxiety
Pain is one of the most important topics that we discuss in veterinary hospice care because nobody wants their pet to experience pain. Dogs and cats can experience emotion—and pain is an emotion. Pain is not only how it “feels,” but how it makes the pet feel. Many pets with chronic pain will hide, stop interacting with family members, and avoid the things that used to make them happy. Animals live in the moment so every day needs to be good; they cannot hope that tomorrow will be better. For them, it’s all about “how I feel now.” Anxiety can be as bad—or even worse—than pain for some pets.
Anxiety is a form of emotional pain and may be a result of fear or isolation. It’s well-recognized in humans that pain increases anxiety and anxiety increases pain. It’s an escalating cycle and there’s no reason to believe it’s different for pets.
Waiting too long
Pet parents tend to choose euthanasia sooner after experiencing multiple pet losses. First-time pet owners often wait until the last moment, fearing they might act prematurely. Regret often follows as they reflect on unnecessary medical procedures that did not improve their pet’s quality of life. Learning from this, many decide to say goodbye earlier in subsequent situations, guided by the belief that acting sooner rather than later can prevent unnecessary suffering.
What about a natural death?
Many of us hope that our pet passes peacefully in their sleep. Unfortunately, this rarely happens. The length of an unassisted passing depends on the specific diagnosis and symptoms. A natural death is seldom a swift, solitary event and Mother Nature doesn’t necessarily have a better, less painful plan. If euthanasia is not chosen, pets must receive intensive home care that keeps them comfortable, much like hospice care for people. Euthanasia, which means “good death,” is an option that ensures our pets drift off, surrounded by their loved ones, and don’t wake up. Many veterinary professionals consider this the greatest gift we can offer a struggling pet.
Weigh your options carefully
While our philosophy at Lap of Love centers around a pet’s quality of life, we also focus on their quality of death, which is just as important. Waiting until the last minute to say goodbye may lead to an emergency and unnecessary stress and suffering for your pet. Opting for a peaceful, loving, end-of-life experience requires planning, with the goal of preventing suffering before it occurs. It also allows you to say goodbye on you and your pet’s terms, including where it will happen. Remember, you aren’t making this decision alone, your veterinarian is here to guide and support you!