Pet Bereavement – Saying Goodbye To A Pet During COVID-19

Pet bereavement, and how to say goodbye to your pet during COVID-19

One of the hardest and most emotional decisions that any pet owner faces is pet bereavement having put their companion to sleep. The ongoing social distancing guidelines from the COVID-19 pandemic have made this process even harder.

Veterinary practices and hospitals, like everyone else, have had to introduce new procedures to ensure protection for staff and clients. This situation has led many vets to look at different ways in which they can provide their services.

Guidance & Protection Measures

Health guidance from the Government states that there is no conclusive evidence of coronavirus in animals. So, protection measures are aimed at clients and staff, not pets. These measures include:

• Clarifying a client’s medical status before visiting the vet.
• Briefing clients remotely on what to expect when they come to the practice.
• Limiting visit to a single client.
• Clients are required to wear protective face coverings.
• Clients are expected to wait outside the treatment room or outside the practice.
• Remote payment.
• Remote prescription & medication
• Strict timings to limit contact with other clients.
• Curbside treatment

In some larger practices and hospitals, they offer ‘curbside’ treatment. With this option, a staff member will meet the client at their vehicle and bring the pet into the practice for the procedure.

Facilitating A peaceful goodbye

The measures listed above are practical and necessary for safeguarding staff and clients during this uncertain time. However, putting your pet to sleep is such a massive and devastating event. Saying goodbye is something that owners and loved ones struggle with, in any situation. Having to do this from their vehicle at the side of the road is heart-breaking

Euthanasia translates from the Latin for ‘good death.’ Many vets are doing everything they can to make sure that your pet’s passing can happen in a dignified way. Most if not all practices are not allowing entry to the premises under any circumstances.

Veterinary staff are required to wear protective equipment and thoroughly cleanse the practice on completion. These clinical measures are essential to protect staff and clients from possibly transmitting the virus. However, they do not make an already difficult time any easier on the owner or loved ones. It also may be a stressful experience for your pet, at a time when we would like them to relax and stay close to the people they love.

Pet Bereavement – Saying Goodbye in a dignified way

Providing a euthanasia service during this time of the pandemic presents a difficult dilemma for vets. Cloud 9 Vets ensure there is closeness, care and compassion during the euthanasia process, providing a loving and peaceful goodbye, without compromising social distancing and safety for the vet and the pet owner.

The process is gentle for your loving pet and the only thing they feel is a tiny pinprick as we administer the sedative, usually in the back of the neck. When the vet gives sedation they should be able to move away and you can comfort your pet as they gently drift into a sedated sleep.

Carrying out this compassionate procedure in the familiar and secure surroundings of your own home will save your pet from any undue stress of having to travel. Under present guidelines, such a visit would be even more agonising for pets and owners alike, even with all the fantastic work vets are doing to minimise the impact of COVID19.

Following the procedure, we can help you with how you want to lay your pet to rest. If it is convenient for you to take care of things yourself, that is fine. However, if you need assistance with any aspect of aftercare, we are available to assist you.

These are challenging times for everyone. Being able to provide a caring and loving goodbye without compromising safety is something that Cloud 9 Vets have worked very hard to achieve, making sure you say the respectful and dignified goodbye to your pet companion that you need to do.

If you have any queries about the pet bereavement pet euthanasia process or the cost of putting your pet to sleep, please get in touch with us.