We don’t want to think about it, but that doesn’t make it any less inevitable. One day, our dogs will cross over the rainbow bridge.
We hope that this day is well in the distant future and for incurable health reasons, not because we couldn’t afford treatment. (This is why I am a huge advocate for investing in pet insurance!) No matter the cause, eventually that fateful day will arrive.
Saying goodbye to your dog at the end of their life could very likely be the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do. Sadly, many dog owners find it too difficult a task and choose to not be in the room during their beloved pet’s final moments. According to one vet, this is a huge mistake.
When you are a pet owner it is inevitable, the majority of the time, that your pet will die before you do. So if and when you have to take your pet to the vet’s office for a humane pain-free ending I want you all to know something.
You have been the center of their world for THEIR ENTIRE LIVES!!!! They may just be a part of yours but all they know is you as their family. It is a crappy decision/day/time/event every time, there is no argument against that and it is devastating for us as humans to lose them. But please I beg you DO NOT LEAVE THEM. Do not make them transition from life to death in a room of strangers in a place they don’t like.
The thing you people need to know that most of you don’t is that THEY SEARCH FOR YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE THEM BEHIND!!!! They search every face in the room for their loved person. They don’t understand why you left them when they are sick, scared, old or dying from cancer and they need your comfort.
Don’t be a coward because you think it is just too hard for YOU, imagine what they feel as you leave them in their most vulnerable time and people like me are left to try our best every time to comfort them, make them less scared and try to explain why you just couldn’t stay.
– From a tired, broken-hearted vet
Related:
- Veterinarians Weigh In: Should You Get Pet Insurance?
- 10 Heartbreaking Life Lessons From a Grieving Doodle Mom
- Is Pet Insurance a Waste of Money?
