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It might be the last thing on the mind of a new puppy owner who is delighting in the exuberance of living with a boundlessly energetic and healthy dog.
Yet, time passes all too quickly and pets become old and sick. Veterinarian Mary Craig understands that side of the pet equation well. Her veterinary practice, Gentle Goodbye, focuses exclusively on end-of-life care for pets.
The end phase of a pets life is one we as veterinarians have struggled with, Craig said. Not unlike physicians who treat human beings, veterinarians, she said, Are trained to treat, to cure and to fix, so we often dont want to face the end of a patients life.
Because she has made end-of-life care the focus of her practice, Craig strives to make an inherently difficult experience somewhat easier for both pets and their owners. She does so through counseling and discussions, but she takes care to a different level by providing treatment to pets at home. This, she said, lessens the stress of ending a pets life, which often is during an extreme stage of sickness and immobility, in an examination room.
Craig said home visits create the best possible experience a client and patient can have. The somber moment of euthanization, said Craig, is something that does not fit easily between appointments with an itchy dog or having a cat vaccinated.
Craig grew up in St Paul, Minn. and lives in Stamford with her husband, Michael, her dog, Guinness, and her cat, Pixel. She said it is difficult to imagine her life without animals in it every day.
When I was in college, I lived for a year in the dorms and missed having pets so much that I bought a big plant just to have another living thing in the room to come home to. Needless to say, it wasn't the same as a living and breathing animal, she said.
Living with companion animals of any kind ultimately means facing their demise. If the animals life is coming to an obvious end whether from sickness or old age a pet owner must face the daunting and emotional decision about how to help end their pets life humanely.
Its all about quality of life, said Craig about a concept that also includes the physical, emotional and psychological needs of the pet and owner.
As I talk to clients about their aging pets, I make it clear there is a time before which it would be too soon, and there will come a point where a pets suffering requires euthanasia, but between those two points there is a period where its more subjective, she said
At the end of a pets life, Craig said one of the most valuable things a pet owner can understand and what she helps them recognize is to acknowledge their grief from their loss, which is a significant one. She also encourages them to tell and listen to stories about the life of their pet, as well as to let themselves feel sadness regarding their loss to not minimize the significance of it.
Allowing one self to mourn the death of a pet, Craig said, is an important step in the grieving process. Saying goodbye to a pet will never be easy but doing so in a pets favorite sunny spot in the living room, among his or her family members, is a respectful and humane way in which to experience it.
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