Even under the best circumstances, a pet’s life is too short. It’s a difficult subject, but one every pet owner must face eventually. As the end of your pet’s life approaches, whether due to illness or old age, you might be contemplating some difficult choices

Palliative care focuses on making pet’s as comfortable as possible and improving their quality of life as they near the end of their lives. It starts when the focus shifts from trying to treat an illness or extend the length of a pet’s life to helping the pet stay happy and comfortable while nature takes its course.

Hospice generally takes over when palliative care measures lose effectiveness and the dog’s ability to enjoy life begins to rapidly decline. With pet’s, hospice typically seeks to provide relief from suffering and involves providing comfort for both the pet and family members through the euthanasia process.

We can provide a quality-of-life scale to help you evaluate your pet’s level of pain and their ability to derive enjoyment from life. Ultimately, the final decision will come down to your personal beliefs and how well you know your pet.

Remember this difficult decision is being made to ease your pets’ suffering rather than your own feelings. We usually recommend that you stay with your pet during the process, both as comfort to their pets as well as some form of closure.