Things to Consider
Things to consider prior to our appointment:
What can we do to make this easier for you, Dr. Megan?
Food and Water
- If your pet is eating, please save
some extra yummy treats for when I am there. Distracting your pet with a
delicious treat is a wonderful way to help me when administering sedation/anesthesia.
- Do not
give them food or water if they are vomiting.
- Give them all the treats, but try
to keep in mind the amount of food and treats. I have come to homes where
families give their pets so much food that their bellies are distended and they are very uncomfortable. High volumes of unfamiliar food can sometimes cause
your pet to vomit prior to our appointment or while I am giving the sedation.
- You can offer your doggie
chocolate. I recommend Reese’s peanut butter cups for two reasons. First, Reese's are the best candy in the world, and everyone should have the opportunity to try a Reese’s peanut butter cup. Second, since it has peanut
butter, your doggie is more likely to scarf it down than to take a piece
of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate or something similar. Many times, they look at it
confused since they have never had chocolate before.
Medications
You can give medications as directed. If your pet struggles with taking medication, they are fine to skip unless they are necessary in keeping your pet comfortable until my arrival.
CBD given within 30 days of our appointment can affect the drugs a little bit, but I have learned how to compensate for CBD. I will discuss this further with you at our appointment. There is no need to avoid or stop CBD prior to our appointment.
Where in the house?
Our appointment should be wherever your pet is most comfortable. This is completely up to you, your family, and your pet. I have no preference and will work around you. Here are some things to consider.
- Sometimes families want to say goodbye outside, which, for the most part, is lovely, but consider the weather. If it is 105 outside, raining or cold, your pet will not be comfortable, and the heat can make them very stressed during our appointment.
- With cats, if they don’t normally
go outside on a routine basis, taking them outside for their final day can
cause them to panic and reduce the tranquility of our appointment.
- Do not create a new space for our appointment. If your pet does not normally sleep in a bed on the coffee table, then that is not where we should be. Do not create a 'throne,' as I like to say - keep it normal. I have been in closets, behind couches, under a pool table, in the bed of a pickup truck, in a bedroom on the bed, and many other places because this is the pet’s happy place. Let’s have our appointment there. If your pets favorite place is in bed in front of the fireplace, then leave the bed there. Please don’t feel like you need to move your pets bed to make it more convenient for me. Do not worry about me, I will work with any situation. If it is just not possible, I will let you know, and we will come up with a good solution, but I don’t think that has ever happened.
I don’t want to cry in front of you or my pet:
Please don’t worry about this; I hold zero judgment. We all grieve differently. As for your pet, they know you are sad; they know all the emotions in your head, whether you show them or not. Don’t worry, they don’t know why you are sad; they just know you are sad and may want to comfort you.
Payment
I prefer to take payment at the beginning of our appointment. Obviously, this is something I do not want to ask for after. Also, I can take payment in advance, but due to the nature of my service, making payments far in advance may require a refund. If a credit card is used, the refund amount will be less than the original amount due to processing fees.
If I am taking your pet for cremation
If possible, try to have a place near your house open for me to park, an open driveway is ideal. I ask this to help maintain you and your pet's privacy when transporting your pet to and from my car. If I'm taking your pet for cremation-- I am not taking your pet to and from the car, just to the car. It is okay to send your pet on their favorite blanket. If it's a small dog or kitty, they can also be sent in their bed, but large dog beds are too cumbersome and do not fit in my car well. Large dog beds also make it more difficult to move large dogs.
Can I have friends and family over during the appointment?
You can have anyone you wish present, but I would recommend keeping the number of people to a minimum, and only those you are very close with and can be emotional around. I have had situations where there are so many people there that it becomes a spectacle instead of a loving moment with your pet. Sometimes people there want to talk about their pet or a pet they lost, and it really takes the moment away from you and your pet. I think the smaller and more private our appointment can be, the better.
Other pets
- This first point is, to me,
the most important. If your transitioning pet is used to your other pets being
around, please keep them with us. I don’t want your transitioning pet to be
wondering why their buddy is locked in the room or outside.
- Do I think that having
other pets present or showing your other pets the transitioned pet after helping them understand loss? I feel there is no good answer to this question, as we cannot talk to them about their feelings, and we are not even sure what feelings they
experience. Most of the time, because my process is so peaceful, the other pets
do not seem to register what is going on. If your pets are not present but you want them to come see your transitioned pet, let me step outside first, as I am often a huge distraction. In other words, do I think it helps? I am not
sure. Do I think it hurts? No, so please give your pets the opportunity to be
present and say goodbye if you want, or don’t. It is totally up to you.
- If your old doggie is going
to be constantly harassed by the new puppy, then the new puppy may need to sit
this out.
- If your other pets are
going to be so excited that I am there and I cannot comfort and give your
transitioning pet all my attention, they can definitely say “hi” when I get
there, but they may need to go outside after introductions.
- Also, if your pets are going to be very excited to see me and want to jump all over me, please have them on a leash or under control. Unfortunately, I have had too many occasions where dogs are jumping all over me, and I have had ripped clothes or mud all over me, which is tough because I usually don’t have time to go home and change.
- If you have pets that are aggressive to humans or to your pet I am helping that day, please have them secured and out of sight before I arrive so that our appointment starts on the right foot.
Aggressive pets:
If your pet is not a fan of strangers, please let me know ahead of time. There are many options and actions we can take to make this an incredibly smooth transition. Don’t be embarrassed, and I promise I won’t judge you. I am here to help you and your pet get through this as peacefully as possible.
