Home Pet Euthanasia:

Pet euthanasia is the act of painlessly and humanely terminating the life of your pet. The Greek translation of euthanasia literally means ‘good death’. There are various places where this can be practiced like veterinarian clinics, animal shelters or at home. The methods used when practicing euthanasia are aimed at causing the least amount of pain distress and discomfort to your pet. When practiced at home on one’s pet, euthanasia is referred to by euphemisms like ‘putting to sleep’, ‘laying down’, ‘putting down’ or ‘putting out of its misery’.

Some of the reasons why euthanasia is practiced is if you have an aging pet who is unable to enjoy life the way it used to, or if your pet is suffering from a terminally ill condition or has been injured severely such that even after recovery it will not be able to live a full and comfortable life. Other reasons include rabies, unnatural aggressiveness and violence. Also if your pet has been involved in causing another human a serious or fatal injury, then owners opt to put them down or may be required to do so by the law.

Choosing to practice pet euthanasia in one’s home at times seems right for what can be an extremely emotional experience. When practiced in its own home, the pet is more relaxed and at ease with its surroundings. It also gives the owner privacy and a chance to come to terms with the grief for what can be a fairly emotional time. At times opting to practice euthanasia in the confines of one’s home can work out to be more economical than in a hospital or clinic. Euthanasia can either be done by the pet’s owner at home itself if trained correctly or by a veterinarian. At times there are other groups or people trained to perform this service at home for you. When done by a veterinarian, the first step is to inject the pet with a tranquilizing drug. This puts the animal into a deep and irreversible coma. It allows the owner a chance to say goodbye before the final injection is administered. This next intravenous injection leads to respiratory and cardiac arrest. Thus death comes painlessly and quickly. The other ways to practice euthanasia include shooting. This is particularly in the case of large animals. For small animals like rabbits, their necks can be snapped and instant death can then occur when done the right way. Many owners can opt to either cremate the pet’s remains or bury them. There are special funeral homes that can perform these services if required.

Putting Pets to Sleep:

Sometimes the kindest gesture one can make for a pet that is grievously ill or seriously injured and can never regain a good life is to consider euthanasia. Euthanasia can literally be defined as peaceful death. It is the act of humanely and painlessly inducing death or allowing death to occur by withholding the medications and measures that are sustaining life. Establishing the right time or making the right decision is always hard. Sometimes euthanasia is practiced if the pet has become vicious or dangerous and is displaying unusually unmanageable and abnormal characteristics. If a pet is involved in causing grievous injury or death to a human then euthanasia is practiced. Normally if your pet can not enjoy its life the way it used because of a debilitating condition or is unable to respond to you the way it used to then it may be another reason. This is so especially in the case of terminally ill pets. Other causes can include rabies or old age. Letting the veterinarian evaluate your pet’s health, estimate its chances to recover and lead a normal life, can help in the decision process. Discuss all surgical options or medical ones and what the outcomes would be. You can also discuss the possibilities and effects of long term disabilities and problems. Sometimes your family members along with friends and the veterinarian can help you weigh the options and take the decision.

Euthanasia for pets is normally practiced by injecting a drug that induces death. If done by a veterinarian, the first step might be to administer a tranquilizing drug. This helps to relax the pet. Next the injection administering the euthanasia drug will cause the animal to fall unconscious. This is irreversible. Death then follows fast and painlessly. Sometimes for large animals shooting is the preferable option to an injection. Gas anesthesia is sometimes used when practicing euthanasia on very small animals.  At other times, cervical dislocation is a common method used to kill small animals like the rabbit. Here the neck is snapped from the spine. When done correctly it leads to death instantly. If the animal is small, then euthanasia is practiced in a hospital, veterinary clinic or in an animal home. At times, workers in an animal shelter are also trained to practice euthanasia. At other times, it can be practiced by the veterinarian in the pet’s home itself. This is normally the case for larger animals. The exception being when horses injured in a race or hunt need to be put down immediately. There are funeral homes for pets that specifically take care of cremation or burial of the pet’s remains, if required by the owner.