Quality of Life and After Care
It is never easy to look at your beloved family member and know that their health is declining. It can be difficult to know at what point you need make the decision to allow them to pass with grace and dignity.
Sometimes this decision is very sudden and unexpected where your pet is in an emergent condition and other times they have an illness that is gradually slowing them down or causing physical/mental changes.
There is no defined “right time” as it differs depending on individual circumstances; however there are ways to determine what that looks like for your pet. Quality of Life is extremely important and will sometimes help to give facts over emotion.
What is Quality of Life?
Quality of life is defined by their overall physical and mental well-bring. Try asking yourself questions such as:
- Are they able to still enjoy their favourite activities?
- Are they eating and/or interested in eating their food?
- Are they comfortable? As pets age they may need some medications to help with pains associated with age related medical conditions. Are these medications keeping them at a comfortable level?
Dr Alice Villalobos, the veterinarian who started “Pawspice”, a quality of life program for terminal pets, has published a scoring system to help pet parents work through making the difficult decision. The “HHHHHMM” scale stands for Hurt, Hunger, Hydration, Hygiene, Happiness, Mobility and More Good Days than Bad. When using this scale, score patients using a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest quality of life.
| Score | Criterion |
| 1-10 | HURT- Adequate pain control, including breathing ability, is first and foremost on the scale. Is the pet’s pain successfully managed? Is oxygen necessary? |
| 1-10 | HUNGER- Is the pet eating enough? Does hand feeding help? Does your pet require medical intervention with a feeding tube? |
| 1-10 | HYDRATION-Is your pet dehydrated? For pets not drinking enough are they getting subcutaneous once or twice a day to supplement fluid intake? |
| 1-10 | HYGIENE-Your pet should be brushed and cleaned, particularly after each pottying. Avoid pressure sores if they are not very mobile by assuring clean and padded bedding is used and rotate throughout the day on which side they are laying on. |
| 1-10 | HAPPINESS- Does your pet express joy and interest? Are they responsive to things around them(family, toys, etc) Are they depressed, lonely, anxious, bored or afraid? Can their bed to close to family activities and not be isolated? |
| 1-10 | MOBILITY- Can your pet get up without assistance? Does your pet need human or mechanical help? (Cart, wagon, wheelchair) Does the pet feel like going for a walk or enjoying walks still? Are they having seizures or stumbling? |
| 1-10 | MORE GOOD DAYS THAN BAD- When bad days outnumber good days, quality of life may be compromised. When a healthy human/animal bond is no longer possible, it is good to be aware that their time to pass over is near. The decision needs to be made if your pet Is suffering so that they are able to pass peacefully and painlessly. |
| Total | A total over 35 points represent acceptable life quality. |
This information in the chart above was adapted from Villalobos, A.E., Quality of Life Scale Helps Make Final Call, VPN, 09/2004, for Canine and Feline Geriactric Oncology Honoring the Human-Animal Bond, by Blackwell Publishing, Table 10.1, released 2006.
A simple way to complete a quality of life assessment is by making a list as a family, typically 10-20 favourites, of some of your pet’s favourite things to do. If your pet is able to do more than half of these things on a given day, that would be considered a good day. If they are not, then it would be considered a bad day.
Mark on a calendar with a “smiley face” for good days and a “sad face” for bad days and review at the end of each week. If there are more bad days than good days it can be determined that their quality of life is declining.
Your personal mental, physical and emotional wellbeing as a caregiver is also important.
Assessing and monitoring your well being along with your pets’ is equally as important during this time. It is very easy to become burnt out or develop anxieties around leaving your pet at home alone if they are in a declining state. Information about how “Caregiver Burden” may affect you can be found by following this link. https://www.vetshow.com/blogs/caregiver-burden-when-loving-hurts
The term “Euthanasia” comes from the Greek word referring to “good death”. This is a procedure that is offered to assist your pet to pass with dignity and without pain. Sedation is often offered, and generally recommended, so that your pet falls asleep or becomes more relaxed prior to giving the final euthanasia medication. We encourage our pet parents to spend as much time with their pet before and after the procedure. If preferred, there are also options for mobile veterinarians in the area that offer this service in the comfort of your home.
After care options
Traditional Flame Cremation offered through Gateway Pet Memorial
Flame cremation has been the most common form of aftercare for many years. As such, most people know what to expect with the process. High heat is used to transform your pet’s body to ash and bone fragments. There are options to have these ashes returned to you in an urn (formally referred to as private cremation) or buried in an obelisk at one of Gateways’ associated pet cemeteries (formally referred to as communal cremation). The process of flame cremation is generally fast and more environmentally friendly than burial.
Gateway Pet Memorial has many options for urns, as well as various memorial products such as paw prints, jewelry and more to immortalize your pet’s memory.
Aquamation offered through Reflections Pet Aquamation Services
Aquamation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis or water-based cremation, is a natural and gentle process that uses water and a small amount of alkaline salt to break down the organic material in your pet’s body. This natural process leaves behind only bone remains, which are processed and can be returned to you in a memorial urn or other keepsake of choice. Or if you choose to have your pet communally aquamated, their ashes are spread at a private location in the countryside.
Reflections Pet Aquamation Services has many unique options for urns, paw prints, jewelry and more to immortalize your pet’s memory.
At Home Burial
Legally, pet owners are allowed to bury their pet so long as you own the property or if the owner of the property gives permission. Ideally pets need to be buried in a secure box at least 2 ft down if not more and protected from scavengers and wildlife. Keep in mind, burying below frost level to ensure the changes in the ground do not resurface your pet’s remains is recommended. If your yard has a habit of flooding it would not be recommended.
During the natural process of your pet returning to the earth, the surrounding area will now be exposed to the medication that was used for the euthanasia procedure. This can contaminate the soil and surrounding areas. This medication can also poison any wildlife that potentially come in contact or ingest if they dig up the remains.
Both the process for cremation and aquamation neutralize the chemical in the medication that is harmful to the environment and as such we recommend burying the ashes instead.
