After the Loss

Laurie Thornton, DVM

When you face the loss of a pet through illness or euthanasia, the medical details, decision-making and emotions are often so demanding that you might not consider your wishes regarding care of the pet's body. It is very important to make a decision which will help you and others attached to the pet through the grieving process.

Most options available for the care of deceased people are available for pets as well. Some veterinary hospitals have their own crematory where they can perform individual or communal cremation. If not, the veterinarian likely has an arrangement for communal burial or cremation with a local service. The veterinarian will be able to answer your questions about the pet's final resting place.

There are also several other body care options. Many clients choose to have their pet's ashes returned to them after cremation. This allows the owner to keep, bury or scatter the ashes. The cat's favorite sunny spot in the yard or the dog's daily walk route are frequent choices.

Other clients may elect to bury their pets at home. This option can be logistically difficult with a large pet or cold weather (although a pet cemetery can help). It also may not provide for visitation in these days of high mobility. In some areas, city or county regulations may prohibit the home burial of pets, so check with local authorities first. Pets which suffered from contagious diseases should not be buried at home.

Another burial option is a pet cemetery. There are several in the Denver area -- veterinarians are familiar with them. They often will make arrangements to pick up a pet's remains and handle all the details directly. A cemetery burial means that the grave site will always be cared for and available for visitation.

Although it is much less common, some owners are choosing to have their pet preserved-either by taxidermy or a drying process used by natural history museums. To investigate this option, contact your veterinarian or look under Taxidermy in the Yellow Pages. Many famous animals (including Trigger) have been preserved this way.

Sadly, I have encountered the widespread notion that veterinarians experiment on deceased pets, or sell them for experimentation. I can assure you that this is not true. Experimentation, when it cannot be done with models such as tissues culture or computer software, is done with either colonies of animals specifically raised for laboratory study, or in clinical trials. As a private practitioner, a veterinarian has committed himself to the health care of people s pets. While he should be vitally interested in the results of research (so that he can provide state-of-the-art care), he does not perform it.

For many clients, viewing the pet's remains (even if they elected not to be present during the procedure) gives them peace of mind and allows them to draw closure on the pet's life. People often view the deceased at human funeral homes, and there's no reason why the same should not be helpful upon the loss of a pet

Remember that although this time is difficult for a veterinarian too, he is there to assist the owner in exploring and selecting a body care option. Chances are that even the most unusual request is probably something the veterinarian has dealt with before.

This article is courtesy of the Pet Loss Support Group of the Denver Area Veterinary Medical Society.