End of Life Care

Losing a beloved pet is a difficult time, and we help to guide you through it simply and compassionately.

This is one of the saddest things that any of us must do, but we put pets to sleep to save them further suffering and because it is kinder than keeping them going.

We understand how hard a decision this can be for you to make and will try to help you throughout the process.

Be assured if you want to be with your pet as they pass this will always be made possible, even during the pandemic.

When you have decided that the time has come, we will ask you to sign a consent form and to let us know what you would like to happen to your beloved pet’s body.

You may take them home for burial, you may choose to have them routinely cremated where ashes are not returned to you, or you may decide to have an individual cremation, where you can keep the ashes. If you need more time to decide, we can keep your pet safe with us for a few days while you have a chance to think it through.

Once we have your consent, we will take your pet from you to have a catheter placed in their leg and a long drip line attached.

The long line allows us to stand well back and not get in your way when you are giving your pet that all important final cuddle.

Depending on restrictions in place, we can carry out the euthanasia in the practice or your car. Whenever possible, we can also carry out this procedure in your own home.

Afterwards, we use a lovely company called PCS who are based in Newbury. We know that their drivers will treat your pet with gentleness, care and compassion. We know that when you request the return of your pet’s ashes that it is definitely your pet that you get back.

Pets may be returned in a variety of urns, scatter tubes or caskets. To see the full range and to find out more about PCS, please visit their website.

Losing a pet is so hard and we are all pet owners and do understand how devastating your loss may be. There are a variety of compassionate, pet bereavement services available and we would particularly recommend the one run by the Blue Cross, who offer a free and confidential service.

Further help: Compassion Understood

After a difficult or traumatic event, it can be useful to process or speak about your feelings. 

Compassion Understood is a service which provides support for pet owners before, during and after a bereavement, to help you to reach the best decision and to cope with your pet’s passing. 

This service works with veterinary professionals and specialist pet loss experts to help make a difficult time more bearable. 

To find out more about Compassion Understood and how they can help you, visit their website or speak to a member of our team in practice.