09/26/2022
We talk so much about giving our dogs a good life; a life that is enriched, and safe and full of love, I feel sometimes we need to talk more about giving our dogs a good death.
Death, for all of us, is inevitable. We can tip toe around that fact, or we can face it and discuss it, which I prefer to do, especially when it comes to dogs. My own, or yours.
As much as dogs deserve a good life, they deserve a good death even more so. But what is a good death? Well, here are my thoughts and experiences.
A good death is humane, and soft. It is like slipping into a warm bath, or taking an afternoon nap. It is calm and welcoming.
A good death is with familiar people. Not alone, not worried or confused. It is beside someone trusted who is guiding the way.
A good death is not in fear or pain. It is not on the worst day, or the hardest one. It is as merciful as it can be to that.
A good death is when there is recognition. When the dog is not so far gone in fear, pain, distress or cognition that they do not know who is with them or how they got there.
These standards to me are what I uphold with all my dogs and I believe all dogs to be deserving of. The cause of death, whether age, illness, behavior, or a combination, are important of course, but their final moments on this earth are totally beyond their control, and I view it as one of the greatest things we can do for them to make them feel valued, cared for and loved in that time.
I say this because I often watch dogs suffer poor deaths, and this may be a trigger for some but it’s a trigger for me too, which is why I am writing this. I watch dogs who have severe behavior issues get rehomed and rehomed and returned, only to suffer an awful death with people they don’t know, wondering what they did wrong, scared and alone. I watch dogs with illnesses or age get left behind, only to die alone and in pain and of a broken heart. I see these deaths because the people couldn’t bring themselves to be beside their dog at the end, or kept thinking there was something or someone else who could do it instead, and the dog ends up maybe having had a great life, but a very poor end. That is not fair.
Behavioral euthanasia is talked about a lot more than it used to be nowadays. And it’s not incorrect when we say sometimes it is the most HUMANE thing you can do for your dog is to give them a good death, beside you, rather than hope someone else can take them on and then they suffer alone after their issues prove too much for anyone else.
All of my dogs are promised a good death. The moment they step into my home. I do not hold on to my dogs because I can’t let them go. I give them an amazing life, and also a good goodbye, and I support my clients when they have to make these decisions too, no matter what the reason is behind it. I have been present for more euthanasias and goodbyes than I ever care to discuss. My own, my clients, shelter dogs. I have performed them myself. For every reason you can imagine. And for that very reason I stand by that while we should talk always about giving a good life to our dogs, we should advocate and talk about good deaths. Safe, free of pain or fear, and so very very loved.
- Helen St. Pierre
