It’s never easy saying goodbye to a pet, especially if you’ve had to make the heartbreaking decision to have them put to sleep.
But the situation becomes harder still if you have to decide whether or not to stay in the room as they’re put down.
On the one hand, it’ll feel inevitably upsetting to be there as their life comes to an end, but on the other, it could come as a huge comfort to the animal – as one vet pointed out in a desperate plea to pet owners.
Posting on Reddit last year, the vet explained how it’s ‘f**king depressing’ being there for a dog’s final moments, though not for the reason you might think.
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They wrote: “I will always try to give grace and save my judgements on how people are able to deal with grief because everyone is different, but MAN… it is f**king depressing to have a dog spending its final moments looking for where their owner went.
“I feel like it’s the very last comfort you can give your friend, just being there by their side to comfort them.”
The vet went on to recall a recent occasion that they found particularly 'hard’, saying they just wished it ‘could have ended differently’.
They added: “I am not judging the owner’s emotional capacity for grief and I am not saying the dog died thinking, ‘omg I’m dying alone.’
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“I’m not even talking about the actual euthanasia, but the moments leading to it. For those of you saying dogs, ‘just think their owners stepped out for a moment,’ are missing it: even if that was the case, they still stress out.
“Y’all, this dog we euthanized literally tried so hard to walk himself out the front door with his leash after his owners left and continued to cry and stress out until the propofol got him.
“We did our jobs and gave all the treats and love, but the focus was always, ‘where did they go?’
“Say what you want, I just think it’s a bummer that those were his final moments.
“He was a really good boy and I wish he could have been more relaxed because I think he deserved it.”
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In the comments, people were divided on the matter, with some saying they could understand why people found it difficult, while others accepted it must be even harder for the pets.
“I used to be very judgmental of this but now I'm a few more years into the field I'm much more understanding,” one wrote.
“Not everyone can handle seeing the moment of death happen. I mean there's a reason relatives and visitors are kicked out when a human is coding or critical. You’re not meant to watch loved ones die. Its easy to forget how well we cope with things as professionals.”
Someone else said: “Although I do hate when people essentially hand the animal over and leave without a care, as if the animal was just nuisance. At least get them settled in and give them lots of love so they feel safe before you step out. If you can stay for the sedation, even better!
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“But not wanting to see the final injection is totally understandable. Especially when post death reactions can happen. Like agonal breathing and releasing the bladder etc...”
A third wrote: “I liked to give people the option of staying until the pet was sedated for the peace of mind that the pet was not searching for them but they could choose to not be there for the actual euthanasia.”
A fourth added: “As an LVT I have always taken it upon myself to inform the owners that I would stay and sit with their pets throughout the entire process. Clients are usually very grateful for that.
“Some just cannot bare to witness it. Other times pets were dropped off too quickly to communicate to the owner that I would, but I still did it even if they didn't know about it.
“I've stuck to my word and never left their side so many times over the past 18 years, I couldn't even count... It makes my heart hurt less that the pet wasn't completely alone at the end and there was still someone there comforting them.”
Jess Hardiman