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We recently had to say goodbye to our beloved tabby Pedro, who at 17 years of age, was such a huge part of our family, I don’t really have the words to describe just how much he was adored, and how much he is missed.
His passing was nothing short of absolutely brutal, but with advanced kidney disease, the time had come to let him go. Knowing it was the final act of love we could give him, did provide some comfort, and it was a peaceful, loving goodbye. It’s prompted me to tell you just how we go about the process assisting families with their final goodbyes.
While we do not always have the choice of when we get to say goodbye to our pets, in the case of advanced age or long- term illness, we are often asked “how do I know its time to let them go?”
In the case of our Pedro, knowing the time was coming, and not wanting to cut a happy life short, nor wanting to see him suffer, we had gone from watching him on a week to week basis to day to day. So long as we were seeing signs that he had quality of life, we were happy, we were looking to see that he was still eating and drinking, happy to see us, purring, and seemingly comfortable when he was at rest.
When the morning came that he got up on our bed and sat between us and did not purr, alarm bells rang, this was very unusual. When a little later in the morning we noticed that his gait when walking had become more of a stagger, we knew.
So here’s the first piece of advice, once that decision has been made, spend every minute you can with them, cuddle them, tell them you love them, feed them their favorite food (fish pan fried in butter was Pedro’s last meal!) those memories will become so treasured.
Secondly, we are always more than happy to come to your home for the euthanasia. While some people would elect to have it done at the clinic (and this too is fine) when there are multiple family member in involved it can be easier for your to gather in the peaceful and familiar environment of your home, allowing  you to sit somewhere comfortable and hold your pet as they drift off to sleep. For us this was the preferable option, all jokes made prior to our wedding that I’d have written into our vows that Mike had to love, honour, and keep my pets alive were now very bittersweet. Now I know I’m biased as both a wife and business partner, but Mike did an amazing job in such a difficult situation, kind, loving, gentle, respectful, and I know in a heartbeat this compassion is what he offers each and every pet he is called upon to help across the rainbow bridge.
If children are involved, this is entirely your decision as a family as to whether or not they wish to be present, Mike is happy to chat with them first, and explain the process in as much or little detail as they require.
Mike will always give a sedative first, which will ease any anxiety and allow your pet to just drift off quietly to sleep.  It is only once they are asleep, that he will administer the final injection, which acts very quickly, and Mike will confirm when they have passed. Our aim is always to make this process as calm, stress, and pain free as we possibly can.
While we will never rush you through this process, when you have said your final goodbye and you are ready to let go there is a decision to be made as to whether you would like a home burial, or cremation. Cremation allows you three options, either saying good bye with no memorial returned to you, or having the ashes returned in a cardboard scatter box which you can open and the ashes scattered wherever has significance for you, or a more permanent memorial, a sealed wooden box with a plaque. In the case of cremation, Mike will transport your pet back to the clinic with him to enable transfer to our cremation service.
We often find people apologise for being upset, please feel no need to, it is an incredible painful process, which have much empathy for, and while we cannot ease the pain you will feel at their loss, you have nothing but our love, understanding and empathy and what you have to go through.
While choosing euthanasia is an incredibly hard decision to reach we would encourage you to think of it as a final act of love for your pet, and preferable, where possible to the widely held myth that aged pets just “wander off to die”.
Animals that are aged, sick and debilitated are already suffering and need of care to ease their discomfort. While it’s a lovely notion that pets wander way to pass away peacefully, it is far more likely that they wander away and are unable to return, perhaps they are either physically unable to or are too disorientated (much like senior citizens can become).
Ageing pets can suffer from impaired vision, hearing loss, cognitive dysfunction, painful arthritis and muscle weakness, or one of many serious systematic diseases that can make it very difficult for them to return home if they have wandered too far.
Ageing pets can be more work and require more care and we implore you to provide this when they so desperately need it. Please do not dismiss their symptoms as “just getting old” and indeed something to be endured. Much can be done in the way of palliative care to ease their final days and we believe that after a lifetime of being your faithful companion we very much owe it to them to provide care when they most need us.
We are always at the end of the phone and always more than happy to talk through with you caring for your ageing pet, no question is too silly, no number of calls too much, if we can in any way assist your ageing pet or relieve your stress and anxiety as you go through what can be a difficult time, then we are more than happy to do so.
Cherish your pets, you never know what tomorrow will bring, but go in the knowledge that we are here for you when you need us.
 
“He’s your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true to the least beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion”
-Unknown 

As the mercury climbs its paramount to keep your dog’s capacity to manage the warm weather in mind, and to look out for signs of overheating.
 
Dogs don’t sweat like we do, so panting is one of their key methods of cooling themselves down. Once it gets too hot (or too humid) for them to cool themselves effectively anymore, there is a risk of heatstroke.
 
Here’s some great tips for keeping your dog’s cool:
 
-Don’t exercise them in the heat of the day! Stick to walks in the morning or in the evening once the footpaths have cooled off.
-Exercise near a water source where they can swim to cool off (e.g. Rivers, lakes, ocean, sprinkler, backyard paddling pool…)
-Be mindful of the temperature of the ground. If you cannot keep your bare hand on it for 5 seconds, its too hot for their wee paws!
-Always have cool drinking water available for them
-Ensure they have plenty of shade/shelter from the sun
-Frozen kibble in ice cubes/blocks are fun and stimulating way to help dogs stay cool and hydrated
-Use of cooling mats or towels
-Don’t ask too much of them- know their limits. If they seem reluctant to exercise, don’t force them to
-Don’t keep them in your car on a hot day. The temperature inside your car climbs incredibly quickly and having windows down or being in the shade makes little difference. Dogs rely on panting to cool down and in a hot car that's not enough. They can withstand a high body temperature for only a short time before suffering irreversible damage.
Keep in mind that regulations introduced from October 1 last year give the police and SPCA officers the right to hand out infringement notices and fines of $300 to people who leave a dog in a hot car.
 
Be vigilant at keeping an eye out for signs of heatstroke!
 These include: excessive panting, salivation, vomiting, increased body temperature, rapid heartbeat, collapse, or loss of coordination and seizures.
 
Its important to keep in mind that while its quite safe to give ice to a healthy dog on a hot day to help them cool down, it is not a good idea to use ice to help cool a dog experiencing heat stroke. Attempts to rapidly cool down an animal with heatstroke are not helpful, with gradual cooling being far more effective.
 
If you are seeing signs of heatstroke, instead of covering your dog with ice we’d recommend the following steps:
-Offer cool water
-Place wet towels around the neck, armpits and belly
-Seek veterinary care immediately  

Its is the time of year to be thinking about fleas! If you are not already its imperative you get on a good flea control regime before the warmer weather arrives.
 
But I never see fleas on my cat!
Even if you have not seen them, they ARE there. Fleas can breed on any untreated animals in your home and produce eggs which can cause re-infestation of all animals in the house in the future. A flea egg can remain dormant in the environment for up to six months. If your pet has flea treatment on board any eggs that mature and hatch in the environment will be killed when they come into contact with the product on your pets coat. Flea treatment should be viewed as a year-round commitment as fleas are active in all seasons
 
I’ll wait until I see my cat scratching a lot before I treat them
 
It’s the old story of prevention being better than cure. If your cat is showing signs of irritation, it could take months of treatment to break the cycle and bring them back to normal.
 
I’ll just pick up a flea control from the supermarket
 
Well you can but there is no one with any training in animal health to offer advice, and there may be a product better suited to your animal and situation and you are only going to find that out by going to your friendly local vet clinic for advice and a great range of quality products.
 
Is it really necessary to treat regularly for fleas?
 
Fleas would be one of the number one reasons your pet could become miserable. Untreated infestations can go on to cause allergy problems, untreated allergies that get scratched a lot can go on to cause broken skin and infection, it becomes a cycle which can take many many months to come out of.
 
So! The moral of our story is to treat for fleas on a regular basis with a reputable product from a vet clinic you trust!