Anyone who has a pet knows fear. What if the animal gets sick? What if the animal gets old? Most pets have shorter lives than humans. In fact, only parrots sometimes want to grow older than humans. And we would prefer not to remember them because we are after all crazy about our pets. When the animal dies, you have a number of decisions to make. And of course you have your own grief. Because every pet is special.
The circumstances
When an animal is old and slowly starts to get more and more defects, you know that it is coming. Even though it is painful, you know what reality is. It can take a week, it can take a year. Even if an animal gets sick and you take it to the vet, you can assume that it is fair. Is there any hope of a cure? Perhaps with the help of surgery or medication. Or is it a matter of seeing how long it will remain fun and painless? Or is there an acute euthanasia? The animal can also be taken out of life very suddenly. For example, due to a collision. Or by an acute cardiac arrest. You don’t count on it, the animal may still be in the prime of life. And yet the animal is suddenly dead.
Every person will react differently to the above circumstances. However you look at it, it is often a painful affair.
What to do?
If the animal has been killed by a vet, he will tell you what the options are. You can leave the animal with him / her. The vet will then arrange for the dead animal to be disposed of. Some veterinarians offer more choices than others. The animal will then most likely be cremated. That can happen on the big heap, but a private cremation is certainly also possible. The latter obviously costs more.
If your animal dies at home or you decide to take the animal with you after it dies at the vet, you will have to arrange for the animal to be removed yourself. The advantage is that you can then determine it yourself. There are crematoriums for pets. These crematoriums have many options to make it as personal as possible. You can take the ashes with you and you can do whatever you want with it. There are people who make a kind of altar for their deceased pet. With the urn with ashes and some photos and other souvenirs. There are also cemeteries for animals. That is also a possibility. You can also have your pet buried according to your own wishes. With a gravestone according to personal tastes.
Then there is another way: bury the animal in your backyard. This is only allowed in your own garden (so not at a rental house, for example) and it is important that the pet is buried sufficiently deep (at least 75 centimeters deep).
Of course it is not unimportant to take a look at the cost picture. Some are more expensive than others, and it has to fit within budget. However, it is possible to take out insurance for this.
The emotions
A pet has often been at your home for a long time. It has brought joy and emotion. It was also there during the important things in your life, no matter how good or how bad they are / were. You love the pet! Everyone deals differently with the grief that a deceased pet brings. One sits crying for days, the other plays nice weather. However you do it, it is important that you process your grief. Give it a place. Learn to accept that the animal is no longer there. And also give it time to process it. Animals give a certain rhythm in life. And it’s hard to get back to your life without that rhythm. It can help to talk to people who are also very fond of your pet.
A ‘new’ pet?
After the death of the pet, you fall into a hole. You miss something in your life. Again: process this! Some people get a new one right after the death of the previous pet. To make up for the lack. Other people wait a while and still others never want a pet again because they don’t want to experience the grief anymore. Whichever choice you make: think about it first! What do you want in life? Maybe you want to travel more now that you no longer have a pet? Or do you want some fun at home again? So with the accompanying obligations. Remember: no animal can replace the deceased animal. Each animal is unique and has its own character. Nor is it fair to the new animal to keep comparing. Then a new animal is never good enough, because he / they can never be the same. Teach yourself to appreciate the new pet for his / her character, the animal is entitled to that!