If Your Pet Dies at Home: The First Hours

If your pet dies at home, you don't have to do everything right this second. Sorry for the obvious, but make sure your pet has actually passed. If you're not sure, call your vet or a 24-hour animal clinic. Tell them what happened and let them walk you through it.

With Zoe, it started earlier in the day. I wrapped her in a blanket and drove her to our local vet. Our vet actually has a pack of hot dog dogs himself, probably eight or ten of them, so Zoe was in pretty good hands. He did what he could and sent her home with me to see if she would recover.

She didn't.

By then our local vet was closed. He had given us the number for a 24-hour animal clinic. I knew it was a 24-hour place, but I called anyway just to make sure they were open.

It was two in the morning. I wasn't exactly thinking about how obvious that question was.

I wrapped Zoe back up and we made the trip.

If your pet passes at home, put them on a towel or blanket and move them to a cool part of the house. If you want them curled up like they are sleeping, do that early. The body will start to stiffen within a few hours and it will be harder to move them later.

You don't have to have the whole plan figured out, but you do need to decide what you're going to do with the body. If you're going to use a pet crematory, call them and ask what they want you to do. Some will pick your pet up at home. A veterinarian or emergency animal clinic may also be able to hold your pet until the crematory can take over.

You do have some time, but not forever. A good rule is to plan on burial or getting your pet to the crematory within 12 to 24 hours. If the house is warm, don't wait that long.

If you need more time, a wrapped body can be kept refrigerated for about 24 hours. I know putting your pet in a refrigerator doesn't sound very good, but at this point you're trying to keep the body cool until you can make the arrangements. Make sure the late night munchie person is aware.

One thing to know before using a freezer: if you want your veterinarian to try to find out what happened, refrigerate the body but don't freeze it. Freezing can make that examination more difficult.

If you have other pets, you may want to let them come over and smell or see their friend before you take the body away. It might sound a little strange, but they know somebody is missing too.

The main thing is don't panic and think you have to make every decision right now. Take care of what needs taken care of first. The rest can wait a little bit.

What comes next

This page is from chapter 1 of What to Do With Your Pet's Ashes.