End-Of-Life Care

When pet owners are faced with end-of-life decisions for their beloved fur family members, our team at Latham Animal Hospital is here to provide compassionate end-of-life care for you and your pet.

End-Of-Life Care

As your beloved pet nears their end of life, our team at Latham Animal Hospital is here to help. We all have had to say goodbye to one of ours and understand it can be extremely difficult.  You don’t have to manage this burden alone: we promise to do everything we can to make it easier on you and your pet.    We can help you by keeping your pet comfortable for as long as possible and by being alongside you to aid you in any way we can.  Most of all, we promise to treat each case with compassionate and understanding care.  If you are questioning your pet’s quality of life, you can take a quality-of-life-scale quiz for your pet to help, or call us.  https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/quality-of-life-scale/ 

Humane Euthanasia

At Latham Animal Hospital, we believe that the final kindness you can give your beloved pet who is suffering with no hope of recovery is humane euthanasia. Often called ‘putting to sleep’ or ‘putting down’, euthanasia offers a peaceful, controlled option for the end of our pet’s life. It allows you and any loved ones to be present for the inevitable end in a calm, home-like setting with your pet. It is not painful, and our euthanasia process is designed to be as peaceful as possible.
Once you and the doctor have determined that euthanasia is the kindest choice, your pet will be administered a drug that results in gradual, deep sedation. We strongly encourage you to be present for at least this step, but it is not required. You are welcome to stay in the room until you have said your final goodbyes. You may also choose to leave at this point, having bid your pet farewell, taking comfort in knowing your pet went peacefully and painlessly to sleep knowing you were there, talking to him or her. You may also choose to wait until the end after administration of the second medication, a concentrated anesthetic drug which will slow and stop the heart. It is not painful, and your pet is no longer suffering.

Cremation Services

After humane euthanasia, if you elect not to take your pet home for burial, we utilize the services of Final Gift, a pet aftercare and memorial center.  Final Gift offers two state-of-the-art memorial centers and two beautiful pet cemeteries across New England. They provide the highest level of service and offer both cremation and burial services. They offer a private cremation, with the remains placed in an urn of your choice before being reunited with your family, or a communal cremation, with your pet’s remains buried at Angel View Pet Cemetery. A selection of memorial products such as paw prints, fur clippings, and other keepsake memorial items are available for this option.  You can learn more about them at finalgift.com.