Farewell service
Possibly one of the most important roles in our service is end of life care for your pet – while often this is a release for an aged or poorly pet, it is an extremely emotional time and situation. We found across the industry, this subject was generally not thought about or talked about prior to it being needed which often resulted in rushed decisions or turmoil from not understanding the process.
The Olive Tree team wanted this information and your options available to you allowing you to consider and be aware of the process prior to the service being needed.
The euthanasia process
When the time comes, if you want to come to the surgery for this procedure, you will be booked a double appointment. This allows you the time to say your goodbyes and not feel rushed. You will be asked to sign a consent form – this is essential to gain your written permission but can be sent to you prior to the appointment if you would prefer.
On presentation, each patient will have a catheter placed – please don’t be alarmed if we ask to take your pet out to prep to place this – it just means we can get it done swiftly, efficiently and correctly. Once this is in place, the vet will discuss the process with you and introduce the final medications when you are ready. You will be able to stay with your pet and say your goodbyes for as long as you want, as well as being able to leave without heading through the reception area – we can be guided by yourselves.
Sometimes if a pet is in distress, the veterinary surgeon may suggest administering a sedation – this will likely be an intra-muscular injection and your pet will slowly get woozy and fall asleep. Your pet can still hear and feel you at this point. Once sedated, we will continue on as above and place a catheter.
As much as we always want this situation to be straight forward and without complications, we occasionally do have presentations which mean we need to deviate from the above process – please be reassured that we will only ever do what is in your pet’s best interest and will talk you through anything we are doing. If you have any questions, please do ask.
The euthanasia procedure can also be undertaken at your home during a house visit. This is an individual preference, and the team can help to book whatever is most appropriate for you and your pet.
Cremation
There are two options of what to do with your pet once passed. There is a general cremation where your pet will be cremated with all the other pets. Their ashes will be scattered in the memory garden at the cremation site. Individual cremation means that your pet will be individually cremated, and you will receive ashes back – these can be sent back in a memorial casket with a name plaque or a scatter tube depending on your preference. There are other memorabilia options available for ashes to be returned in so please let us know if you want further options. We use a local and trusted cremation facility who will treat your pet with the utmost compassion and care.
We have chosen to use a local crematorium who offer a caring, professional and bespoke service all within the local area. This means that the time of your pet being away from you is minimised and you can be reassured that they will remain within the county, and handled by a team we know, before their ashes are returned.
If you wish to look at some of the bespoke ashes and memorabilia options, please visit their website using the link below:
Pet Crematorium in Kent and East Sussex
You are also able to take your pet home with you for home burial and we can assist you if you need time to prepare for this.
The Olive Tree team can assist you with your decision and will also accommodate if you and your family need a little longer to make the decision which is right for you.
Farewell memorabilia
We offer paw prints, nose prints and fur keepsakes at no extra cost. Please update the consent form or talk with your vet or nurse if you wish to have these taken.
Counselling
Following the loss of your pet, we are privilege to be able to offer you access to our trained and certificated Pet Bereavement Counsellor – RVN and Practice Director Katie. If you need support before, during or after the farewell process, please request a call from Katie.