“Death ends a life, not a relationship” – Mitch Albom
What happens when we die is one of life’s great mysteries and something that affects us all sooner or later. When it comes time to think about how a beloved pet will die – and what will happen before, during, and after – many people have fears and uncertainties.
As a home hospice and euthanasia veterinarian, I hear a few of the same questions over and over. Although I do not have all the answers, I can offer a few insights – from a scientific point of view – that may help ease your mind as you navigate the end of your pet’s life.
Written by: Dr. Lauren Barrow, Caring Pathways Veterinarian in Virginia Beach
What will my pet’s death look like?
Just as your pet is unique in life, he or she will be unique in death, and that’s okay. To sustain life, a body has many parts working together in a delicate balance. The process of dying is just as complicated, and will vary depending on your pet’s health condition, disease status, medications, and if he or she has been sedated. As medical professionals, we often try our best to control it, but death itself is still unpredictable.
You will not be able to see most of the complicated process of death, but there are some common things that you can expect before, during, and after your pet’s passing. Some of these include:
- The lungs stop working.
- There may be some small or larger muscle contractions.
- The brain may trigger small reflexes, including agonal breathing, which can appear as gasping, snorting or labored breaths.
- The heart stops beating.
- The mouth and eyes gently fall open.
- The bowels and/or urinary bladder may release.
Although they may be hard for you to witness, these are all part of a natural series of events and none of them cause pain or fear for your pet. They don’t even know what is happening.
Research on Death and Dying
,What about right before the body stops working? What is the mind doing?
Science is just beginning to understand what it is like to die, and may actually be catching up with some things we suspected all along. Intuition and witness accounts say people in the last stages of dying can hear and feel the loved ones beside them as they approach death.
It has long been observed that in the last hours of a natural, expected death, humans will go into a period of non-responsiveness. What was not known was what these people could hear, feel, or sense as they began to die. After all, if their illness, health condition, or medications render them unable to respond, how do we know they hear us?
A landmark study was published in 2020 in which scientists measured dying human patients’ brain waves with an EEG in response to sounds (auditory stimuli) and compared them to healthy and other responsive, ill patients. The results confirmed what many of us had suspected: the last sense to go in a dying brain is hearing, at least in humans.
Other studies in humans who have had near-death experiences, strokes, and other phenomena of the brain report the process of death as peaceful. Although lacking in supportive data, it is comforting to hear these subjects report “bliss,” “awe,” and a complete lack of fear. Some researchers believe endorphins are released at the time of death. Perhaps someday we will be able to find a way to prove it. For now, we have anecdotal reports.
What will death be like for my pet?
Similar research in dogs and cats is lacking, for obvious reasons. Many studies have been published on dogs appearing to sense death in others, or in comforting the dying, but I could find nothing about how their own senses change as they pass into death. We are left to extrapolate as best we can.
The physiologic process of a dying body is similar if not exactly the same between humans, dogs, and cats, so it’s reasonable to assume they’re aware of many of the same things we are. A major difference might lie in the strength and sensitivity of our senses in general.
It is well-known that dogs and cats have a much, much stronger sense of smell than humans, though it varies based on breed, age, and other factors. Does that mean the sense of smell may be the last to go in a dying cat or dog? Possibly. It is an area for more studies, to be sure.
As my pet is dying, will they know I’m there?
This is another question that no one can answer for sure, but we can use science and intuition together to make a good guess. Based on human studies and what we think dogs and cats can sense as they approach and pass into death, there are a lot of things you can do to help ease them along and soothe your own aching heart in the process.
What we think we know:
- Hearing is the last sense to go in humans, with touch being second-to-last; this may be similar for pets.
- Smell is the strongest sense in dogs and cats, and possibly the last sense to go for them.
- Dogs and cats are likely not scared or sad as they pass, and may even feel bliss or awe.
Things you can do for your pet’s final moments:
- Gather their loved ones around them if possible.
- Give them something – a shirt, a toy, a blanket – that smells like you or their favorite things.
- Hold them close, lay beside them, scratch their neck, squeeze their paw, or otherwise let them know you’re there.
- Tell them they are a good girl or boy, tell them it’s okay to go, tell them stories, or otherwise let them hear your voice.
- Play or sing their favorite songs.
- If you can’t be there, even hearing you on speaker phone or on a recording, and cuddling with one of your old shirts can be meaningful to them.
Final thoughts
The mysteries of death are bigger than all of us, and science may never provide all the answers. Try to find your peace with that – we are all in this together. Navigating the details and working through the heartbreak of saying goodbye to your beloved family member is enough for now.
Treasure the memories and what time you had with your pet, and remember your last precious moments together are for them, but also for you.
Written by: Dr. Lauren Barrow, Caring Pathways Veterinarian in Virginia Beach
