Community | Bereavement

Bereavement

When pets leave us - Pete’s story

Some years ago the time had come for Winston to leave us. Winston was a much-loved doggy friend of our neighbour ‘Chrissy’. And she had decided to have him ‘put-to-sleep’ at home.

On arriving at the house, I was welcomed by the sound of ethereal music, the smell of essential oils, and an incredibly calm and soothing atmosphere. Winston fell asleep in Chrissy’s arms, peacefully and without any trauma or anxiety.

I was emotionally touched by the whole experience, triggering in my mind the concept of putting animals to sleep in a non-clinical environment but within a surgery. The shortcomings of the traditional way of doing things became more and more apparent to me.

When we started developing the blue house, I was determined to bring this idea to fruition, and the emotional care of pets and their owners became an integral part of the blue house ethos. This included the creation of the ‘blue room’, our garden of remembrance, and our ‘small-pets’ cemetery.


The blue room and how it is used

The ‘blue room’ is our special room, offering a retreat to pets and their owners at times of need, providing all the comforts and privacy of home along with the medical support of the surgery.

If your pet is being put to sleep, on arrival you will be shown through to the blue room, away from all the hub-bub of the practice. A comfy chair awaits you, along with a beanybag for your pet, and a 'cuppa' if you would like one.

The atmosphere of the room is peaceful and calm, with tranquil music, soft lighting, and a nice aroma. The vet will usually give your pet a sedative, and the ‘whys and where-fores’ will be explained to you. The calmness of the blue room atmosphere is felt by your pet, who is likely to find the situation much less threatening and intimidating.

After your pet has been put to sleep, you may stay as long as you wish. If you would like someone with you as company, then that is fine. If you wish to be on your own, that is also fine. You leave when you are ready, without having to face a room full of people.

We are very flexible in our approach and we can personalise everything according to your wishes. If you would like a particular piece of music played, no problem. Ditto if you have any favourite essential oils. Equally you may not wish to stop with your pet whilst the injection is administered.

And if all this is not for you and you simply want to leave your pet with us, again no worries – horses for courses! Just let us know.


Making the decision

When is the time right – how do I know?

One thing which always creates emotional dilemmas for pet owners is knowing whether or not ‘the time has come’, particularly when a pet’s decline is gradual. We will always try and help you make the right decision at the right time, and appreciate that there may be many considerations involved in making that decision. These can include your own physical and mental health, financial factors, your pet’s continence (or otherwise), and approaching holidays with the need for your ailing pet to go to kennels

Family health

whilst we all will try to put our pet before ourselves, realistically there will be times when this creates conflicts, from babies crawling the floor to a bereavement in the household

Financial factors

you may not be willing or able to spend large sums of money on a pet which might have only a short life expectancy.

Continence

Many of us feel guilty if we cannot cope with a pet that poos all over the carpet, but we feel that this is not reason enough to it animal to sleep. However, sometimes the pet itself may be very traumatised by this, affecting its quality of life

These are examples of the many scenarios that we are used to dealing with on a regular basis. The situation in every family is unique, and this is why we are always happy to spend time with you talking through any issues that are of concern
We do understand that different people have different views, and we will always respect these.

House visits

We are very happy to put your pet to sleep at home, and we can provide sedative tablets in advance to help calm unsettled animals. You may either bury your pet at home, or we can arrange for cremation.

Cremation
All pets put to sleep at blue house are cremated, unless you wish to bury them. We can provide cardboard or plywood coffins, and hand-made hardwood coffins to special order.

We offer individual cremation, with return of your pet’s ashes in a choice of vessels, and have commissioned our own range of caskets, hand-made to our designs.

A friend David Robinson, a Scottish cabinet maker has provided us with exquisite turned-yew boxes, and we have hand-thrown pottery urns courtesy of Tammy Hedderwick, daughter of Mairie Hedderwick of Katie Morag fame - please ask if you are interested in these.



In the bluehouse grounds we also have our Garden of Remembrance, allowing quiet contemplation of our beloved pets, and of the pleasures they have brought us.

For small furry friends, we have our own pet cemetery at the blue house and memorials and flowers may be placed on the graves. We have been very touched by the response of children to this, offering as it does the opportunity to experience sadness and loss.


If you've recently lost a much loved pet, send us an e-mail remembering to attach a jpeg of your pet, and we'll post your bereavement message along with your pet's photo here on our website in our Bereavement section. This service is only available to Blue House Vet's clients.

Click here to view our Bereavement postings...