What to do when your pet dies

1. Before anything else

   If you are not certain your pet has died, contact a vet now

   This page cannot tell you whether your pet has died, and it does not try to. If there is any doubt at all, contact a vet or an emergency vet immediately. Everything else on this page can wait until you have an answer.

   • If you are unsure, treat it as urgent and ring rather than search.
   • If your pet is distressed, injured or struggling to breathe, that is an emergency and needs a vet now.
   • Nothing below is a substitute for veterinary advice.
2. Mark as done: Take the time you need

   Step 01

   Take the time you need

   If your pet has died and there is no doubt, you are not on a clock in the way it may feel. You can sit with them. You can let other people in the household say goodbye. Nothing on this page has to happen in the next ten minutes.

   • There is no right way to do this and no order you are supposed to follow.
   • If children or other pets are in the house, letting them see and understand what has happened is often easier than an unexplained absence.
3. Mark as done: Work out where your pet is, and where they need to go

   Step 02

   Work out where your pet is, and where they need to go

   This is the practical fork. If your pet died at a veterinary clinic, the clinic will usually hold them while you decide. If your pet died at home, you are choosing between a provider collecting from your home, taking your pet to a clinic, or taking your pet to the provider yourself.

   • Home collection is usually the most expensive route and the one most limited by distance.
   • Taking your pet in yourself is usually the least expensive and often the quickest.
   • If your pet is at a clinic, you can still choose your own provider. You are not obliged to use the clinic's default.

   A small or medium dog can usually be carried or moved by one person with a blanket or a large towel used as a sling. A sturdy box or a car boot lined with a waterproof sheet works for transport.

4. Mark as done: If you need to move your pet, do it carefully

   Step 03

   If you need to move your pet, do it carefully

   You do not have to move your pet at all if a provider is collecting. If you do need to, a few practical things make it easier.

   • Wear gloves, and use towels or an old blanket. A body may release fluids after death, and being prepared for that is kinder to you than being surprised by it.
   • Support the whole body rather than lifting from one end.
   • Choose the coolest place you reasonably can, out of direct sun, away from radiators and away from other pets.
   • Do not use anything you would be upset to lose.
5. Mark as done: Choose the kind of aftercare you want

   Step 04

   Choose the kind of aftercare you want

   There are four broad choices, and the first question is whether you want the ashes back. That single answer narrows everything else.

   • Private or individual cremation: your pet is cremated alone and the ashes returned to you are theirs.
   • Communal or group cremation: your pet is cremated with other animals, and ashes are generally not returned.
   • Aquamation or water cremation: an alternative process to flame cremation, often chosen for environmental reasons, with ashes returned where it is offered individually.
   • Burial: a plot at a pet cemetery, or burial on your own land where local rules allow it.
6. Mark as done: Gather what you need before you call

   Step 05

   Gather what you need before you call

   Having these to hand turns a difficult call into a short one.

   • Your pet's species, breed if relevant, and approximate weight. Weight is what most pricing is based on.
   • Where your pet is now, and the address, including anything about access a driver would need to know.
   • Whether you want the ashes returned.
   • Whether you want your pet collected, or you can bring them.
   • Your veterinary clinic's name, if your pet is there or was treated there.
   • Any timing that matters to you, such as wanting to be present.
7. Mark as done: Call a provider, and ask the same questions of each

   Step 06

   Call a provider, and ask the same questions of each

   You are allowed to call more than one. Prices and what is included vary a great deal between providers, and asking the same short set of questions makes them comparable.

   • What is the all-in figure, including collection, the cremation itself and any vessel?
   • Is the cremation genuinely individual, and what does the word mean in your process?
   • When would my pet be collected, and when would the ashes come back?
   • What does my pet come back in, and is that included in the price?
   • Can I visit, or be present, if I want to?
8. Mark as done: Know what can wait

   Step 07

   Know what can wait

   Almost all of it. In the first few hours the only decisions that genuinely need making are whether your pet needs to go somewhere and who is taking them.

   • Choosing an urn can wait. So can jewellery, plaques and anything else you keep.
   • Scattering ashes can wait as long as you like. Many people hold on to them for months or years.
   • Telling everyone can wait.
   • Cancelling insurance, microchip registration and appointments can all wait a few days.

0 of 7 steps marked as done for United Kingdom.