hi, we are currently on a housesit for 3 adorable furbabies whilst their owners are away on holiday, unfortunately today we had to take the oldest dog to the vets, we phoned the home and petsitter to break the awful news that the sores on the leg of the 13 year old labrador had worsened, understandably they was heartbroken at this news and so was we, although we have only been here for 3 days we had become very attached to the pets, as anyone else would do with a heart, the poor dog had numerous lumps on her leg that had to be sprayed with a antiseptic spray and bandaged up, we knew all this from the very start as the homeowners was lovely about it and showed us what to do with comning a day earlier, the vet knew the homeowners and dog with being registered with them, as the blood pumped from her leg, the vet advised the unmentionable, i phoned the homewner from the vets and we all talked it through together that the only humain thing was to put her at rest, this was deeply upsetting for me, my husband and the homeowner, we all cried together, but the main thing was is that i stayed with her throughout to comfort her and talk to her as she was finally being laid to rest, not something that i wish to repeat ever again, we all cried as the vets did their best to make her comfortable, we are still heartbroken, it was time to feed the other 2 furbabies their evening meat and that started us off again being really upset, seeing her name at the top of the list for instructions for her food regime.
heartbroken is a understatement, we then had another video call with the homeowner and cried together again, she was heartbroken along with us and very sorry that we had to deal with this situation ourselves.
I did say that we was sorry we couldnt of done any more for her but at the same time she wasnt in any more pain and discomfort.
has anyone else had this sitiuation that they had to deal with and how do you cope with it…
Hello @Sazzi21
I am sorry to hear of this heartbreaking story.
While I have not had to lay a HO’s pet to rest, I had the heartbreaking decision to lay my own dog to rest. It was a tough and difficult decision to make and I thought the tears I cried would never end. It was painful and is certainly something that I would not like to go through again. It left me devestated, hurt, and sad.
I hope you find peace in knowing that you provided comfort, empathy, and love to the dog in his/her final moments. And you also provided comfort to the HO who sounds appreciative of the care you gave his/her pet.
It is ok to grieve. Saying a final goodbye to a beloved pet—whether he/she is yours or someone’s else’s is never easy. 
Hi @Sazzi21
I’m very sorry for you, it’s really such a tough situation. Unfortunately we also went through this quite recently. Our story is very similar. We were just a few days into the sit when we had to take the older dog to the vet where it was decided the kindest thing to do was to euthanize him- I’ll never forget his face as we comforted him as he passed. It was so difficult returning home without him and seeing all his possessions, his basket, feeding instructions etc.
What got us through was definitely focusing our energies on looking after the other dogs to the best of our abilities, showering them with love, taking them on day trips, hoping that they were too young to be affected and being grateful that we were there for them and their family at this time. It’s great that you sound like you also have developed a good relationship with the HO. Take the time you need to grieve, it’s okay to feel a range of emotions.
Sending you strength, comfort, and heartfelt condolences during this difficult time.
This happened to us 6 weeks ago. The owners were in the USA and were able to be with us at the vet on the fateful morning via video. it was not easy at all however Ellie remains now in peace.
Deb wrote a lovely piece about the last day we shared with Ellie.
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A sad day today, Ellie the dog we have cared for 3 times had an aggressive cancerous lump in his neck. It was pushing on his bone and was very painful for him. He had stopped eating (only small amount of shredded chicken which I hand feed him) and drinking. We took him to the vet and a specialist vet 100kms away where they discovered the tumour. They gave him some adrenaline to ease the pain and for his last 2 walks he was happy, in fact yesterday’s walk I let him take me to his special watering holes. It was a magical walk. He went to doggie heaven today with us there and the owners saying goodbye on video link up.
Very upsetting and emotional. It doesn’t seem real.
He was able to eat so I gave him duck with duck fat, chicken, ham, his favourite treats and anything else he wanted.
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Interestingly enough I read an article published this week in Australia describing what Deb had written and experienced. It did make us feel a lot better
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Piglet the Jack Russell seemed to be fading away.
He was half blind, barely able to walk and spent most of his days asleep.
But one morning, as his loving owner steeled herself to have him euthanised, Piglet seemed to be rejuvenated.
He ran around the garden with the family’s other dogs, wagging his tail, then settled on the sofa to be brushed, his favourite activity.
As his owner placed the brush back in its box, Piglet suffered a seizure and died in her arms.
His brief recovery was a little-understood occurrence seen in both humans and animals, sometimes called “the last rally” and known in Spanish as “mejoría de la muerte” (literally, ‘the improvement of death’).
The grief of losing a beloved pet can be as intense as the loss of any dear friend — and the experience of witnessing an animal’s death can be deeply painful.
For nearly 25 years, as part of my studies into unexplained phenomenon in animal psychology, I have collected case studies about pet deaths, stories shared with me by their owners and human friends.
Often, people will say how grateful they are that someone is taking an interest, and taking them seriously.
As a biologist, I believe there’s an enormous amount to be learned about the nature of death from observing animals.
My German colleague Michael Nahm, the world’s leading authority on “terminal lucidity” in humans, has helped me to recognise the importance of similar end-of-life experiences in pets.
Terminal lucidity is well documented in care homes and hospices, but rarely studied: it’s a burst of mental and physical energy, often accompanied by unusual clarity, soon before death.
And it appears equally common in animals.
One vet told me, “In my practice, experiencing the last rally in dogs isn’t unusual.
“Called to put a dog down, I ring the bell of a house and a barking canine greets me, jumping around. When I ask its owners where the sick dog is, they inform me this is the moribund dog in question.”
My tentative theory is that the last rally has an evolutionary benefit.
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How awful for everyone, I am so sorry.
Sometimes things happen for a reason, and maybe you were fated to have this sit to help guide this fur angel over the rainbow while consoling his humans. Glad you were there with a caring heart at a most difficult time for all.
I had spent more than a week with an elderly and sickly dog when she had back to back catastrophic seizures. I rushed her to emergency care late one night and fortunately was able to reach her humans, who were on the other side of the world. They ended up rushing home two days later, so we could say goodbye together before a vet put her down.
One of them had had her since she was a puppy. She was much loved and had seven humans — friends, family and me — with her when she was put down late one night at the emergency care.
She was the sweetest thing and I feel privileged to have spent her last good days with her. She sniffed all the things, stalked the nemesis neighboring cat, played ball, enjoyed her meals, and we snuggled lots in bed and elsewhere.
After she died, her humans donated her doughnut to the emergency care. I was glad I’d thought to rush her there in the doughnut, because she’d spent some of her last hours on it. Something comforting and familiar, I hope. And I was glad that I’d rented a car on that sit, because she was in apparent pain and let out the most terrible yelps. At least with the car, I was able to get her to care and pain relief immediately.
In the days after her death, her humans created an online memorial to her, where we could add memories and photos.
I’d almost taken another sit nearby. The only reason I ended up with that one was because her humans had scheduled our Zoom call hours before the other hosts and they offered me the sit while we were still chatting.
I’m glad I was able to help her at the end of her journey. When I got home, I ordered printed photos of her and one of them is on my desk. I won’t forget her sweet little soul.
Yes, a dead cat bounce, a term also adopted by the financial world, refers to the temporary recovery of assets (a spike) just before the final downfall.
Fascinating
We experienced a cat declining during a sit and had to be the ones to make the call.
I used to work as a Physician, so I feel that my job experience helped deal with the decision making and procedure, but it was still emotional.
For me, the best part is that I had a month or so of sitting while he was healthy, and I value that experience in getting to know him. When we met the owners a few months before the sit, the possibility of him not living was already there and they didn’t want to burden a sitter with euthanasia, so they thought about doing it before, but he rebounded. Seeing him still have joy in his life before he declined made it worth it for me, he even randomly caught a bird 2 weeks before he declined, so he was active!
The homeowners had told us in advance that flying back for euthanasia might not be feasible for them and the biggest reason they didn’t was they could see I had bonded with him and was comforting to him, so they didn’t want to confuse him.
In the end, a lot of their grief was in the guilt of not being there, which is understandable. They also felt bad for us and sent a gift card for us to go out as his decline took a lot of time.
I was happy to get to know him- and later see the other cat (not a littermate) completely open up her personality and blossom into a friendlier cat.
In the end, I think it helped me be a better pet sitter and know more about the cat dying process. However I admit my medical training helped me deal emotionally.
@Sazzi21 …as owners, one of our worst fears is being away when of our pets dies or the choice of humane euthanasia should be made. Thank you so much for being there for this dog and owner. Clearly, from your post, you are a kind and caring person.
@Sazzi21 I really feel for you. I recently sat Riley, a senior dog for about 10 days. He was frail and his health declined during the sit, I think he missed his family. I managed to keep him as comfortable as possible as the family was on a cruise and very difficult to contact. The family let me know the day after the sit that the dog had died in the night. I really think Riley held on until his people returned and he could go with them around.
My heart breaks. So sad.
@Sazzi21 Thank you for sharing this and all you did for the pet and owner during this sit. The owners must have been so comforted to know that you were there with their beloved pet during this sad time and then there for them throughout the process. I hope you take time to regroup and care for yourself too!
So much support and shared experiences from the community which is exactly what this forum is about. I extend my thoughts to anyone else who has experienced this on a sit or in their home life with their pet.
@prholst what a touching and thought-provoking comment. It was helpful for me to learn this as I had the same experience at the end with my heart dog, it’s good to know that rallying at the end is experienced by others too! This information was very comforting - thank you 
You are an amazing care giver and I can’t even imagine how difficult this was for you. You are a saint! Best to you in your future sits.
Thankyou so much for your kind words
Thankyou so much
Thankyou for your kind words and I’m so sorry to hear of your sad news
Thankyou so much and it’s very sad having to go through with it isnt it
Thankyou for your kind words
Thankyou so much❤️
Thankyou your kind words