Vets Reveal What Pets Do Right Before Death, And It’s A Must-Read For Every Pet Owner

There’s one thought, one image every pet owner is constantly running away from. Saying the last goodbye to your trusted companion. It’s inevitable, yet we act like we can put it away. Until we can’t and it creeps up on us, unprepared. But we should. Pet lover Jessi Dietrich from Jacksonville, Illinois recently asked her vet what the hardest part of his job was, and the thing he revealed about putting down pets instantly broke her. Jessi soon tweeted the unexpected answer and it went viral, generating over 140,000 likes and nearly 42,000 retweets.

“I just have one pet of my own. His name is Rick, he’s a black and white cat and is about 2 and a half years old,” Jessi told Bored Panda. Though he only weighs about 5 pounds, he has the biggest personality to make up for what he may lack in size.”

“I took him to the vet because about a year and a half ago he nearly died from a UTI blockage,” she added. “My vet had to perform an emergency surgery which one of the risks of which was an increased risk for infection for the rest of his life if the surgery was successful.”

“The surgery went wonderfully but since then he gets at least one or two infections a month (the vet said he is not in pain from them). So we’re regulars at our current vet to treat these chronic infections in short.”

Rick’s near death experience made Jessi very aware that one day she will have to say goodbye to her furry little treasure. “Lastly I’d just like to say that while some pets may only be in our lives for a short period of time, we often are in their lives for a large percentage of theirs. They are with us during our highs and lows, always excited to see us when we’ve gotten home. Please consider this when the time comes for you to put an animal down.”

Scroll down to check out why so many owners are going about this whole thing the wrong way and don’t be surprised if you end up sobbing like the rest of the internet.

P.S. Jessi would also like to add that her intention of tweeting this was just to share what one vet said, not to guilt people into staying or making others feel bad for not staying for previous pets. “I just wanted to share these experiences to raise awareness to them, especially that last one. There are options when putting a pet down.”

Saying the last goodbye to our loving pets is too painful to even think about

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Image credits: iStock / skynesher

But one vet recently shared a confession that reveals the heartbreaking truth, and every pet owner needs to read it

Vets Reveal What Pets Do Right Before Death, And It's A Must-Read For Every Pet Owner

Hillcrest Veterinary Hospital has also shared a post written by a vet, where he encourages people not to abandon their pets when they need them the most

Vets Reveal What Pets Do Right Before Death, And It's A Must-Read For Every Pet Owner

People were heartbroken

Vets Reveal What Pets Do Right Before Death, And It's A Must-Read For Every Pet Owner

Some replies were from actual vets, too

Vets Reveal What Pets Do Right Before Death, And It's A Must-Read For Every Pet Owner

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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Ladies and Gentlemen 6 years ago

Bruno died in arms when I was 11 year old, I wept for Bruno, I dug the grave, I put him to the rest, I put flowers where Bruno now lay. He never left my side for every second of my 11 year life, I couldn't leave him too for any second. Bruno was love, Bruno is with me.

77points

Maci Wilcox 6 years ago

My dog Keesha was put down when I was 11 as well, and my entire family stayed in the room. I hugged her the whole time and refused to leave the room until I was 100% sure she was gone. Rest in peace Keesha and Bruno :(

37points

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Nikki D 6 years ago

I take a lot of solace in being the one to dig the grave and take care of them one last time.

11points

Linouchka 99 6 years ago

I feel you...

6points

McKinley Winkler 6 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

1point

Kiahna 6 years ago

This really hits home. When my dog Max was sick, my dad took him to the vet and left him there. I asked him if he stayed with Max, but he said that he just left. I was heartbroken. I went out to my other dog Rosco and promised him that I would never leave. I promised that I would stay with him to the end.

44points

Kiahna 6 years ago (edited)

I can't. I can't do this. I commented 3 hours ago and I can't stop thinking about this post. About how many dogs are betrayed by their owners every year, and I can't stand it. I don't think I have ever been this affected by something on the internet EVER. And I have never forgiven my dad for leaving Max in that place. Never have, never will. It's the hardest truth of them all. You never want to hear it, but we need to be there for our loyal companions, even when we don't want to.

44points

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Doodlebug 6 years ago

I have been with my father, my stepmother, and now my mother when all three of them died, and kissed each of them on their cold foreheads before I left their sides forever. My brother was there for none of that. I'm not upset or mad at him for that. I just feel sorry for him, because it's clear he's not as strong as he pretends to be. Some people are just not mentally or emotionally equipped to deal with death and dying.

29points

diane a 6 years ago

i cared for my mother for the last months of her life and it is the thing i am most proud of in my own life. There were numerous false alarms when I thought "this is it" to the point of getting family there to "say goodbye" only for her to revive a couple of hours later. I thought she had passed away several times on my watch in her last 2 weeks in her own home. the last few hours of her life were peaceful - me and my brother holding each hand - waiting for every breath to be the last. Due to staff shortages at the local Dr Office it was 8 hours befor a Dr could come out and issue a death certificate. I used that time to make my mum presentable, as she would have liked. I used her favorite body lotion to make her smell beautiful, I removed the hairs on her upper lip she hated and tidied her hair.I am eternally gratefull for being there and being able to do that

17points

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