Emma

We lost our beloved Emma after her brave struggle with cancer. She has been such a joyful part of our family that every moment without her is a reminder of our loss. With her mischievous sense of humor, she taught us about love, kindness and exuberance for life.

She lovingly raised two girls, a kitten and a tortoise.

Any of us who have loved a pet, have undoubtedly lost a pet. For some that loss has been taken out of our hands, but for many of us we are faced with the difficult decision of euthanasia. It is never easy to decide when the best time is for us to step in and let our friends go. We all struggle with the insecurity of that decision and knowing when the right time to euthanize is. I can assure you from a veterinarian’s perspective; this is never an easy decision -even for our own animals. Jim and I have both taken the view that it is better “one day too soon than a day too late”. What that means to us is that if our pets or patients could suffer less because of humane euthanasia then this is one of the greatest gifts we can give our loyal friends. There is still a place for pet hospice care, but when the medications stop working then it is time to intervene. There are a number of websites that offer support for pet loss and grief for you and your family.

• http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu
• http://www.aplb.org/
• http://www.pet-loss.net/
• http://www.selfhealingexpressions.com/

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It’s the best deal man has ever made.

— M. Facklam