Euthanasia

Saying Goodbye

Whether due to age or illness, the time will come when difficult decisions about your pet’s end of life care must be made. In the event that a pet needs to be euthanized, we provide a warm and comforting Rainbow Room with soothing lighting and seating for clients and their families. Feel free to stay as long as you need to say your goodbyes, and then return to your car via our discreet exit.

Description of the process

Scheduling the procedure: Please contact us to help determine if euthanasia is the right option for your pet. This may involve a consultation with your pet’s doctor. If your pet has not been seen recently, then an examination may be needed to help determine this.

Paperwork: Our receptionists will come into the room and help determine your wishes for your pet’s remains, complete forms, and take care of charges before the procedure is started. This allows you to focus on your pet throughout the procedure, and afterward you can leave without having to return to the desk in the lobby.

Twilight: When you are ready, the process starts with an injection that will be given in the region over the shoulders. This is a combination of a sedation to help your pet relax and a pain medication to help relieve your pet of any pain it may be feeling. This can take 5 to 15 minutes depending on the individual pet. After this has taken effect, your pet will be very relaxed and in a “twilight” but still conscious and know you are there.

IV Catheter: Once your pet is relaxed, one of our technicians will place an intravenous (IV) catheter in a convenient area on one of your pet’s legs. An IV catheter ensures that the doctor will be able to administer the final injection effectively.

Euthanasia: When you are ready, the doctor will come in and give your pet an injection into the IV catheter. This is a medication that makes your pet first fall asleep, but is an overdose of anesthetic agent that stops its heart and helps them pass peacefully.

Aquamation services

For many years, Moorpark Vet has teamed with respectable and trustworthy pet after care services to provide individual and communal aquamation. This is a process that uses water flow, temperature, and alkalinity to gently help break down the body. Unlike traditional cremation, aquamation is a totally green, environmentally friendly technology. No greenhouse gases are emitted and it’s non-toxic. Individual aquamation remains are returned to our hospital within a couple weeks in a keepsake box along with a complimentary ornamental wood paw print. We will call to inform you when your pet’s individual aquamated remains are ready to be picked up. Communal aquamation remains are scattered in a nature reserve.

Burial options

The Los Angeles Pet Cemetery in Calabasas can serve as a final resting place for your pet. Burying a pet in your yard is not recommended because there can be contamination of the ground water and it can attract scavengers. The law varies between cities. Please call your city offices to determine the law for your city.