GUELPH, Ont. — Saying goodbye is one of the hardest things a pet owner must do.
It is a heart-breaking decision, one that Nicole Lahaie and her family from Guelph had to face a few weeks ago, with a hope to give their beloved dog Simon a peaceful death.
Euthanasia, or putting your dog to sleep, is sometimes the only way to ease a pet's pain and suffering. For Lahaie’s gentle Italian greyhound, the time had come when his age was getting the better of him and there seemed more bad days than good.
Lahaie, her husband Aaron, and 12-year-old son Jasper, had come to the heartbreaking realization that their companion of 18 years was nearing the end of his time with them.
“I really wanted Simon to have no pain whatsoever. I didn’t want him to have any pain in his life and I knew I had to be strong and give him that,” Lahaie said.
Lahaie, a member of a Facebook group, specifically for Italian Greyhound dog owners, had posted on how it was getting harder to accommodate Simon.
"I asked for opinions about knowing ‘when it is time’. I got a good forty comments back saying, ‘when you know you know’. And ‘it’s better to do it sooner, rather than later’,” she said.
Respondents from the group were quick to offer information about a peaceful send-off at home.
Soon after, Lahaie came across the local organization, Peaceful Passing, a mobile veterinary service that offers compassionate in-home euthanasia and quality-of-life assessments in communities that include Guelph, Wellington County, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Hamilton and surrounding areas.
The goal is to offer the opportunity for a pet to pass peacefully with a beautiful end-of-life experience that honours the gift they were to their family.
“I’m just so glad that I have these opportunities to make a difference and to make such a hard time a little bit easier,” says Dr. Susan Dailley, a veterinarian who founded Peaceful Passing in 2015.
“Even though it doesn’t take away the pain, it can be so beautiful too, at the same time.”
Along with in-home euthanasia services, Peaceful Passing offers quality of life assessments, aftercare/memorialization services and pet loss support.
“I worked in general practice for about seven years. I was getting a little burnt out trying to figure out what part of my work was bringing me the most joy, what felt most rewarding and what made me feel like I was making a difference for families and their pets,” Dailley said.
“It didn't make sense to me that it was euthanasia, but it was. And I thought, how can I do this better? How can I offer something different where the pets don't have to leave their homes, a place where they feel the happiest, where their families were not having to say goodbye to a pet in a busy office.”
in 2014, after attending a vet conference and hearing about mobile in-home care, Dailley was instantly inspired.
“People I talked to said it would never work. But I believed that it would. I really navigated this all on my own. It was the first of its kind in the area, and it’s been 10 years now,” Dailley said.
“It's so wonderful for me to be able to make these connections with families, to get a hug, to get a thank you and to know that we’ve made an impact. I think this is what I’m meant to be doing. It has been so rewarding.”
Dailley says if a pet can stay at home, they avoid having to travel to a busy vet clinic.
"This can be stressful for any pet as well as the person driving the vehicle. They will be under a lot of emotional stress,” Dailley said.
“The pet and the people often feel so much more comfortable at home. We give them all of the space and time that they need. We don’t judge. We just want people to have the experience.”
The ways in which people deal with grief can be so different from one person to the next.
“We are just here to be present and hold space for that,” Dailley said.
“We also let people choose where they want to be situated. Maybe the pet has a favourite location in the backyard or on the bed. We will do whatever the client wants. The only thing we can’t do is meet at a local park or trail. We want it to be private.”
Peaceful Passing works with various animals including dogs, cats and smaller animals such as rabbits, birds, hamsters and rats.
“A lot of people want to have their friends and family members present, almost as a celebration of life. Then they can all be together after the event and support each other. That can’t happen in a clinic situation. There’s just not enough space,” Dailley said.
“I’ve also had situations where there was a pastor with a ceremony or service. There have been people with all kinds of different religious ceremonies."
Lahaie says that one last trip to the vet's office would have been filled with anxiety for both Simon and her family.
“It would have been a negative experience for him and for us. I would not want his last bit of time to be filled with that kind of anxiety,” she said.
“In some ways it might be easier to take them to the vet and be sheltered from it all, but at the same time, they are family members. It really is that kind of love. You don't want your family to suffer, so you are willing to do the hard thing and give them the best life that they can have, and that includes how they leave this world.”
Peaceful Passing also offers cremation services and aquamation services, both through local pet aftercare companies.
“We have several pet parents who wish to bury their pet. I think in those cases, not having to transport their pet from the pet clinic makes a lot of sense. It can be very hard for them too,” Dailley said.
Over the last 10 years, Dailley has gone on to hire more veterinarians and today, is able to offer services seven days a week.
“I had to believe that there were other vets who would show up the same way I do, who would have that same compassion and skill level. And I made the right decision,” Dailley said.
“It’s really amazing to see how much we’ve grown and how many people and their pets we can care for now.”
Lahaie says having to say goodbye was one of the hardest decisions she’s ever had to make, but thanks to Peaceful Passing, it was done in the most beautiful way.
“The vet who came to our house was just so compassionate and so willing to take our cue on everything. She waited for us. She allowed us to have time with Simon, on our own, before we had to say goodbye,” she said.
“It was beautiful and peaceful. It took away the stress of a sterile and scary vet’s office.”
Lahaie says she is grateful to have had Peaceful Passing bring dignity and love to a very difficult time.
"Simon was curled up on my lap, eating chicken and snuggling. He didn’t even feel anything. He just snuggled me,” she said.
“Then he fell asleep, on his couch, with his family and under his favourite blanket. And he knew nothing of pain. That’s what we wanted for him.”