Plan ahead to make the end of a pet’s life comfortable and affordable

Kristi Lehman has been thinking a lot about how she’ll eventually spend a final day with Piper, her 14-year-old Shih Tzu.

“As I watch her eat her favorite human food, or when I took her out on the stand-up paddleboard recently, I thought, ‘This is exactly what I want to fill her last day with,’” said Lehman, a veterinary social worker. “I constantly think about how I want to honor her memory and relationship with us.”

While there are several decisions, including financial, to make at the end of a pet’s life — when to euthanize, whether to cremate or bury, how to memorialize the pet — Lehman said those final moments are also crucial.

“We really encourage people to think about what would matter to them and what is best for their relationship with their pet,” said Lehman, who is also vice president of in-home euthanasia provider MN Pets.

Just like for humans, end-of-life decisions for animal friends can be emotionally fraught and, for some, financially tricky. But the lasting memorials can also spark long-term joy, and it might be worth planning and saving well in advance for some of the pricier or nontraditional options.

“It’s my wife’s desire to take the ashes of our dogs and have them turned into diamonds,” said Dr. Graham Brayshaw, the chief medical officer at Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley.

Preparing for end-of-life decisions and expenses should be on every pet owner’s radar, he added.

“Not many people are planning beforehand for what happens after,” Brayshaw said, “and they can be stuck with what can be a costly decision.”

Here are a few things to consider when the time comes.

Euthanizing a pet at the end of its life or in the face of terminal illness usually comes down to when, not if.

“I generally recommend pets not dying on their own,” Brayshaw said. “Once you know it’s close to time, providing euthanasia does alleviate suffering. It is generally recommended when the time is right.”

Pets passing on their own might spare owners the euthanasia bill, but added veterinary care costs to keep extending the pet’s life could far offset that. Just as a baseline, the annual average cost of owning a dog in Minnesota is $2,535, per MarketWatch.

Euthanasia services without cremation start at $105 for dogs and cats through the Animal Humane Society and can vary in price at veterinary clinics.

Discussions with veterinarians and consulting various quality-of-life scales can help pet owners figure out if the time is right and make peace with the decision.

“In consultations, pet owners might experience that paradigm shift, they start feeling the time is right,” Lehman said. “It becomes about quality of life rather than quantity.”

Veterinarian Dr. Haley Sundstrom at Lap of Love said often families are navigating a gray area.

“I recommend keeping in mind three to five things that bring your pet joy in their daily life. It can be playing with their favorite toy, eating a special treat or even barking at the mail carrier,” she said. “When they are no longer experiencing or interacting with their favorite things, it can be a sign their quality of life has declined.”

Groups like MN Pets and Lap of Love offer in-home euthanasia, which is costlier but offers a meaningful opportunity to say goodbye for some families.

“Being home can be more private, and it can be comfortable to have other pets, children, family and neighbors present,” Lehman said. “It’s also more comfortable for the pet, a lot of the time, to not be moved out of the spot they’re in, whether for fear, anxiety or the pain they’re in.”

Sundstrom said there can be a small ceremony to consider: a final favorite treat, a reading, even having the euthanasia take place outside.

But both said the “where” is ultimately a personal choice.

“The most important thing you can provide, no matter the setting, is your love for your pet in their final moments,” Sundstrom said.

Brayshaw also cautioned some folks don’t want the memory of their pet’s last breaths in their homes.

“You can be present for the euthanasia at a clinic, and staff will prepare accordingly,” he said.

MN Pets charges $375 for in-home euthanasia, with extra charges for cremation services.

Following euthanasia, the vet can return a pet’s body to the family for burial at no extra cost. Or the vet can manage cremation, which is the more common and expensive option.

For burial, pet owners need to ensure they can legally bury their pets in their backyard or other location. For example, Minneapolis doesn’t allow this, but it is OK in many suburbs and around the state. At least 3-feet deep is the general rule, Brayshaw said, but larger animals need to be under 5 feet of dirt.

“Wrap them in something that can decompose, like a blanket or T-shirt,” he said.

Cremation costs vary widely, from $40 on top of the cost of euthanasia at Animal Humane Society or an additional $160 to $400 at MN Pets. The cost depends on a couple factors, including size of the pet and if the ashes are coming back to the family or for disposal.

Another effect on price is communal (multiple pets) vs. individual cremation. The default and cheapest is cremating several animals at once. Private ensures an owner receives Miffy’s remains back without Spot and Rex.

For the basic option, remains come in a box for scattering. Urns or other special keepsakes will cost more, usually starting around $50.

Anything done with human remains — mixed into paint, pressed into a vinyl record, embedded into jewelry — is also an option for pets.

Prices for these can range widely, from a nicer $100 urn to $1,000 or more for creating a diamond with the remains.

“Just when I think I’ve heard every option, I hear another one,” Lehman said.

If owners don’t intend to scatter ashes in a backyard or at the lake — or perhaps at the Better Place Forests in the St. Croix Valley — there are other ways to memorialize.

“It is common for families to keep their pet’s ashes in a beautiful urn to honor them. However, you may decide that you want to bury your pet’s ashes and plant a tree or scatter their ashes up at the cabin,” Sundstrom said. “There are also many additional ways to honor your pet: paw prints and nose prints in ink or clay, a clipping of their fur, photos and drawings and even stuffed animals that can be made in their image.”

A more niche option to consider is taxidermy. There are a handful of service providers around the country that specialize in pets.

Animal Family Advanced Pet Preservation in Ohio charges $2,000 and up, depending on the size of the pet and scope of the finished taxidermy work. There are some other costs and logistics to consider, too, like freezing the passed pet for shipping to the preservationists and a $40 to $50 shipping fee for the finished work. The process can also take six to eight months.

The company additionally offers skeletal articulation, ranging from $500 for a cat or dog’s skull or $5,500 for a large dog’s full skeleton on a base.

“It’s niche, and we don’t hear much about it,” Brayshaw said, “but those interested should talk to the taxidermist well in advance to learn more.”

Sundstrom shared this reminder for anyone going through the difficult time of losing a pet:

“Even though it can be such a hard conversation, I recommend talking with your primary veterinarian or hospice veterinarian early on and sharing how you envision your pet’s end of life journey to be,” she said. “Communicate as a family so that everyone can feel like they are on the same page.

“Finally, be gentle with yourself, and allow yourself to grieve. The loss of a pet is the loss of a family member, and it’s really, really difficult to say goodbye.”