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CPets are part of our families, but inevitably the time has come to say goodbye to them because of their old age or their illness.
Many animal lovers choose to bury their animals in the yard. However, this involves hidden risks, and there are other options that will help other animals, even the owners who love them.
Giving their bodies to the science, research and training of veterinarians can potentially help hundreds of pets.
See also: Dogs and men share a big fertility problem related to household chemicals
Why the yard is not the best
Burial in the backyard may seem like the easiest way to respectfully care for the remains of your pet. Unfortunately, this can be dangerous for other pets and wildlife. Most pets are asleep with an extremely concentrated anesthetic agent, resulting in a very peaceful death (hence the term "euthanasia," which means "good death"). However, this drug, pentobarbital, persists in the buried body of the animal up to one year. Any animal recovering the remains will be poisoned by the euthanasia solution.
I've seen two cases in my career where this happened, with serious consequences. In one case, a family had their mouse shot down and buried in the yard. The burrow of the family unearthed and ate the mouse. He was comatose in intensive care for almost a week. In another case, two farm dogs recovered bones from a cow that had been euthanized on a farm several months earlier. One dog died and the other was seriously ill for several days.
If your pet dies of an illness likely to spread to other animals or even to people, his body may also pose a risk. While vaccination has reduced the number of dangerous pet diseases in the community, some diseases, such as parvovirus, still occur during epidemics and are highly resistant and spread easily between dogs.
This virus causes serious and sometimes fatal gastrointestinal diseases in puppies and young dogs. Fortunately, our pets can not catch many diseases, but some diseases, such as salmonella and toxoplasmosis, can make sensitive people very sick.
What to do instead
Crematoriums and cemeteries are an option. The services are very professional and cover a variety of options and price ranges that are suitable for most pet owners. Costs may vary depending on the size of the animal.
Interment or professional cremation avoids the risk of environmental contamination or illness that may occur during burial in the backyard. For my own pets, who died, I chose a cremation that usually costs between A $ 200 and A $ 300, and then buried their ashes under a memorial tree in my garden.
However, there is another path. As a veterinary pathologist, my job is to perform autopsies on animals to determine the cause of death. We also use the knowledge and samples obtained at autopsies to conduct research aimed at improving our understanding of diseases and treatments in animals and humans.
Our pets are excellent "models" of diseases in pets and in humans, allowing scientists to study the development and progression of a disease and to develop disease. new treatments.
Cancer is the most common cause of death in pet dogs. Many popular breeds catch the same cancer at high rates, providing abundant and valuable research. These cancers in dogs are similar in appearance, behavior, treatments and genetic causes to many human cancers.
In addition, because dogs share our home environments, but age faster and show faster cancer progression than humans, studying dogs provides faster search results. In the United States, dog cancer trials are already fueling trials of new treatments for humans.
The study of rare genetic and developmental diseases in children is another area in which dogs are valuable scientific allies. As we raised dogs for specific appearances, from French bulldogs to viscous to greyhounds, we inadvertently created genetic abnormalities. Some of them are close counterparts of rare genetic disorders in children. Thus, dogs can be used to help identify genetic mutations at the origin of the disease and how the defective gene affects human children.
Universities have rigorous ethical reviews for this type of research. However, it is essential that we have the opportunity to take samples of common and rare pet diseases to build tissue banks. Most of these samples take place during an autopsy after the death or dormancy of the animal. These tissue samples are used to search for better treatments.
How to make a donation
If you want to donate your pet's body, your vet can point you to potential local options. In most major cities, it will be the veterinary school of the local university. Alternatively, you can contact the School of Veterinary Science directly through their website or phone number for general inquiries.
Most schools are interested in all species for teaching. My facility takes everything from mice to horses, to exotic animals like snakes and lizards. All of these species offer opportunities to learn about their anatomy and their diseases.
In addition to helping us in research on human diseases, veterinary schools need pet body donors to teach anatomy, surgery and pathology. In its most ethical form, this training is carried out on the bodies of dead animals of natural causes.
The donated pets give my students a valuable understanding of how the disease affects the body. In addition, we report the results of the autopsy to the veterinarian of the animal. This information is crucial for veterinarians who want to confirm diagnoses and allow grieving owners to close their doors.
See also: Veterinarians raise concerns about human use of medications prescribed to pets
If you choose to bury your pet euthanized, consider placing his remains in a container preventing other animals from accessing the body. Many local councils also have restrictions on burial of pets and it is helpful to consult the guidelines of your area.
In the end, however, I urge you to donate your pet's body to science. The loss of a pet can be heartbreaking, but there are many ways to create a meaningful legacy from this loss, which helps pets and humans.
This article was originally published on The Conversation by Rachel Allavena. Read the original article here.
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