When a Pet Dies at Night or Over a Weekend

Almost nothing is open, and that is survivable

Most pets die at inconvenient hours, and most people discover the crematorium is closed until Monday. Your pet can be kept safely at home overnight or across a weekend. This is upsetting rather than dangerous, and it is more common than you would guess.

Keeping them at home

The coolest place available, out of the sun, on a towel with something absorbent underneath. A garage floor, a bathroom, a tiled passage. Wrap them in a blanket. If it is a hot summer weekend, position them near a fan or in the coolest room, and prioritise getting collection arranged for the earliest opening.

Who is actually reachable

Emergency and after-hours veterinary hospitals are open when nothing else is, and most will accept a deceased pet into their cold storage until a crematorium can collect. This is often the practical answer at two in the morning. Phone first rather than arriving unannounced.

Other people in the house

If there are children, decide deliberately whether they see the pet again. Many find it helps to say goodbye properly. Other pets in the house often benefit from being allowed to approach and understand, rather than the animal simply vanishing.

What we can do out of hours

Message us whenever it happens. We may not be able to get a crematorium to collect at midnight, but we can tell you what to do tonight and have collection arranged for the first thing that opens, so it is not still sitting on you in the morning.