Your Pet Died in the Night: What to Do Before Morning

Nothing needs to happen before morning

If your pet has died at home during the night, there is no step that cannot wait until a reasonable hour. Wrap them, move them somewhere cool, and go back to bed if you can — or sit with them if you cannot. Waking a vet at 3am cannot change anything now, and you will make better decisions in daylight.

Who is actually open

Some South African pet crematoriums genuinely operate 24 hours and will collect in the middle of the night, particularly in Gauteng and around Cape Town. If the body cannot be kept cool — a summer night in a warm flat, for instance — it is worth phoning one. Otherwise, morning is fine.

If they are still alive and suffering

This is a different situation entirely. If your pet is alive and in obvious distress at night, phone your nearest 24-hour animal hospital immediately. In South Africa most large centres have at least one after-hours emergency veterinary facility, and your regular vet's voicemail will usually name the one they refer to. Do not wait until morning for a suffering animal.

In the morning

Phone a crematorium or your vet, decide between individual and communal cremation, and arrange collection. If you want the ashes back, say individual explicitly. Ease The Paw can handle the whole arrangement in one message if you would rather not do it yourself.