When your dog has died: what to do now, and what can wait

In the first hour

1. Ask someone to come and be with you, if you can.
2. If your dog died at home, call your vet. They can tell you what happens next and arrange cremation.
3. Take the time to say goodbye. Other animals in the house can say goodbye too.
4. Before the body goes, take what you want to keep: the collar, a clipping of fur, a paw print.

If your dog died at home

You cannot wait long, so keep the body cool while you decide. From the pet insurer Embrace's advice:

• Put a towel or puppy pads under the body to catch fluids.
• Lay the dog on its side, curled as if asleep, and wrap it in a blanket, a towel or a piece of your clothing.
• A small dog can go in a fridge, wrapped. A larger dog goes on a cool concrete floor, such as in a garage, out of the sun.

Embrace: what to do when your pet dies at home

Cremation or burial

• Communal cremation: your dog is cremated with other animals, and the crematorium scatters or buries the ashes. No ashes come back.
• Individual cremation: the ashes come back to you. The vet can arrange it, or you choose a pet crematorium yourself.
• Burial at home: whether it is allowed depends on where you live. Ask your vet or the local authority first.
• Where burial is allowed, PDSA advises a grave at least about a metre deep, so other animals do not disturb it, and no home burial after recent chemotherapy or a contagious disease.
• A pet cemetery takes a body or the ashes. Your vet can name one nearby.

PDSA: when it's time to say goodbye

In the days after

A few calls and records, so reminders stop arriving. Not all of them apply everywhere.

• Tell your vet if the death happened elsewhere, so vaccination and worming reminders stop.
• Tell the microchip database that the dog has died. In some countries that is a legal duty.
• If your area has a dog licence or registration, tell the office that issued it.
• Tell your pet insurer.
• If your dog came from a rescue, let them know. They keep records too.
• Stop regular orders: food deliveries, flea treatment, the walker or the groomer.

Dogs Trust Ireland: admin after a dog dies

What can wait

• The bed, the bowls and the lead. There is no day by which they must go.
• Where the ashes go. They can stay with you as long as you like.
• Telling everyone. A short message to the people who knew the dog is enough at first.
• A new dog.

Children and other animals

Tell children plainly that the dog has died, with the word “died”. Other animals in the house may search for the dog or eat less for a while; keep their routine the same.

Explaining a pet's death to a child

Later: keeping what they did

Bruno was a Great Dane, 2016 to 2024. In his last year he and Hein kept to the short route, and he still waited at every fork for Hein to choose the way. His book is an example of a memorial book made from answers and photos, not a customer's book.

Read Bruno's bookWays to remember a dog

If the grief is heavy

Grief after a dog dies can be as heavy as after a person. The grief guide covers what is normal, other pets in the house, and where to find support.

Coping with pet loss