Dealing with pet passing while on the road

dfm wrote:

BB_TX wrote:
If you are wanting to take the remains home, then consider cremation. Typically can be done in a couple of days depending on the provider. Or if longer, they may ship the remains to your home for you.

We lost our "Georgie Girl" 2 years ago when we were in Arizona for several months. When I asked the vet about cremation and wether the ashes were in fact really our Girls ashes his answer was "We try to have some of her ashes " They did multiple animal cremations. So ask the question when making the decision about cremation.

I agree.

From https://www.oneworldmemorials.com/blogs/news/83394438-pet-cremation-and-pet-ashes

There are three types of pet cremation: private, comingled, and partitioned. In a private cremation, only one animal's body is in the oven. During a partitioned cremation, multiple animals may be in the incinerator at the same time, but they are separated so that the remains from each can be collected separately. Some "active comingling" of remains is unavoidable. Communal cremation is the burning of several animals at once, without any form of separation.

BB_TX wrote:
If you are wanting to take the remains home, then consider cremation. Typically can be done in a couple of days depending on the provider. Or if longer, they may ship the remains to your home for you.

We lost our "Georgie Girl" 2 years ago when we were in Arizona for several months. When I asked the vet about cremation and wether the ashes were in fact really our Girls ashes his answer was "We try to have some of her ashes " They did multiple animal cremations. So ask the question when making the decision about cremation.

Thank you for the thoughtful suggestions.

It is interesting in my immediate B&M home, none of the vets are AAHA, including our vet who is rated 5 stars by everybody. It's run by a husband and wife team. Husband is the primary caretaker, and when our last dog passed, only the wife was in the office, even she shed some tears, but he was a special dog.

I hope she doesn't pass on the road, but I want to be mentally prepared with how to handle it.

We had several situations like this over the 40+ years I was in practice. Living in an urban area, I don't recall any campers, but several on vacation or passing through. We dealt with a local business that could offer cremation and if that couldn't be done within the time frame the ashes were shipped.

I would get recommendations from the campground people, the AAHA website or lastly from internet reviews.

Doug, DVM

Our pets so far have all been cremated and their ashes returned to us. I do google searches for vets in the area and then read their reviews. I have found some really good vets like this. Our dog is 15 and hopefully this won't happen soon, but we are full-time, and it could be anyplace. We would park and wait while she received treatment, or, wait for her ashes to be returned. Locating a vet is one of the 1st things I do when we arrive at a new location.

A local vet office will be able to advise you on local options.

Crowe wrote:
Personally I would be more concerned about what would happen to the Collies if something happened to me while on the road.

Leave contact info in your wallet/purse/rig. "In case of emergency and I cannot return to my dogs please contact...".

We didn't travel that much with our dogs (for various reasons) and we knew the areas we took them to already. I'd suggest if you are going to be in one spot for any length of time you pre-scope for a vet. Hard to do if you are moving from spot to spot but if you are staying for a while you can be a little bit prepared so you aren't scrambling while you are stressed.

Where my seasonal is at up North I know the vet and a copy of their medical records is on file. When I travel to Alaska or Florida I might not be in the same area very long. I put off a trip to Alaska until after Mikko passed. I have emergency contact info on my phone but my family is starting to thin out due to age so that may no longer be a option in a few years. If something does happen to me they would go back to Collie rescue automatically.

We travel with 2 dogs and a cat. Summer a year ago we encountered a doggie emergency that required emergency vet service. Google was our friend, but the closest "emergency" vet was still over an hour from where we were camped. It was a Saturday and when we got there, we still had to wait over 3 hours to wait out our turn and then it was another 2 or 3 hours before we got lab results back. But we were pretty helpless at that point and had no other alternative.

So, as stated above, ask the campground management, and/or do Google searches for your location, and be prepared to pay. Normal vet visits are costly enough, emergency treatment is through the roof.

If you are wanting to take the remains home, then consider cremation. Typically can be done in a couple of days depending on the provider. Or if longer, they may ship the remains to your home for you.

Personally I would be more concerned about what would happen to the Collies if something happened to me while on the road.

Leave contact info in your wallet/purse/rig. "In case of emergency and I cannot return to my dogs please contact...".

We didn't travel that much with our dogs (for various reasons) and we knew the areas we took them to already. I'd suggest if you are going to be in one spot for any length of time you pre-scope for a vet. Hard to do if you are moving from spot to spot but if you are staying for a while you can be a little bit prepared so you aren't scrambling while you are stressed.