--- title: When Is It Time To Say Goodbye? - December 2024 description: Discover how to make the tough decision of pet euthanasia with compassion and support from Dr. Aly Cohen at the Riney Canine Health Center. image: https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hubfs/AdobeStock_517551269.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/pet-euthanasia-dec-2024#main-content) [![RCHC_Lockup_2Color - Crop for Forms](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/RCHC_Lockup_2Color%20-%20Crop%20for%20Forms.png?width=1789&height=600&name=RCHC_Lockup_2Color%20-%20Crop%20for%20Forms.png)](https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/riney-canine-health-center) Open main navigation Close main navigation Dec 3, 2024, 4:01:07 PM # When Is It Time To Say Goodbye? - December 2024 ![Picture of Dr. Aly Cohen](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Aly%20in%20RCHC%20shirt%20(+%20Mishka)-1.jpg?width=50&name=Aly%20in%20RCHC%20shirt%20(+%20Mishka)-1.jpg) [Dr. Aly Cohen](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/author/dr-aly-cohen) When Is It Time To Say Goodbye? - December 2024 1:02 - ![happy old dog portrait looking up, top view](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/AdobeStock_517551269.jpg?width=3674&height=2446&name=AdobeStock_517551269.jpg) Friends of the Riney Canine Health Center, This is Dr. Aly Cohen, one of the veterinarians from the Riney Canine Health Center. This month, I wanted to talk to you about a much more personal, and often difficult topic. Which is how to really know when it's the right time to decide to euthanize a pet. Now, this is undoubtedly one of the most difficult decisions we as pet guardians face. The whole process of watching our pet decline over time is truly gut wrenching, and it can bring up a lot of difficult emotions that everyone deals with and processes differently. Click below to watch this month's video blog for more on pet euthanasia.   If you're going through a difficult time right now, or you have been through one in the past, I'm thinking of you all and sending all the compassion and support from the Riney Canine Health Center. Thanks for watching, and we look forward to catching up with you next month.  Dr. Aly Cohen, D.V.M. extension veterinarian Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center [Canine Health Tips](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/tag/canine-health-tips) ## Related Posts [![Golden Retriever and Yellow Lab playing with ball in swimming pool ](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Golden_%26_Lab_Pool_iStock-1407627174.jpg?height=200&name=Golden_%26_Lab_Pool_iStock-1407627174.jpg)](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/summer-safety-tips-may-2024) [Canine Health Tips](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/tag/canine-health-tips) ## [Canine Summer Safety Tips - May 2024](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/summer-safety-tips-may-2024) ![Picture of Dr. Brian Collins](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Brian%20Collins-1.jpg?width=50&name=Brian%20Collins-1.jpg) [Dr. Brian Collins](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/author/dr-brian-collins) May 29, 2024, 10:40:36 AM Friends of the Riney Canine Health Center, Thank you for joining our pack! I’m Brian Collins, an... [Read more](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/summer-safety-tips-may-2024) [![Picture of dog sniffing in wooded area. ](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Dog%20sniffing%20in%20woods.jpg?height=200&name=Dog%20sniffing%20in%20woods.jpg)](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/canine-enrichment-ideas) [Canine Enrichment](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/tag/canine-enrichment), [Doggy Dementia](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/tag/doggy-dementia), [Canine Health Tips](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/tag/canine-health-tips) ## [Canine Enrichment Ideas - July 2023](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/canine-enrichment-ideas) ![Picture of Dr. Aly Cohen](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Aly%20in%20RCHC%20shirt%20(+%20Mishka)-1.jpg?width=50&name=Aly%20in%20RCHC%20shirt%20(+%20Mishka)-1.jpg) [Dr. Aly Cohen](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/author/dr-aly-cohen) Jul 6, 2023, 4:59:34 PM Friends of the Cornell Riney Canine Health Center, [Read more](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/canine-enrichment-ideas) [![](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/shutterstock_2434599395.jpg?height=200&name=shutterstock_2434599395.jpg)](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/fall-ticks-and-treats-october-2025) [Canine Health Tips](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/tag/canine-health-tips) ## [Fall ticks and treats - October 2025](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/fall-ticks-and-treats-october-2025) ![Picture of Dr. Brian Collins](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Brian%20Collins-1.jpg?width=50&name=Brian%20Collins-1.jpg) [Dr. Brian Collins](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/author/dr-brian-collins) Oct 8, 2025, 2:11:59 PM [Read more](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/fall-ticks-and-treats-october-2025) [![RCHC_Lockup_2Color - Crop for Forms](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/RCHC_Lockup_2Color%20-%20Crop%20for%20Forms.png?width=1789&height=600&name=RCHC_Lockup_2Color%20-%20Crop%20for%20Forms.png "RCHC_Lockup_2Color - Crop for Forms")](https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/riney-canine-health-center) **Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine** 930 Campus Rd., Box #40 Ithaca, NY 14853  --- [facebook-f icon](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61590974220746) [X Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/cornelldogs) [instagram icon](https://www.instagram.com/cornell.rchc/) [youtube icon](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf8tGKj10zyhPiDs3lsECo04In2uEfIA) Copyright © 2026, Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center ![CVM Lockup 2 Color](https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/CVM%20logos/CVM%20Lockup%202%20Color.png?width=600&height=145&name=CVM%20Lockup%202%20Color.png "CVM Lockup 2 Color") ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Dr. Aly Cohen", "url" : "https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/author/dr-aly-cohen" }, "dateModified" : "2024-12-16T18:44:39.867Z", "datePublished" : "2024-12-03T21:01:07.000Z", "headline" : "When Is It Time To Say Goodbye? - December 2024", "image" : [ "https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hubfs/AdobeStock_517551269.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/member-benefits-health-tips/pet-euthanasia-dec-2024", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/hubfs/CVM%20logos/RCHC_Lockup_2Color%20-%20Crop%20for%20Forms.png" }, "name" : "Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "VideoObject", "caption" : { "@type" : "MediaObject", "contentUrl" : "https://riney.vet.cornell.edu/media-transcripts/182684732051/en.vtt", "inLanguage" : "en", "name" : "en Captions" }, "contentUrl" : "https://24145558.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/24145558/2024_Riney-MemberBlog_Nov_WCaptions.mp4", "dateModified" : "2026-02-13T15:42:20.310Z", "duration" : "PT4M54.667S", "height" : 720, "name" : "Riney Member Blog - Nov. 2024", "thumbnailUrl" : "https://api-na1.hubspot.com/filemanager/api/v3/files/thumbnail-redirect/182684732051?portalId=24145558&size=medium", "uploadDate" : "2024-11-11T20:47:55.484Z", "width" : 1280 } ```