End-of-life care for companion animals involves complex decisions about quality of life assessment, palliative care, and euthanasia timing, with significant welfare implications for animals experiencing terminal or chronic progressive conditions.
End-of-life welfare for companion animals reflects the unique relationship between pets and their owners. Unlike wildlife or farm animals, companion animal end-of-life decisions are made in the context of deep human-animal bonds that can cloud welfare judgement in both directions — both prolonging suffering through delay and sometimes hastening death prematurely. The welfare-centred framework prioritises the animal perspective: the question is not when humans are ready to let go, but whether the animal is experiencing more suffering than comfort in their remaining time. Tools that help owners assess quality of life objectively — asking whether good days outnumber bad days, whether the animal can eat, engage, and be free of uncontrolled pain — provide a framework for decision-making that keeps animal welfare rather than human grief at the centre.