At first I read that as 'If our pets outlive us?' That was a temporarily fucking scary thought. They would probably eat us to survive if no one noticed that we were gone.

Now that my vision is no longer blurred, if your pet dies, you call your nearest ASPCA, vet, or animal control office and make arrangements for it to be cremated (that's how people usually do it) or buried. If they can't get to you that same day, they will sometimes recommend putting your pet over ice. It sounds morbid, but you don't want rotting dead animals in your house. That just adds insult to injury.

Generally if you take good care of your pets as any human being should, this doesn't happen because you'll probably want to euthanize them before they experience horrible pain and suffering.

Growing up, I had a cat we had to put down due to kidney failure when I was 14. It was cold and rainy when we dropped him off. My dad was visibly shaken even though he hated cats. Once we left I told my parents to turn around, so at least we could be with the cat while they put him down. The procedure was already done by the time we came back. We never made that mistake again.

When we had to put our dog down for organ failure when I was probably 16-17ish, we had one of those mobile vans come to our house so we could at least be there with the dog when they gave her the fatal dose of euthanasia medicine. My mom was the only one of us to go into the van in front of our house with the dog, while my dad and I smoked a cigarette and poured ourselves a stiff drink. That was only one out of two times I've seen him cry like a baby.

Chances are you are going to outlive your pets, and sometimes loss of an animal you've lived with for x amount of years is almost on par with losing a person close to you. Recognize when they're in unbearable pain and end their life as painlessly as possible while you're by their side. Whatever you do, don't prolong the suffering and let them croak in pain.

Cheers.