1/5/2024 0 Comments End of life decisions for dogs![]() ![]() ![]() Often, pet guardians have to rapidly make hard decisions in the midst of panic and trauma. One of the challenges with end-of-life care is that the decline in a pet’s health is often unanticipated. All she knows is that she can’t jump up on the desk as easily, she can’t get comfortable.” But what if you don’t have medical experience or confidence? ![]() I know what’s happening and how to minimize it. “The kind of anesthesia that would be required… that alone might kill her,” she says, adding: “I don’t want to put her into more misery for my benefit. She knows, for example, how grueling surgery can be, especially for a senior cat. Maas also believes her nursing history helps her make more informed decisions. Diana has arthritis and seizures, which Maas helps treat by delivering medications and fluids at home. Shayla Maas draws upon her nursing background and personal experience with chronic pain when she cares for her senior cat, Diana. Some pet owners do have a background to feel reassured about their decisions during their pets’ end of life. “I don’t think I regret putting him down, but I do feel like I failed him,” she says. It was something that I managed and lived with, but it went from about 75 percent use to about 25 percent use, and then to none,” Locke says.Īfter years of struggling, she made the decision to euthanize. “No matter what we tried, including crating him, locking him in a bathroom or small bedroom with a litter box, his litter box habits remained hit and miss. How far people are willing to go to manage a terminal condition is up to them, but sometimes there’s a gap of understanding what might be involved in the long term.Īuthor Katherine Locke is acutely familiar with this experience after the death of her cat, Jupiter, who had cerebellar hypoplasia and feline lower urinary tract disease. “We overestimate the number of people who would make that choice if they understood what meant,” Vogelsang says. This mindset has also bred an expectation that end-of-life illnesses like cancer in pets are curable, when they’re more often manageable. ![]() Jessica Vogelsang, a San Diego veterinarian who provides palliative, hospice, and euthanasia home care, “you get a terminal diagnosis, and the question is: ‘How do you treat it?’ If you’re lucky and you work with the right people, palliative care comes up.” The mindset ‘pets as family’ may lead to mismatched, undeliverable expectations “I don’t think I regret putting him down, but I do feel like I failed him.” – Katherine Locke, on the experience of her cat’s death And with age comes the increased risk of painful health issues or sudden, terminal conditions. This may seem like an abstract question for people with younger, healthier pets. More importantly, how can guardians know when care is actually prolonging pain - especially when they’re faced with a beloved pet in crisis and surrounded by a family who may be deeply, emotionally attached? While end-of-life care options can be extremely expensive, the availability of such treatment options is sparking an increasingly fraught conversation about “how much is too much.” When does medical care for pets cross the line, doing more harm than good? The implication, if they don’t pay for advanced care, is that they don’t love their pets enough.īut saving your pet’s life comes at more than an economic cost. Others also feel tremendous pressure to do so. Sinking tremendous resources into veterinary care is often the route some pet guardians choose, especially those who want to prolong and improve quality of life. A forest of medical specialties has expanded the choices available to pet guardians: chemotherapy, radiation, kidney transplant, drug trials, and much more. You could be referred to one or more specialists who can provide cutting-edge care. Did your vet recently diagnose your pet’s terminal illness or complex condition? With huge technological and medical innovations, there’s plenty of options for treatment. While the number of people keeping pets is on the decline, the veterinary profession is experiencing significant growth. ![]()
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