Recently, it was brought to my attention the number of owner-requested euthanasias in animal shelters may be increasing.  This is when humane euthanasia is provided for pets owned by members of the community. Pet owners may not be able to afford euthanasia services at the local veterinary hospital or cannot be seen by a local…

During a podcast with Clinician’s Brief this week, I was asked if I had the power of time travel, would I go forward 100 years to see what veterinarians were up to, or go back 100 years in the past. My reply was to go back in time so I could help veterinarians understand safer…

In support of part one, highlighting the importance of preplanning and good communication with members of the deaf community, this blog features information on how to choose the right drugs and how to describe death itself. There are simple ways to minimize stress for deaf owners who otherwise may be unclear exactly what their pet…

Recently I was asked to aid in the passing of a sweet old dog owned by members of the deaf community. This family scheduled the appointment through my online web portal, and even though we communicated via email and a translated phone call beforehand, I found myself ill-prepared to fully support them during the death…

I used to own a pet crematory as part of my end-of-life mobile veterinary service. Before this, I worked with local crematories in northern Colorado, all of whom did amazing work caring for my patients after death. Building my own aftercare service opened my eyes to what crematory companies can do for veterinary teams. And there’s a lot. Sometimes…

For many years, veterinarians and pet owners have reached out to me to talk about euthanasia experiences.  They seek to understand if what they witnessed was normal, expected, unexpected or concerning.  Veterinarians tend to look for answers that will shape how they deliver a euthanasia technique the next time. Pet owners want to know if…

I have always approached euthanasia decision-making as finding the path of least regret.  Choosing euthanasia is hard. What REALLY prepares someone to elect euthanasia for a beloved friend?  The physical and emotional condition of the pet, the burden of care for owners and their own emotional health all tend to play a role in when…

Companion animals are likely to leave this world via one of two ways; naturally through the normal progression of physical decline or via euthanasia. Often pet owners make the choice for one over the other and sometimes, as in the case of natural death, the body takes over and does what it needs to do. …