Changing protocols surrounding euthanasia

An unwritten rule has existed among veterinary practitioners for years that the 2 most important interactions clients will have with their veterinarian are their first visit, where they form their first impression of the veterinarian, and their last visit, which is often when euthanasia is performed.

Whether the veterinarian travels to the client or the client to the veterinarian, euthanasia is an irreversible procedure for the animal and, most often, a very emotional time for the client, because of the sense of sudden loss, added to by the uncertainty around the event, which can be anxiety-inducing, frustrating, guilt ridden, and without closure, if not handled empathetically and in a timely fashion by the veterinarian.

It has been determined that empathy is one of the top 5 qualities by which clients judge their service provider (1), and that conveyed empathy facilitates closure for the client. Nowhere is empathy more important for a client than during the stressful time of pet loss. As might be expected, many veterinarians are attracted into the profession in the first place for the very reason that they are extremely empathetic to animals and animal owners; therefore, acts of empathy come naturally.

The bond between veterinarian and client is greatly augmented when reassurance and closure are reinforced for clients at 2 points in time: during the euthanasia procedure and as a follow-up after the client leaves the hospital (Cindy Adams, personal communication). Besides showing that empathy to clients during the procedure, veterinarians who more successfully strengthen the client-veterinarian bond are those who can convey that empathy to the clients after completion of the actual euthanasia by means of some sort of a follow-up approach. Why is the posteuthanasia follow-up message from the veterinarian important? Because, according to Dr. Adams, for clients, the follow-up item or message, in whatever form it presents itself, reinforces the closure and is symbolic of the process surrounding the death of their animal being completed, often controlled by the veterinarian through having the animal removed from the hospital and transported for cremation.

Veterinarians typically manage the euthanasia experience well, through dedicated booking times, extended end-of-day appointments, posteuthanasia viewings, and premedication of patients and preplacement of catheters, etc. to facilitate noncomplicated euthanasias. Many veterinarians have adopted their own individual styles of follow-up that may include such steps as communication with clients through phone calls, sympathy cards and plaques, flowers, letters, etc. To assist veterinarians with their follow-up and clients with their closure, items of condolence are and have been available for a number of years.

As much as a follow-up is important for the client and client-veterinarian bond, the timeliness of that follow-up is just as important. Clients who do not receive timely closure or for whom items, such as private cremation ashes, are not delivered when promised can quickly become angered during this sensitive time, thereby negating any goodwill for the hospital.

Veterinary affiliated service providers responsible for performing cremations and removing cadavers from veterinary hospitals are recognizing that they can assist veterinarians and their grieving clients, and simultaneously enhance their own business, by providing follow-up services to both veterinarians and clients. One company that I know of has augmented the mechanical services of transportation and private or group cremations, which, traditionally, have been provided to veterinarians, with a number of innovative services and products. The founder of this company recognized a need for grieving pet owners when, much to his frustration, he waited a month for his deceased dog's ashes to be returned from a private cremation.

Apart from providing the traditional cremation and 2-way transportation of cadavers and ashes, this company provides clients with a tastefully arranged facility where they can personally transport or visit their deceased pets (including horses) privately prior to their cremation, participate in the cremation process, retrieve items such as collars, and choose from a number of traditional and technologically innovative mementos that can be emblazoned with everything from names to personal pictures. Clients, or their veterinarians wishing to send a memento to a client, who do not wish to visit the facility personally can choose personalized items conveniently over the Internet.

Since the inception of these services, the significance of the human-animal bond has become very apparent to this company through its experiences with clients that include everything from processions complete with pallbearers and caskets, to client assisted euthanasias for private cremations. Regardless of the approach chosen by clients, their closure is complete, and on a timeline generally set to satisfy themselves. As one recent client stated, “I felt I followed my pet all the way to the end and felt comforted by the way everything was handled.”

While these types of services are not pursued by all pet owners, they do offer veterinarians an increasingly valuable option for satisfying clients.