The holidays can be difficult for some, especially when grieving a loved one. These are some ways to help you cope around the holidays. First, remember that it is okay to be happy. Feeling joy doesn’t diminish how much you love and miss your pet, or loved one. The holidays can be quite hectic so set aside some quiet time for yourself…
When a friend is experiencing grief it can be difficult to know what to say or what to do. Here are some helpful tips to help someone get through this period of time, but first, let’s talk a little about grief. Grief is a very powerful emotion that encompasses many feelings. There is no right or wrong way to…
How do we know when it is time? Keep in mind that every situation is different and even if you had to make this decision for another pet in the past, this time may be different: Chronic conditions that are difficult to manage such as chronic cough or difficulty breathing, pain that cannot be controlled with pain medication and…
How do we know when it’s time? Who decides when it’s time when multiple people are involved in the care of a pet? Quality of life is what we use to know when it’s time to say good-bye, but it’s not so simple. Quality of life (QoL) is different for everyone and means different things to different people due…
I decided to write this article because I was up very late last night with my son as he cried over the loss of our dog. The thing is, our dog died a few years ago but a picture of him surfaced and my son started to cry and ask why Scooby had to die. As a parent there…
Palliative care and hospice care are not the same thing, though they are often used interchangeably. Palliation is defined as “relieving or soothing the symptoms of a disease or disorder at any stage of an illness”. More and more people are choosing palliative care and so in this blog article we will explore the concept of palliative care and…
You may have been told that your beloved pet has a terminal illness and that nothing can be done or maybe you are watching your elderly pet start to decline. So many things may run through your mind and your anxiety level may start to rise wondering things like: When will this happen? How will this happen? Why is…
People deal with grief in many different ways. Most people deal with it in similar ways and have similar phases by which they process the loss of a loved one. Here are some common stages of grief that you or someone you know might go through. Four stages of grief: 1. Shock and Numbness: This stage immediately follows a…
Quality of Life is defined by the dictionary as: “the general well-being of a person or society (or pet), defined in terms of health and happiness, rather than wealth.” As a veterinarian, my greatest concern for my patients is that their lives have quality, that they are not suffering. This is what is called the “Health-Related Quality of Life”…
Saying Goodbye can be difficult! When I finally had to put my old old rescue Labrador Retriever, Trigger, to sleep, I thought that I’d prepared myself for feeling his loss, greatly and sadly. But it was nothing like I’d thought it would be. For the first few weeks, I was actually, emotionally, numb. I didn’t feel bad or good…
