• Vetiranary Medicine
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Conference Coverage
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

The dvm360 toolkit: End-of-life conversations

June 1, 2015

Tips, tools and resources to help you have mindful, meaningful end-of-life discussions with pet owners.

End-of-life decisions about pets are inherently emotional, but there are tools you can use to ease the pain. This special package of articles, tips, handouts, videos and tools was specially designed to help you have mindful, meaningful end-of-life discussions with pet owners. 

Articles and tips

> What Dr. Marty Becker learned from a funeral director

> The coin jar exercise 

Your tools for end-of-life decisions

Infographic

Advertisement

Problem behavior cases are examined for prognostic indicators in this infographic.

Video

> Have you had some rough conversations about end-of-life issues with clients? Well, there's no doubt that people put a lot of stock in how their healthcare professionals handle tough conversations, and pet owners are no different. Get tips on what to say and how to say it best.

> Euthanasia is as tough a situation as you're likely to face with a client. Dr. Robin Downing says you can make things better by empowering and informing pet owners throughout the difficult event.

> End-of-life decisions about pets can be so hard on clients, but there is a tool to help pet owners keep focused. Here Dr. Robin Downing explains the Quality of Life Scale developed by Dr. Alice Villalobos and how it can bring objectivity to a sentimental situation.

Audio tools

Dr. Laura Garrett, a board-certified veterinary oncologist, explains how understanding the stages of grief can prevent you from taking clients' reactions to bad news personally.

Sample script: How to discuss the cost of euthanasia

"Help clients who make the difficult choice to euthanize their pet by approaching the associated costs with sincere consideration," says Sharon DeNayer, a Firstline Editorial Advisory Board member and the clinic manager at Windsor Veterinary Clinic in Windsor, Colo. DeNayer offers this script to broach the topic with clients.

 

Ready-to-use handout: Helping pets who have lost their buddy

Losing a housemate can be hard on the entire family-including the other pets. For clients faced with one or more surviving pets, point them to this handout for solace and tips.

Sounding off: Veterinarians discuss having pets present at euthanasias

Dr. John Ciribassi, DVM, DACVB, was asked: What happens when a client wants their surviving pet present at the euthanasia in order to decrease the post-traumatic effects on the younger dog? Get his answer here.

> Readers had a strong response to this question-here are some letters about closure for housemantes after euthanasia

Talk back

Does your team go the extra mile for clients dealing with euthanasia and end-of-life decisions? We'd love to share your winning strategies with your colleagues. Did you try one of these tools? We'd love to know what your experience was like. Any other feedback? Let us know.

Related Content:

Client Relations & MarketingToolkit
Spectrum of care: protocols to support pet owners’ budgets
Spectrum of care: protocols to support pet owners’ budgets
Hiring employees in line with your brand
Hiring employees in line with your brand
How to discuss finances with clients
How to discuss finances with clients

Advertisement

Latest News

Spectrum of care: protocols to support pet owners’ budgets

How to support women while still running a successful business

The Vets expands to Raleigh, NC

Two pups find their forever homes while at Fetch Charlotte

View More Latest News
Advertisement