BOOKS AND ARTICLES
for the veterinary team
BOOKS
In Home Pet Euthanasia Techniques, by Dr. Kathleen Cooney, for veterinarians, students, hospice providers, and technicians to help them gain comfort providing pet euthanasia in the home setting, including well described illustrations.
Blue Juice euthanasia in veterinary medicine, by Patricia Morris. Offering a behind the scene look of this unique reality.
Hospice and Palliative Care for Companion Animals: Principles and Practice. The first comprehensive reference to veterinary hospice and palliative care, with practical guidance and best practices for caring for sick and dying animals.veterinary teams experience.
My Patients and Other Animals: A Veterinarian’s Stories of Love, Loss and Hope. A moving memoir of a life spent in the company of animals—a veterinarian sheds light on the universal experience of loving, healing, and losing our beloved pets, and the many ways they change our lives.
Small animal euthanasia, Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, Volume 50-3 1st Edition.
Forever Friend: A children's guide and activity book for saying goodbye to a special dog (Geriatric Dog Care), by Dr. Mary Gardner (author), Coleen Ellis (author) and Dusan Pavlic (illustrator).
Reference guides
Veterinary Euthanasia Techniques: A Practical Guide, by Kathleen Cooney and al. The textbook on euthanasia for all species.
Euthanasia reference manual, the Humane Society of the United States, 2013.
2016 AAHA/IAAHPC End-of-Life Care Guidelines. 15 pages of very relevant recommendations for practices.
Sample euthanasia protocol: to make sure no steps or details are forgotten by the team, in DMV360.
ARTICLES
Feeling better around end-of-life
Compassion satisfaction: Finding the right words for difficult times, by Celine Leheurteux, DVM. (July, 2022)
Making lemonade when vet med gives you limons, by Alexandra Yaksich, AHT. How to get to compassion satisfaction. (October, 2021)
Humanizing the euthanasia experience, by Jocelyn Anne Mason, DMV, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine magazine. (Spring, 2020)
The quality of life question we all should be asking, by Dr. Buisson on the questions to ask ourselves when we have to take the decision. (December, 2018)
Six euthanasia trends you didn't know about, by Dani McVety, DMV. (August 1, 2018)
Why we should stop trying for a perfect euthanasia, by Cherie Buisson, DVM, CHPV. (June 23, 2018)
Why I sedate every pet for Euthanasia and you should do too, by Cherie Buisson, DMV. The perfect euthanasia for a vet is not necessarily viewed the same by the family. I you are not convinced to sedate, you will be! (October, 2015)
Compassion fatigue
Euthanasia and the ‘Upside Down’ world it creates: Empathy is what makes us vulnerable to being profoundly affected and even possibly damaged by our work, by Jocelyn Anne Mason DVM. (October 8, 2020)
Download the CVMA suicide prevention sticker here for English or French.
dmv360: A summary of what Compassion Fatigue is, to help us understand why we sometimes feel so exhausted at the end of our workday. (May 1, 2015)
Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project: Compassion Fatigue is a state experienced by those helping people or animals in distress; it is an extreme state of tension and preoccupation with the suffering of those being helped to the degree that it can create a secondary traumatic stress for the helper.
Tips
Veterinary Practice News - The euthanasia appointment calls for empathy, by Céline Leheurteux, DVM. Rituals allow us to honour the memory and regain some control over a situation we have no control over. Discover some guidelines for a gentle and empathetic discussion. (May 31, 2023)
Veterinary Practice News - Is entrepreneurship the missing piece? by Céline Leheurteux, DVM. A Quebec DVM shares her journey of professional fulfilment. (March 28, 2023)
10 Things you Need in your Vet Practice, by AHT Alexandra Yaksich. (July 30, 2021)
Veterinary Practice News - The Rainbow Bridge: Putting your aftercare policy into action, by Alexandra Yaksich, AHT. 3 main points of the AVMA Companion Animal Aftercare Policy and examples of how they work in practice. (June 15, 2021)
AVMA Companion Animal Aftercare Policy: the sensitive handling of pet remains is an important aspect of veterinary practice. Veterinarians should provide adequate containment of the remains. Veterinarians must understand they may be responsible and may be held accountable, for the aftercare provider they recommend. More information in this youtube video by Dr. Cooney from CAETA.
Alternate Routes for Euthanasia, by Mary Gardner, DMV. Euthanasia methods that minimize stress may not always involve an IV catheter. (March, 2018)
Handling euthanasia in your practice, by Mary Gardner, DVM and Dani McVety, DVM in TVP. Tips on how we can do better and make euthanasia an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with our clients. (February, 2016)
Why clients leave, by Portia Stewart, Editor, Team Channel Director, in DVM360. A negative or neutral euthanasia experience can result in a client leaving even if they like the veterinary team. The plastic bag set a negative tone for the practice. (June 1, 2008)
Pets and Cancer
Oncowaf was created by Dr. Laetitia Cicchelero, a veterinarian with a PhD in oncology, for dog owners with questions about cancer. It offers an overview of clinical studies and reliable information in 5 languages.
Responsible pet burial
EUTHABAG and the Environment: This document will answer all of your questions regarding the composition of EUTHABAG and its environmental impact.
Pentobarbital contamination concerns: The mysterious case of 4 canine deaths, by Alexandra Yaksich, AHT. The veterinarian’s liability extends beyond the ground.
Find more information on how to appropriately bury a pet on the handout page.
Understanding Grief
Stages of Grief made simple.
