Animals Unfolded

Pet health insurance is a topic that comes up at least a couple of times per week in my work, & that’s no surprise. After well over 20 years participating in various professional capacities adjacent to veterinary medicine, & now working with families as a Certified Animal Hospice Practitioner focused on senior & geriatric care, animal hospice & palliative care support for pets of any age, the involvement of vet care is common. And, of course I’m frequently liaising with other members of veterinary interdisciplinary teams, so I’m part of these conversations when families are moving through decision making.  I’ve made some interesting observations.  The first of which is that pet guardians understand that they can expect a better experience in meeting the changing needs of their pets, no matter the life stage or health status. That’s due to advances made in vet med, including testing & treatments that weren’t available even 10 years ago, a better understan...

An article about needle phobia on the Canadian news site cbc.ca came onto my radar this morning, and I found it to be important for good reason. It highlights how challenging it can be for those—human OR animal—who are on the receiving end of the needle, and the need to create neutral or positive associations during these interactions for both species.  Are you one of the many families in my care who are active caregivers with a profound fear of needles? Has it affected the way that you might like to pursue medical tests involving needles for your pet, and more importantly, how well you’re able to adhere to temporary or long-term treatment strategies for them involving injections or sub-q fluids ? Have you chosen to forgo treatment altogether, or as some families have decided to do, make the choice to relinquish and re-home your pet because the fear was too great?  You are not alone in this. It’s very common, and in this space, you are not judged or shamed for it....

Instead of a traditional blog post, I'm offering up a vlog entry this week. I highlight a situation I've seen in my work in pet sitting and especially as one that has come to specialize in pet palliative and pet hospice care. As pet professionals, our jobs, especially when a family is facing a grim diagnosis, can be very challenging, there's no doubt. This is especially true for veterinary doctors, vet techs (nurses) and support staff. And as professionals, how we use the words at our disposal is as important as the skills and knowledge that we've attained. We can't forget that. Lorrie Shaw is a freelance writer and owner of  Professional Pet Sitting . She has been  a  featured guest   on the Community Cats Podcast, talking about  how experienced pet sitters can be a valuable asset for families with pets, as well as in the animal rescue, veterinary and animal hospice communities. Shoot her  an email , contact her at  734-904-7279 ...