Opportunities in Caring Careers
The American Veterinary Medical Association is looking at the possibility of expanding animal care into such hot paw areas as hoarding and animal cruelty: translate–training veterinarians in forensics! And, most recently they are opening discussions in the area of “end of life care”–terminally ill animals and the aging pet. The possibility of working in these growing areas of concern could open doors that would not necessitate a traditional veterinary degree. As far as I am aware there is no formal curriculum in any of these areas.
Locally, hospice seems to be performed by volunteers working with veterinary approval. An oncologist once told me his patients were most afraid of two words–cancer and morphine. Pet owners also fear the cancer word but the second word with the most fear attached is “euthanasia”. Hospice emphasizes quality of life. Frequently, the veterinary profession emphasizes “natural death”. A recent study indicates communication with the client often centers on management of quality-of-life goals and not euthanasia.
Hoarding, of course, is more a human mental health problem than animal behavior and psychology courses could prove helpful. As with animal cruelty an interagency approach championed by the Latham Foundation and Phil Arkow is probably today’s best answer to this problem. Agencies like zoning, code enforcement, public health, rescues and law enforcement need to work together. The most definitive work in this field is Forensic Investigation of Animal Cruelty by Sinclair, Merck and Lockwood.
Veterinary hospice in our area is largely an individual effort and the caregivers are trained vet technicians who work with the approval of a veterinarian either in the home or in the hospital. Such care provides important family support—a strong veterinarian-client-patient relationship. It usually involves home care and thus reduces the pet’s anxiety about being in the hospital. Euthanasia is part of hospice care and it is worth noting that although this service is appropriate, more and more veterinarians favor natural death. Although euthanasia is often called “the good death”, hoarders and no-kill shelters are often unfortunate by-products.
In the not too distant future there could be a veterinary hospice association. In the meantime veterinary technicians, retired veterinarians, and retired nurses and healthcare workers may find employment here. It is to be hoped that a pet hospice movement will follow in the path of pet grief hotlines that began with human grief counseling–the important difference will be an awareness and enhancement of the pet’s quality-of-life and not a focus on the other family members. There are usually scheduled disruptions as well as changes that must be kept flexible for the continuing love of life we want our dog to have.
May 30, 2011 | | Uncategorized