Stressed by Euthanasias? Keep Coping
Strategies Healthy
Maureen Blaney Flietner
Y
ou’re You’re passionate about working
with animals, relieving animal suffering,
and easing the worries of pet parents.
But then there are the euthanasias. One a day,
maybe more on those awful days, it’s a strain.
Dealing with euthanasia means finding healthy
ways to cope. You don’t want to grow a callous shell or be overly emotional.
Compassion is paramount
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“When I first started, 75% of my attention was
on the pet, concentrating on doing it correctly.
A quarter of my attention was on the family.
Now having done this for so long and being
technically strong in the technique, my attention is 75% on the family and 25% on the pet.”
Focus on the good
Remember that you are helping families to end
the suffering of their pets, and there is a good
feeling behind that, she says. Hopefully, the
veterinary team has been involved in hospice
or palliative care for the pet so the decision to
euthanize is not fear based.
Handling your first euthanasia can be an eyeopener, says Kathy Cooney, past president of
International Association of Animal Hospice
Many veterinarians focus on the taking of life
and Palliative Care and founder of Home
rather than on eliminating the suffering and do
to Heaven in-home pet euthanasia.
not consider the gift to the family. Families are
so grateful, she says, for walking with them to
Maybe you did not observe one in school or
the end of their beloved pet’s life.
during internships and now the procedure is
thrust upon you. While you may be technically
“It is important to train to provide a technically
perfect, you now also must handle the turmoil
proficient euthanasia, so that it becomes just
of the grieving pet parents. If you have not
like tying your shoes. But if there is a problem,
been taught how to manage the situation – and
remember that the most important thing to
a lot of schools don’t have much training – it
your clients is that their veterinarian cares.
can burn in the memory.
Families can be quite forgiving as long as you
convey the three Cs -- compassion, confidence
Cooney says that in more than 10 years in busiand control but, whatever happens, the one that
ness, she has euthanized about 10,000 pets and
must always remain is compassion.”
she can still remember the first one.
“When I first started, 75% of my attention was
on the pet, concentrating on doing it correctly.
A quarter of my attention was on the family.
Now having done this for so long and being
technically strong in the technique, my attention is 75% on the family and 25% on the pet.”
Focus on the good
Remember that you are helping families to end
Warning signs
Sandra Grossman, Ph.D., of Pet Loss Partners,
a certified compassion fatigue counselor and
certified pet loss counselor, suggests watching
four warning areas:
• Sleep pattern changes. Stress may
affect a person's ability to sleep or find
them experiencing extreme fatigue.
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• Dependence on unhealthy coping
methods. Some may start to rely on food,
alcohol or medication to help them deal
with a tough day or week.
• Emotional changes. Team members
may start experiencing extreme sadness
or anger. They may start losing their
ability to feel anything and have a numb
or flat expression.
• Social changes. Team members begin
to withdraw from teammates and clients.
They may start being absent or tardy and
express negativity about everything.
Educate and communicate
“Education and communication are really
important to stay mentally and emotionally
healthy,” says Grossman. “The words ‘compassion fatigue’ are tossed around but many
don't really know much about its causes and
symptoms or how to combat it. Consider holding a workshop on the topic.”
It’s also important for a few, if not all, staff to
be trained in how to deal with grieving clients,
she says. It will be a tool they can use to eliminate some of the stress they themselves experience during that difficult time.
She also suggests that time be set aside during
regular staff meetings for team members to
openly discuss stressors as well as what's
working and not working with the way the
practice is dealing with certain situations.
Knowing what stressors affect you and how to
counteract them is important as is taking good
care of yourself physically and emotionally,
says Grossman. Have a "self-care" buddy at
work, someone to relate to, rely on, confide in,
and perhaps even take some of the stress or
responsibilities for that day.
Tips to try
Gail A. Bishop, Clinic Coordinator for the
Argus Institute at Colorado State University
Veterinary Teaching Hospital, deals with
14-18 pet hospice cases a year and supports
clients through end-of-life decision making
almost daily