Veterinary palliative medicine comes into focus when the decision has been made to move away from the pursuit of a curative therapy for a life-limiting illness and focus on preventing suffering and allow your pet to live as long as possible. Often a misconception occurs in veterinary medicine that when a pet receives a terminal diagnosis then all care options have been exhausted. There are times when a pet presents at the hospital and truly needs the immediate relief of suffering that euthanasia provides. However, most of the time this is not the case in fact, most of the time there is an immediate need to treat or intervene to relieve clinical signs that does not require immediate euthanasia. This patient needs and deserves palliative care in the interim between diagnosis and death.
Dr. Rankin has a strong belief in God and that God Himself has established that people should be good stewards over the animal kingdom and even more so with the pets that we love and cherish and have made part of our home and hearts. Our pets deserve all the compassionate care we can give them.
Granted, not everyone is capable emotionally or financially to go through the process of palliative care. If you can, it is a very rewarding experience. However, if you know that you cannot go through palliative care with your pet please have an honest conversation with Dr. Rankin.
Palliative care most often will include some medications for pain as well as other medications as needed. Nutritional supplements and dietary changes may be needed. Some aspects of palliative care are not medical at all. Some changes in your pet’s physical environment may be needed such as adding nonskid surfaces for your pet to walk on or blocking off stairs or perhaps elevating their food and water bowls. Our goal here at Rankin Veterinary Hospital PC in palliative care for your pet is to provide loving compassionate care for patients that are approaching their end of life and when the time comes for euthanasia to help them transition as peaceful as possible. In doing so, we hope to help our clients remember the love and joy that their pets brought into their life and the love that they were able to give to their pets.
Veterinary palliative medicine comes into focus when the decision has been made to move away from the pursuit of a curative therapy for a life-limiting illness and focus on preventing suffering and allow your pet to live as long as possible. Often a misconception occurs in veterinary medicine that when a pet receives a terminal diagnosis then all care options have been exhausted. There are times when a pet presents at the hospital and truly needs the immediate relief of suffering that euthanasia provides. However, most of the time this is not the case in fact, most of the time there is an immediate need to treat or intervene to relieve clinical signs that does not require immediate euthanasia. This patient needs and deserves palliative care in the interim between diagnosis and death.
Dr. Rankin has a strong belief in God and that God Himself has established that people should be good stewards over the animal kingdom and even more so with the pets that we love and cherish and have made part of our home and hearts. Our pets deserve all the compassionate care we can give them.
Granted, not everyone is capable emotionally or financially to go through the process of palliative care. If you can, it is a very rewarding experience. However, if you know that you cannot go through palliative care with your pet please have an honest conversation with Dr. Rankin.
Palliative care most often will include some medications for pain as well as other medications as needed. Nutritional supplements and dietary changes may be needed. Some aspects of palliative care are not medical at all. Some changes in your pet’s physical environment may be needed such as adding nonskid surfaces for your pet to walk on or blocking off stairs or perhaps elevating their food and water bowls. Our goal here at Rankin Veterinary Hospital PC in palliative care for your pet is to provide loving compassionate care for patients that are approaching their end of life and when the time comes for euthanasia to help them transition as peaceful as possible. In doing so, we hope to help our clients remember the love and joy that their pets brought into their life and the love that they were able to give to their pets.