If you have a pet near the end of life, you should know in advance how to get help at any time. This may mean calling your veterinarian at the normal clinic to get their emergency numbers in advance. It may mean you have entered a home hospice program where you would have a 24-hour number to call. It could mean you have already made contact with and arrangements for an in-home euthanasia doctor. However, as life happens, these events do not always follow our plans or convenient hours. So plan now for an off-hours emergency. You may need to ask yourself some hard question; for example, What will you do if your giant breed dog who has debilitating arthritis is in the basement and suddenly begins to have a severe medical problem such as bad pain or a seizure? Make plans now on how you would move your dog, whom to call for help, what tools or aids would you need to move a large dog; and, if you must take your dog somewhere in the car, where will you go. This may likely mean a late-night trip to the veterinary emergency clinic.Frequently, pets who are not ready for euthanasia may have medical symptoms that need to be treated, but you want symptom treatment only, not heroic therapies or diagnostic procedures. In other words, you may have the need for emergency care that is palliative or symptom control in nature. Most veterinary emergency clinics are treatment focused, but you want only symptom control, such as pain relief, stopping seizures or help with breathing, etc. Palliative care means we treat the signs of disease to ease the petís suffering, but we do not treat the disease itself. This may be difficult to explain to an emergency veterinarian or staff. Consequently, you should make a ìDear ERî letter that explains this desire in advance. You might think of this as sort of an ìadvanced directiveî for your dog or cat. The letter should simply state your wishes if your pet has to be seen by a veterinarian who is not familiar with your pet and its history. With this letter, doctors will provide exactly what your pet needs without starting deep and expensive treatment care. This is important so I have made an example letter for you here. Please feel free to copy this sample letter and put your petís name and your name on the letter. Have it handy to present in an emergency; or, better yet, take a photo of it on your cell phone to show the attending doctor. I have a few critical medical items for my own health on my cell phone in case Iím in the emergency room and cannot explain some special issue.
| Dear Emergency Staff:My dog (cat) is under the care of my veterinarian for (the illness). I am here now because my pet is suffering from a symptom of this disease but I am not ready for euthanasia at this point unless it is absolutely necessary. I also understand that my pet is critical, and this symptom may be a sign of impending death. However, I request that you treat the side effects of my petís disease. I wish to opt out of diagnostic procedures or extensive medical treatments. Please control the major symptoms my pet has now. I hope this simplifies your role and that you can focus on the management of symptoms. I respect your professional judgement in providing this type of palliative care. Also, if at all possible, please contact my veterinarian, Dr. (your veterinarian) at this number; (###-###-####). |
