Ask any vet and putting animals to sleep is unlikely to be one of their favourite parts of the job.
End of life discussions with pet owners during short consultations from my experience can not be easy. Pet owners want to be told what is the best thing to do for their pet or “what would you do?”.
The aim of Friend at the End is to act as a resource for owners to read in their own time and to get emotional and practical support and advice when considering the euthanasia of their own pet and to come up with an end of life plan so that when the time comes they can feel a little more prepared and ready.
Personally when my own Labrador was put to sleep I would have welcomed this to help me get clear in my mind what my goals were for a good end of life and also a peaceful death. As an End of Life Doula, I am comfortable taking about death but for many people this is a daunting and scary area to consider.
This is a developing resource and so I am reaching out to vets for any feedback, support or suggestions for the site and how it might be improved>
In due course I will be producing literature for veterinary surgeries to give to clients in this situation.
Please do get in touch if I can help in any way.
