Companion Animal End of Life Care for the Veterinary Technician
1. Auflage November 2025
352 Seiten, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
A practical, one-stop resource for veterinary technicians offering end-of-life services for companion animals
In Companion Animal End of Life Care for the Veterinary Technician, an experienced interdisciplinary team delivers a comprehensive guide for veterinary technicians seeking a resource covering all aspects of the veterinary technician's role in companion animal end-of-life care. The book explores everything from palliative nursing strategies to euthanasia techniques, with special attention to supporting and communicating with caregivers throughout the end-of-life period.
The editors offer invaluable support, knowledge, and skills to enhance your ability to provide patients with comfort and offer empathy to caregivers in challenging situations. In this book, you will find a practical approach and user-friendly format, a handy and accessible reference for daily veterinary practice. you will also discover:
* Hospice and palliative care principles, philosophy, and methods of delivery
* A thorough exploration of quality of life and end-of-life decision-making
* Practical communication skills and case study applications
* Euthanasia best practices
* The valuable role of veterinary social work and perspectives on pet loss support
* Grounded approaches to maintain technician and team wellbeing
* Careful alignment with evolving standards of end-of-life care and client expectations
* Distillations of expert insights from authoritative texts and current literature, providing access to the most relevant information for technicians in the field of end-of-life care
Perfect for practicing veterinary technicians with a desire to improve their standard of end-of-life care, Companion Animal End of Life Care for the Veterinary Technician will also benefit students of veterinary technology start their careers with the mindset and tools to lean into the meaningful experiences that can be accessed through compassionate end-of-life care.
Acknowledgment xix
Introduction xxi
About the Companion Website xxv
Part I Animal Hospice and Palliative Care 1
1 Introduction to Animal Hospice and Palliative Care 3
Alyssa Eslinger
2 Pain Recognition and Assessment 15
Alyssa Eslinger and Amy Birchall
3 Pain Management 33
Alyssa Eslinger
4 Hospice and Palliative Nursing Care 55
Alyssa Eslinger
5 Understanding and Assessing Quality of Life 75
Alyssa Eslinger
Part II Communication and End-of-Life Decision-Making 91
6 Building Essential Communication Skills 93
Joye Sears and Becky Taylor
7 Supporting Difficult Conversations 107
Joye Sears
8 Ethical End-of-Life Decision-Making 123
Alyssa Eslinger
9 Death and Dying 137
Alyssa Eslinger
Part III Euthanasia 149
10 Providing a Compassionate Euthanasia Experience 151
Kathleen Cooney
11 Anatomy of a Humane Euthanasia 167
Kathleen Cooney
12 Euthanasia Techniques in Companion Animals 183
Kathleen Cooney
13 Respectful Deceased Body Care 203
Kathleen Cooney
14 Introduction to Grief 223
Sarah Bernardi
15 Pet Loss Support 243
Sarah Bernardi 243
16 Children and Pet Loss 265
Sarah Bernardi and Amy Sugar
Part IV The Path Forward 291
17 Empathic Strain and Veterinary Team Wellness 293
Sarah Bernardi and Kathleen Dunbar
18 The Future is Bright 305
Alyssa Eslinger and Joye Sears
Index 000
Joye Sears is a veterinary technician with 10 years experience in companion animal practice prior to becoming an instructor at Dalhousie University in 2015. She has a special interest in teaching compassionate end-of-life communication skills to future technicians.