Palliative Care - What That Involves
To some dog owners, the dog is not simply a pet or some animal. It is their best friend and, in a family, it is a member of the family. For this reason, it is hard to comprehend the agony that such people go through when their dogs are diagnosed with terminal illnesses such as cancer. The hard question is whether to administer euthanasia on the dog or to extend its life through care giving. Where the bonds are very close, owners choose palliative care for dogs. Their reasoning is simple. If the dog is truly a member of the family, it must be have the same rights as the human members of the family. If you would not choose euthanasia for your terminally ill son or daughter, why would you recommend it for your beloved dog?
One of the problems associated with cancer is the extreme pain that the victims suffer. Palliative care is meant to relieve the patient of this pain. In most cases, the dog owner is not a veterinarian and will therefore need to hire the services of one. Cancer radically changes the dog’s needs as, in addition to the pain, his activity level is reduced. Moreover, the dog’s nutritional needs change. A terminally ill dog needs more calories yet feeding it now is no longer easy. The owner will have to find appropriate ways of taking care of the dog’s nutritional and health needs and this might involve the use of feeding tubes and syringes. Needless to say, these are not tasks that the dog owner might be able to accomplish without outside help. Special diets also have to be formulated in addition to keeping the dog in good physical shape by observing proper hygiene.
To take care of the dog’s physical needs, special arrangements should be made to give it some mobility. Where the dog is unable to move, special moving aids are available which the care giver can use to aid in the dog’s movement. Such aids include special slings and boots. It is important that the dog is kept mobile and active as this helps in preventing bedsores. Movement and various form of play keep the dog alert and therefore improve on his quality of life,
While there is much that a dog owner can do to aid the terminally ill dog, palliative care for dogs calls for assistance from all family members and veterinarian professionals. Some of the medication that the dog needs can only be administered by a vet. Moreover, the dog owner might not be in apposition to correctly tell the exact needs of the dog. Where a dog is part of a big family, care for it during this trying time should not be left in the hands of one or two family members. Attempts should be made to try and maintain the bonds that have existed with other family members in the past. Caring for the terminally ill dog then requires the input of all family members.
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