I was reminded today of one of the reasons I couldn’t be a veterinarian.

I was sitting in the lobby with Winston waiting for his appointment. As I was sitting there a vet tech came out and spoke to the man sitting across from me. She said his dog’s heart was enlarged and she was having pulmonary heart failure. She said they were performing CPR right now but she came out to see if he wanted them to stop. He obviously was in shock and the information didn’t register as he asked “will we need to euthanize her? I am crying right now just remembering the words and knowing that “Angel”, someone’s beloved pet, was in the other room dying.

Last month, when I visited the vet, a woman passed me with an empty carrier and we ran into each other. She apologized saying “she was out of it as she had to just put her cat down”. I witnessed so much loss and pain on just two visits to the vet clinic and was reminded of why I couldn’t become a vet as much as I loved animals. I have so much respect for veterinarians. Not only do you have to be smart and compassionate but you must be able to handle the daily emotional sadness of losing animals and more importantly having to tell their owners.

For many people, losing a pet is a real and sincere loss of a family member and nothing prepares you for the loss or the grieving process. There are lots of resources available to help support people who need help coping with the loss of a pet. There are also lots of helpful articles that give advice on how to make tough end of life decisions and what to tell your children. Below are some helpful websites and articles.

A part of the healing process is honoring your pet. There are lots of great ways to do that including: having a memorial service, writing a poem, song or letter, planting a tree, making a charitable donation in their honor, buying a memorial stone or paver, or creating a photo album or keepsake. The ideas are endless and you should do what best fits your pet. Straymagnet offers a free memorial section to post photos/videos and stories. The memories of your pets do live on and will inspire others!

Support Groups and Counseling Resources in TN:
Knoxville: Pet Loss Support Group at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine For clients they also offer individual, couple or family sessions in person or by phone.

Nashville: Pet Bereavement Support
Individual, Group and Pet Hospice Counseling for Middle Tennessee
Peg Beehan, LCSW

Nashville: Family & Children’s Service -Sheba Pet Loss Hotline (615)724-0228, http://www.fcsnashville.org/sheba.html

Pet Loss Hotlines: Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, offers a pet loss support hotline and has a list of other hotlines.

Related Articles:
Pet Loss Section(FAQ, end of life care, helping children cope etc.) on ASPCA

“Healing After the Loss of Your Pet” Linda R. Harper, Ph. D on Best Friends Animal Society

“Surviving the Hollow Days After a Pet Has Died” Kitty Walker, LMSW-ACP on Nashville Pet Emergency Clinic

“Coping With the Death of Your Pet” The Humane Society of the United States

“Ten Tips on Coping with Pet Loss” Moira Anderson Allen, M.Ed. on Pet Loss

“Grief & the Loss of a Pet” Veterinary & Aquatic Services Department, Drs. Foster & Smith

Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement

The post Why I Couldn’t Be a Veterinarian appeared first on Stray Magnet | Helping Lost, Stray, and Abandoned Pets.

8:00 am I got the call from our vet with the results from Addison’s bloodwork and urinalysis. Basically he said she was in the early stages of chronic renal insufficiency (kidney failure). Just thinking about it makes me cry.

About a month ago I took Addison in because she was limping. I noticed it when we returned from our family vacation. I was particularly sensitive to the issue and the timing because last year around the same time we lost our other cat Sadie. She died of cancer but her first symptom of the sarcoma in her hip was a limp. Having lost a cat recently and with it all starting out as a limp I was particularly uneasy.

At that appointment, she had her annual physical and the limp had improved so there were no signs of needing additional treatment. Our vet, said to watch the limp and if it hadn’t improved to bring her back for x-rays. The limp did improve but to me I could tell she still favored it slightly. She also started peeping and pooping outside the liter box which made me think she had a UTI (urinary tract infection), or had crystals in her urine which were painful. She is 13 years old and 12 of those 13 years we have dealt with on and off urinary problems because she develops crystals in her urine. I was prepared for crystals in the pee but I wasn’t prepared for kidney failure especially so soon after Sadie’s passing.

The good news is that we caught it early and I hope and pray that she will continue to have a happy and high quality of life for another few years? But who knows?  Not knowing if it will be three months or three years makes it uniquely difficult. In some ways it’s good to know she is sick and eventually will die because her kidneys will fail but it’s also hard because every time I have looked at her today I have cried. I am already grieving the loss of a pet that could have several good years left and I should focus on the good. I should be joyful and thankful but I am sad.

Right now she is laying on the desk on top of my papers, my constant companion. I have had her for 13 years. I grew up with animals but she was my first pet as an adult. I got her after graduate school right before I started my first professional job, as a resident advisor, at a small college in Virginia. I remember I didn’t have any furniture because the truck had been delayed but I had Addison. I love that name. Pretty preppy I know and if I hadn’t named her that we would maybe have considered it for a child. She has been through it all with me-moving, job changes, getting married, having kids, and was my true sidekick when I was laid up for weeks with a broken ankle.

She is my cat. She may not be the friendliest to others but she is faithful and loving to me and will always be. Grieving now should help in the end but it doesn’t. I knew Sadie was dying those last few months and it was hard. I don’t want it to be the same way with Addison. I want to enjoy every moment, and take advantage of what we have left but not feel guilty for what hasn’t been- that is my prayer. My hope is to not grieve her dying instead focus on loving her each and every day.

Updated: November 16, 2012

A little over a year later, we visited our vet and had another panel of bloodwork done. Her levels have only slightly changed. Praise God for all He has done to help prolong her life. I am very thankful! Looking back over the year, I haven’t focused much on her diagnosis but have tried to cherish the time together. I know her time will come someday and I don’t look forward to it at all but for now I am living in the moment and enjoying it!

If you have lost a pet, please consider honoring them by submitting a free pet memorial at http://straymagnet.com/pet-memorials/add-memorials.

The post Diagnosis: Kidney Failure with an Update a Year Later appeared first on Stray Magnet | Helping Lost, Stray, and Abandoned Pets.

I’ve been an animal lover my whole life and aspired to have my own business one day. I envisioned a petfriendly restaurant with a separate pet store beside, pet daycare in back with a special self serve bath station, and some guest rooms upstairs to make it petfriendly B&B. Drop off your dog on the way to work and pick up breakfast at the same time. How great does that sound?

Well I am the only sibling in my family without an MBA. My background is in education and after sharing my dream with my sister she practically pointed out that there were about 5 businesses I mentioned and it would be best to start with one. All this is to say is the dream is still alive. However, at this juncture in my life where I am busy each day raising/chasing two young children my ability to help make a difference for people and their pets needs to be approached differently.

While there are already tons of websites in existence assisting adoption and reunification and providing education and local resources, I still want to do my part. I am not in it for any monetary gain. I just want to utilize my passion to help make a difference in the world and if I can help just one person or animal it will be worth it.

Along these pages, you will get to know me in ways some people have never witnessed. The mission of this website is to help empower people to make a difference for animals through education, awareness and stories. I hope you will join me on the adventure and share in a promising future.

Each week the website will feature a local pet for adoption, a news article, inspiring story and a rescue blog. You will also find a helpful lost and found section with a lost and found board and email services to spread the word about missing pets. The local resource page boasts a directory for all things pet in middle tennessee including a free business directory. Lastly, there is a pet memorial section to honor those furry friends who have passed.

Thank you for being a part of the dream.

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