Pet Loss: A Survey of the Attitudes and Feelings of Practicing Veterinarians

All 150 teaching clinicians at the six British veterinary schools and an equivalent number of veterinarians in small-animal practice were sent a ten-page questionnaire to survey their attitudes to and experiences with companion-animal euthanasia. Of the 300 questionnaires, 167 were returned, with responses being divided approximately evenly between the two groups. Seventy-two percent of the responses were from men. Data were collected on background, length of time in practice, pet ownership, attitudes on animal consciousness, and reactions to the deaths of both client and their own animals. For example, 22% of the respondents said that the death of one of their own pets had led to long-term emotional effects.Seventy-four percent said that they would euthanize a healthy animal if the owner requested it, while 91% said they would euthanize a severely injured animal that could be saved if the owner requested euthanasia. Ninety-six percent said that they had received no formal training in how to explain to a client that an animal is terminally ill, and 72% felt that such training would be useful. The relationship between depressing events and the mood of the practitioners is discussed.