Books and Articles for the Veterinary Teams

Books

In Home Pet Euthanasia Techniques, by Dr. Kathleen Cooney, for veterinarians, students, hospice providers, and technicians to help them gain comfort providing pet euthanasia in the home setting, including well described illustrations.

Blue Juice euthanasia in veterinary medicine, by Patricia Morris. Offering a behind-the-scenes look of this unique reality.
Hospice and Palliative Care for Companion Animals: Principles and Practice. The first comprehensive reference to veterinary hospice and palliative care, with practical guidance and best practices for caring for sick and dying animals.veterinary teams experience.
My Patients and Other Animals: A Veterinarian’s Stories of Love, Loss and Hope. A moving memoir of a life spent in the company of animals—a veterinarian sheds light on the universal experience of loving, healing, and losing our beloved pets, and the many ways they change our lives.
Small animal euthanasia, Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, Volume 50-3 1st Edition.
Forever Friend: A children's guide and activity book for saying goodbye to a special dog (Geriatric Dog Care), by Dr. Mary Gardner (author), Coleen Ellis (author) and Dusan Pavlic (illustrator).
Companion Animal End of Life Care for the Veterinary Technician 1st Edition, by Alyssa Eslinger (Editor), Joye Sears (Editor)(Euthabag is mentioned on pages 207 and 213).
Veterinary Euthanasia Techniques: A Practical Guide 2nd Edition, by Kathleen A. Cooney (Editor)(Euthabag is mentionned on page 166).

Veterinary Euthanasia Techniques: A Practical Guide, by Kathleen Cooney and al. The textbook on euthanasia for all species.
Euthanasia reference manual, the Humane Society of the United States, 2013.
2016 AAHA/IAAHPC End-of-Life Care Guidelines. 15 pages of very relevant recommendations for practices.
Sample euthanasia protocol: to make sure no steps or details are forgotten by the team, in DMV360.

Compassion satisfaction: Finding the right words for difficult times, by Celine Leheurteux, DVM. (July, 2022)
Making lemonade when vet med gives you lemons, by Alexandra Yaksich, AHT. How to get to compassion satisfaction. (October, 2021)
Humanizing the euthanasia experience, by Jocelyn Anne Mason, DMV, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine magazine. (Spring, 2020)
The quality of life question we all should be asking, by Dr. Buisson on the questions to ask ourselves when we have to take the decision. (December, 2018)
Six euthanasia trends you didn't know about, by Dani McVety, DMV. (August 1, 2018)
Why we should stop trying for a perfect euthanasia, by Cherie Buisson, DVM, CHPV. (June 23, 2018)
Why I sedate every pet for euthanasia and you should do too, by Cherie Buisson, DMV. The perfect euthanasia for a vet is not necessarily viewed the same by the family. I you are not convinced to sedate, you will be! (October, 2015)

Euthanasia and the ‘Upside Down’ world it creates: Empathy is what makes us vulnerable to being profoundly affected and even possibly damaged by our work, by Jocelyn Anne Mason DVM. (October 8, 2020)
Download the CVMA suicide prevention sticker here for English or French.
dmv360: A summary of what Compassion Fatigue is, to help us understand why we sometimes feel so exhausted at the end of our workday. (May 1, 2015)
Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project: Compassion Fatigue is a state experienced by those helping people or animals in distress; it is an extreme state of tension and preoccupation with the suffering of those being helped to the degree that it can create a secondary traumatic stress for the helper.

Veterinary Practice News: The euthanasia appointment calls for empathy, by Céline Leheurteux, DVM. Rituals allow us to honour the memory and regain some control over a situation we have no control over. (May 31, 2023)
Veterinary Practice News: Is entrepreneurship the missing piece? by Céline Leheurteux, DVM. A Quebec DVM shares her journey of professional fulfilment. (March 28, 2023)
10 Things you Need in your Vet Practice, by AHT Alexandra Yaksich. (July 30, 2021)
Veterinary Practice News: The Rainbow Bridge: Putting your aftercare policy into action, by Alexandra Yaksich, AHT. 3 main points of the AVMA Companion Animal Aftercare Policy and examples of how they work in practice. (June 15, 2021)
Alternate Routes for Euthanasia, by Mary Gardner, DMV. Euthanasia methods that minimize stress may not always involve an IV catheter. (March, 2018)
Handling euthanasia in your practice, by Mary Gardner, DVM and Dani McVety, DVM in TVP. Tips on how we can do better and make euthanasia an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with our clients. (February, 2016)
Why clients leave, by Portia Stewart, Editor, Team Channel Director, in DVM360. A negative or neutral euthanasia experience can result in a client leaving even if they like the veterinary team. The plastic bag set a negative tone for the practice. (June 1, 2008)