I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Alice Villalobos, a veterinary oncologist based in California give a talk about quality of life issues for terminally ill pets. The decision to euthanize a pet is fraught with so much guilt on both sides of the issue that it can be difficult to know which way is up. There is guilt about waiting too long, and risking your pet’s suffering and then there is guilt about making a decision too soon and ending the life of a pet when there are still more good days to be had. It’s not easy either way.
Dr. Villalobos has devised a Quality of Life Scale to help in making this difficult decision. It can be a useful tool that helps bring structure and objectivity to a decision that is typically clouded by emotions. Dr. Villalobos’ system assesses a pet’s quality of life on seven different levels: Hurt, Hunger, Hydration, Hygeine, Happiness, Mobility and More good days than bad (HHHHHMM).
No matter when you make the decision to euthanize a pet, it’s going to hurt, but for a little more peace of mind that the timing is right, I suggest taking a look at this quality of life scale. You can download it here.
