Creating A Sacred Goodbye: End-of-Life Care for Pets

[00:00] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Welcome to Healing Tails. I'm Dr. Ruth Roberts, here to help you become the best pet parent you can be with simple natural care that works for real life, real budgets, and real pets.

[00:21] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Hey, I'm Dr. Ruth Roberts and welcome back to Healing Tails. And today we're diving into one of the most profound and tender aspects of pet care and that is navigating end of life care for our beloved companions. Now joining us today is the incredible Dr. Linda Loudon, an integrative emergency veterinarian with over 24 years of experience. Dr. Loudon wears many hats. She is a writer, speaker, and founder of the Dog Mom Society and the Canine Experts Academy. She's also the owner of Peaceful Transitions Home Euthanasia and founder of the Healing Haven Animal Foundation. After many years in the animal ER, Dr. Loudon made the courageous decision to cut back her hours drastically to be able to focus on her mission of raising awareness about veterinary practices that may actually be shortening dogs' lives. Through her online businesses, she's empowering dog parents and canine entrepreneurs to revolutionize the way we care for our dogs. Her goal is ultimately to ensure that every dog lives their longest, most vibrant life through education, knowledge, and compassionate care. So Dr. Loudon, welcome. It is an honor to have you here today.

[01:44] Dr. Linda Loudon: Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. It's an honor to be here and that was such a nice intro. I really appreciate it.

[01:51] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Thank you. It is my pleasure. So let's start with how you got here, your journey. So how did you start into veterinary medicine and where has that path taken you and also inspired you to really work on focusing on end of life care for pets?

[02:11] Dr. Linda Loudon: Well, I was really blessed to always know that I was going to work with animals. You know, I always knew that was my purpose. So I was really blessed that way. And I had a mom who had such an intuitive, beautiful way with animals and love for them. And she gifted me that as well. So I always knew that I was going to be taking care of animals. I just didn't know how and I played with some different ideas of how that was going to look, but ultimately landed on being a vet. Cause I thought that's how I could help them the most. And I was, I ended up working as a technician in an ER before going to vet school. I took a little break after undergrad and I really fell in love with emergency medicine. And so when I got to vet school, although I was on track to go the surgery route, I kept getting pulled into the ER by the criticalist because I had the tech skills, right? And she'd be like, you belong here. And then it really did feel like home to me. You know, ER never felt nerve wracking or scary to me. I always felt comfortable. And I think that was, I finally realized that was a sign that that's what I was meant to do. And so I, I just went straight to the ER after vet school, did an ER internship and just had a wonderful career there and really, truly loved it. And my first year out of vet school, I think a friend asked me, one of my texts had asked me if I would do a euthanasia at home for her Wheaton Terrier, who was really reactive in the vet clinics. And I said, sure, of course. So I went there and they warned me, warned me, this dog is like, well, bite super aggressive. Do you want me to put a muzzle on? I was like, no, let's just, let me just get there. We don't have to rush anything. Let's just see how it goes. And this dog, and I get chills every time I talk about this dog, but he was cuddled in his bed. I went in, he looked up, put his head back on his bed, went over, gave him a sedative without anybody else having to hold him, no muzzle. I let our energies meet before I even, I waited for his permission to do anything. And this dog never reacted. Never a growl, never tension in his body. He just knew I was there, relaxed into it. And this family was able to truly be present with him and say their goodbyes and hug him and love on him. And it was just so beautiful. And it was such a gift to be in that room with them and witness it instead of how it could have gone for him. Right? If he had gone in the car and then to the clinic, the anticipatory fear he would have had an anxiety, the holding him down the muzzle, it would have been a whole different transition for him. And so that's when I was like, Oh, even though I was an ER vet, I always offered that on the side, any chance I could get, if I could help animals transition at home, I would. So that's how I ended up down that path.

[05:30] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Right on. And so there you are, actually giving animals the opportunity to die in peace, which I think is, it's a struggle within our profession because we're, we all have such crazy schedules. And unfortunately, it's almost like giving birth, right? It's scheduled around the convenience of the veterinary office, which is not cool. And then how did you transition from there into what you're doing now for, for supporting dog moms so that, so hopefully, but way before they're approaching that decision, they're able to start to see a little bit more about how they could support their dogs differently in terms of health.

[06:20] Dr. Linda Loudon: Yeah. Well, I was getting frustrated and I say this with deep respect for all of my colleagues and for the veterinary fields, but I was getting frustrated in the ER because I had the perspective of, you know, the ER doctor, where I was seeing everybody when they were the sickest, but I could see clearly that a lot of the reasons that they were ending up in my ER were things that were happening in the general practice, the standards of care that were no longer serving our dogs, the over-vaccination, I was dealing with the immune mediated cases all of the time, you know, that vaccinated three weeks before and now, you know, they have no platelets. I was seeing just cancer so much every day. I was seeing more and more cancer and then younger and younger dogs, you know, that was different than when I had first started. Yes. You know, the obese dogs, the allergy dogs from our ultra-process diets. And I couldn't really, you know, my colleagues and my associates, my team, if one of their dogs needed saved, they would call me, right? They wanted me. If I tried to talk to them about nutrition and raw diets or fresh food, I no longer knew what I was talking about. Right? So it was very, very frustrating. And I kept having cases where if I had just had been able to talk to that guardian even a week, month, year before, or at the beginning of this dog's life, I could have helped them avoid the reason they were there. And so that's when I was like, nope, no one's listening to me here. And I'm only dealing one-on-one. I needed a bigger audience. And so that's when I transitioned to online, figured out the online business stuff. So I could get in front of a bigger audience and make a group, a bigger impact and try to change the way we're caring for our dogs.

[08:22] Dr. Ruth Roberts: I get it. And you are preaching to the choir here. And the reason I asked you that, I think that's very important for people to understand so that way before they have to start thinking about what we're going to talk about for the rest of this interview, they actually have other options and they have people to support them. So having said that if we kind of circle back to end of life care, this is an incredibly emotional and challenging time for many pet parents. And I think that our profession has not been very good at helping to make that time easier and more compassionate. So can you talk a little bit about how that might go if we're creating a situation where both the pet is supported and the pet parent through compassion and honoring that life and why that's so important?

[09:21] Dr. Linda Loudon: Yeah, I think, you know, the things I hear all the time are my vet couldn't, you know, if they find me sometimes I'll hear my vet couldn't fit me in, right? Which, which makes me crazy, right? They've cared for this pet for 15 years and now they can't squeeze in a euthanasia to be there to support this family and this dog. And I also on the other end of the spectrum think that it's also not fair to the vet staff and veterinarians the way we do it, right? We're expected to go from a puppy visit for vaccines to, you know, CPR into an end of life situation. And be fully present in each and that those are different parts of ourselves that we have to bring out. And so I do feel that it is unfair to expect our veterinary team to truly be able to show up the way we need them to in that situation. So I really honestly feel like it should be a separate practice, right? You're not going to your regular MD for end of life care. And so to try and find a, a vet that is really honed in or trained for end of life care, I would say if that is an opportunity for you to, to choose that path, if you can do it at home, great. Have the conversations with your vet out preparing. If your dog is older and you have that beautiful opportunity to prepare and think about their transition, see how comfortable you are with what your vet says and how they would handle it. What kind of, what, what are their protocols around it? And later now I could share my protocols and why I think they're so important, but it should be about comfort for the pet and support for you as the guardian. And so that everybody is going to get what they need at that time and not just be squeezed in in between these appointments. It should be a sacred ceremony, not an injection.

[11:35] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Right. The other thing you brought up too is that really end of life care is a continuum. And at some point your dog has some chronic disease that you've been seeing your veterinarian for, and then maybe it's time to kind of switch into palliative care mode and then at some point into hospice care mode and then at some point to that euthanasia process. So how do you help pet parents navigate that process from I'm just a regular patient with my vet to things are not getting better and so maybe now it's time for palliative care, et cetera. So how would you support someone during those decision points?

[12:23] Dr. Linda Loudon: For me, I would say first it's about talking to your vet about palliative care and hospice options. A lot of people don't even realize that they can talk to their vet about that. They kind of think it's like, okay, treatment is not working anymore. So euthanasia is the only choice. And so it's important to ask your vet about, well, how can I, can I keep him comfortable for a while? Is this opportunity for us an option and how can we do that? And then look in your area or I do online quality of life consults, right? Where we'll just meet and see if palliative care or hospice is an option. And so I do those online and there's a lot of vets that specialize this and offer online consultation if there's no one in your area that can come to the house. So we'll have a quality of life consultation, see if it's an option that we can support the dog and or cat or any animal. I see rabbits just to see if we can give them comfort and still some, some joy in their days. And, and there's, there's lots of ways that we can do that. We can do that through herbs, acupuncture, massage, just little things that the guardian themselves can, can offer their pets every day. And, and I find that that time can be truly, you know, we all like worry about that time and we don't want it to come, right? But when we're fully present and not too worried about how many meds I can give them, how many supplements, how many vet appointments do I need? And we let go of some of that anxiety around caring for their dog in that pressure and just truly be present with them. Go to their favorite spots, go to the beach, sit with them in the early mornings before anyone else gets up, massage them while you're watching TV at night, just being fully present. That end of life, that palliative care time can be the most beautiful time that you have with your dog. You know, my dog, Joey, when I was losing him, he ended up with Himangio. I was devastated. I was like, I thought my dog, I did everything right. And he would live, you know, the longest living pit bull. And it didn't happen that way, right? And I was devastated, but then I was like, okay, I'm going to be fully present with him. And I didn't think our bond could even get any better, but that was such a sacred time because I was focused on him, not focused on how many meds I could get in his bowl. I was focused on our bond and our relationship and touching his coat as much as I could, those things that you're going to miss the most. And when I look back at my time with him, I get emotional talking about it, but that's stands out those five months I had. And I feel a lot of people miss out on that because they're too stressed about the burden of responsibility is they feel like they have to get their dog to live as long as possible, as many hours, as many days as possible. And that's not the most important part. The most important part is your true presence with your dog. Cause that's all dogs care about, right? Like our dogs are not thinking like, damn, I wish you had one more trick in your book. I wish I had one more chemo. You know, we should have done another round. No, your dog just wants to be present with you, your cat, your rabbit, whatever, whatever pet it is. And I feel it's heartbreaking to see people miss that opportunity because of the pressure they're feeling.

[16:29] Dr. Ruth Roberts: That is so true. I mean, and it's natural, right? Because that's kind of the way we're trained to respond to severe chronic disease in our family members, especially with cancer. It becomes about the disease instead of the dog. And I think that's where a lot of folks miss very precious moments.

[16:51] Dr. Ruth Roberts: And, and I think one thing we should probably do is back up a little bit and define what palliative care is versus hospice care. Because I think there's a great deal of confusion about those terms, even on the human side.

[17:05] Dr. Linda Loudon: Yeah. Palliative care is where we are, there's things that we can still do to elevate their days and, and maybe treat them, treat their, their disease, their illness, and maybe slow the processes of these things. And then when we get into hospice, that's true, just comfort care. That's just providing as much comfort and taking away their pain as we get ready for them to transition. So that there's a little bit different, there's a little bit more that we can do with palliative care. If I have a palliative care appointment, I'm going deep into what supplements I can do to try to fix this or manage something, a symptom or a disease. When I'm having a hospice care talk, it's all about comfort and, and making sure we're pain free.

[18:09] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Amen to that. Yeah. And that's it. I mean, I think palliation is to provide comfort, but also still support that person, that dog, that cat, that bunny from having disease progression as best we can, but without things that will create harm. So in my practice we would combine herbs, acupuncture, food, and metronomic chemotherapy. So low dose chemotherapeutic agents at a dose that would not create side effects. So I think that's an important distinction for folks. So thank you for that.

[18:48] Dr. Ruth Roberts: So, you know, you've hit on this already, and I think that for many people having a consultation with you or someone kind of helped plan out, okay, here's my cutoff point for these types of symptoms and beyond that, then we're switching gears. And I think that's great to make a plan. Now, the other difficulty is that for many people, their veterinarians don't necessarily have a great deal of experience navigating through palliative and then hospice care. So what are some ways that pet parents can really advocate for their pets during this time, especially when it comes to talking with veterinary professionals?

[19:35] Dr. Linda Loudon: I think going in with an approach is always really important, right? So that we're not going to create any tension, you know, try to avoid tension or defensiveness from your vet. So when you're talking to them, if they say, okay, this is, this is it, I recommend euthanasia, which I would say there, it was very rare for me to recommend euthanasia as a veterinarian, as an ER vet. That is something that I feel is the guardian's choice. Unless the only times, and I could probably count on my fingers, how many times I've had to say, we're causing pain in what we're doing. And we really, you know, this is suffering where a guardian, sometimes a guardian just really needs someone to say that, but that's very rare, you know, it's, it's really for the guardian, guardian knows their dog better than, or their cat or their pet better than anybody. And so they know how, what has changed in the way they're going about their days, they can notice the subtle signs that we're not going to notice in the clinic. And so it's, it's really important when you go in to voice your perception of what is going on with your dog or cat, what things have changed, what things are still good, right? But if your vet says, this is it, I think euthanasia is our only choice. You could say, well, he still loves his walks, or even though I have to help him up, he still wants him up, he's better, you know, things like that, where you're still seeing joy in your dog. So your intuition and your connection to him may be saying, actually, he's not ready. And if you're feeling that, don't ignore that. That is real. And so it's up to you as his advocate, her advocate to say, I'm not feeling it yet. What can we do? Are there alternatives? I hear you. I understand what you're saying about the disease, but I really feel like I want to try some palliative care. What are the options? Am I able to relieve his pain at this point? Your vet may say no, right? You may want a second opinion. You may need to hear someone else say that there's no way to support your dog with palliative care or hospice. So don't be afraid to get second opinions and don't be afraid to speak your feelings, what you're seeing in your own pet, and make sure if they say something that doesn't resonate with you or you don't understand, make sure you voice that and ask for clarification so that you can make a really informed decision. And I find what I would tell, you know, people coming in to me in the ER, it's very traumatic, right? If they're coming into the ER, it's usually not a planned euthanasia. It's a, oh my gosh, this awful thing happened. And now we have to think this way. Sometimes it's we're going to surgery or we're euthanizing and it doesn't always have to be that black and white. Maybe you just need an hour, a night to think about this, to get another opinion, to talk to a friend who has experience with this and not make your decision right then and there. There's very few instances where in the ER I'd be like, no, actually you have to make the decision right now. If I feel a guardian is like, I don't know. I don't know if I actually want to put them through surgery or I don't know if I want to try palliative care. I don't feel I'm ready for euthanasia. Take them home. Here are some things you can do to keep them comfortable. Let's talk tomorrow, right? You, you don't, a lot of guardians feel that they're pressured into making that choice right then. And a lot of times that's not the case. There are things, you know, you can take some union bio home for the bleeding abdomen dog as long as they're stable, right? So there's often things that you can do. So ask and don't feel like you have to make the decision if it's not feeling right.

[24:08] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Yeah. That, that seems to be a really common trend right now where people are given the choice between surgery or euthanasia and nothing in between.

[24:19] Dr. Ruth Roberts: And so this is the really hard part for pet parents to say, no, please help me control the pain so that I can have enough time to get a second opinion and get, get some other options.

[24:34] Dr. Ruth Roberts: So, yeah, it's tough. So you've worked with many families during this end of life time and what are some of the, your favorite holistic or alternative therapies that can help improve a pet's quality of life as they approach the end?

[24:53] Dr. Linda Loudon: I love acupuncture. I don't perform acupuncture myself, but I have an associate that I work with that will go to their homes. And I've just seen that it really, really helps patients with palliative care. I really like CBD for my older guys who are, have some dementia, you know, have the symptoms where they are showing cognitive dysfunction, whether restless the sundown or syndrome or they're restless at night. And that can be really upsetting for guardians because you're up with them, but you're also witnessing them not being able to relax. And so I've, you know, I've had some patients who like one was this older lady, she was in her nineties and was her little poodle and it was just her and the poodle. And she called me, I was at one of my son's games and I'm trying to hear her and she's like, I think you need to come tonight. And I couldn't get there. Like she was an hour away and I was at my, my boy's games. I said, I can't get there tonight, but she had a daughter that could go to, I knew there was a store near her to get CBD. I said, I cook cause I called ahead. I called her back. I said, they have it. Have your daughter go to the store, get this CBD and just give it to him to keep him comfortable tonight. She felt the dementia syndrome symptoms were just terrible. And I called her the next morning to say I was on my way and she said, she was all upset. And I said, what's wrong? Tell me. And she said, I just don't know how to say this to you because I know you planned it today, but he's doing so much better. And I, just feel like today's not the day I said, well then it's not the day. That's wonderful news. And you know, she got another six months with him just from CBD. Right on. It was so bad when she thought that I had to get there within the hour, you know, so, and I've had more than one case like that. And a lot of the cases it's arthritis and mobility. And, and unfortunately I think we're lacking education in our clinics to talk about arthritis earlier so that they can get them on the right support because I'll get, that's one of, that is the main one where I have refused euthanasia because they haven't even tried anything for mobility. And I've had dogs where I've gone back two years later when I've, you know, done, done the consult and said, put them on this, you know, some green lip to muscles for, you know, it's packed with omega threes and conjoint and turmeric. If they're willing to do some acupuncture, red light therapy, things like this can really make a huge difference. Bone broth, some of these switching them just off of their kibble and decreasing their inflammation and getting them on a whole food diet really helps their joints. And so I've been able to extend those dogs and it wasn't because the owner just wanted to give up. They just didn't know that there are other things that they could do to help, you know, manage these symptoms. Right on.

[28:22] Dr. Ruth Roberts: And folks, that's why we're here because many veterinarians that are in the holistic arena, we understand that you don't know what else to do because your veterinarian, that's, you know, a great person, but has a limited tool bag has run out of options to help you support your pet. So keep asking questions, keep listening to podcasts like this, you know, find people that can help you support your pet because there is almost always another option and they don't necessarily have to be on drugs.

[28:58] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Right on.

[28:58] Dr. Linda Loudon: And I would say my caveat to that is I will use the drugs at the end, right? I've done all of these things and it's like, okay, we have nothing is working anymore. Could we try an NSAID or does this dog need gabapentin or some or tramadol or something like that? But what I find often is none of the other natural supplements have been tried. They go straight to the NSAID in the GABA. And now I have a dog who has no quality of life because he's sedated from the GABA. Yeah. They can't get up because of the sedation. It's actually not the progression of arthritis. And so that is important for pet parents to know before going to those drugs, what natural things can I try first? Because those should be last resort. My dog really can't get up, which we have them on all these things. Okay. Let's try an NSAID and see if we can get them to get up. Because when we rush to those drugs without all of the other things on board, those dogs, that window closes much more quickly.

[30:14] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Agreed. And I think that's kind of one of the things, especially with gabapentin, the dosages that tend to get used are just annihilating in terms of quality of life, inability to get up and move. And it's, as you said, it's not the arthritis, it's the drug itself. So that can be useful because it can buy you enough time to get your dog on something else like a CBD or using post-electromagnetic field therapy or something like this, but then your goal is ultimately going to be to titrate down off of those really heavy duty drugs to see, Hey, do we have enough other stuff on board here to help this dog feel well, this cat feel well and move and do all of the good stuff that they want to do in their lives. So really important. Yeah. I mean, you've been doing this both in the ER setting and in people's homes in terms of end of life care for a long time.

[31:16] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Is there one story in particular that highlights the power of this approach of compassionate end of life care and helping to maintain the bond between pets and their families?

[31:30] Dr. Linda Loudon: Yeah. You know, I just recently had one that was really powerful. It was this gorgeous Siberian Husky and I had a phone call as you know, Zoom with the guardian the day before the euthanasia. Actually it was a couple of days before and I could feel her tension. She just, this was her first dog euthanasia. She was really just not doing well and holding tightly onto this dog and I could feel their bond was so close, so strong. And when I feel those bonds like that, those dogs, dogs are ready. Dogs don't, and just, this is just my feeling, my instincts, my perspective, having been, you know, transitioning dogs for 24 years is that dogs don't look at death the way we do. They're not fearful of it. They're okay with it. It's, you know, if it's their time, they're ready to go. The only time I've had dogs hold on is when the owner can't let go and they're holding so tightly. I've had situations where maybe I had one where a guardian was going through a really terrible divorce, had just lost another dog a week before, a lot of really traumatic life things. And this dog wouldn't go down with sedation, right? To the point where it doesn't make sense, right? Medically it doesn't make sense the amount. Cause I can feel those dogs as soon as I go in and I'll triple what I would normally use. Cause I know they're going to hold onto this guardian and it's rare, but it's these ones. So I felt that this was going to be another one of these with this guardian and I had to get her to the point of release and I felt like I was going to be okay. And I told her that he needs you, he needs to know you're going to be okay. And so for the next 48 hours, I need you to be fully present with him and I need you to talk to him and I need you to convince him that you are going to be okay and that he can go, that you're releasing him. And when I got there, she was in a completely different state than she was when we spoke on the Zoom. Her husband was still in that state cause I hadn't spoken to him one on one and he was still really having a hard time letting go, but it was more important for her to let go because the bond was stronger with her and the Husky. And because she was in this different state, she was completely calm. She was speaking to, she was totally focused on him, talking to him about loving him and letting him go. This dog, I, didn't even again make medical sense. I barely gave this dog the injectable sedative cause I go in and I give them injectable sedative first so that they can fully relax. And he was down in a deep sleep and it was miraculous and beautiful and just such a testament to that guardian being in that state, if they can be in order to let them go. And it was beautiful. And afterwards then she lost it and she was, you know, so upset. And I don't want anyone to feel bad. If they're crying during it, that's okay. That's normal. Like if you, you know, feel like you can be yourself and be present, that's part of it. It's that letting go and not holding tightly to them that helps them to transition. And that ended up just being one of the most memorable and beautiful euthanasia experiences.

[35:31] Dr. Ruth Roberts: That's amazing. And I think that's yeah, I think any veterinarian that's had to conduct euthanasia has figured this out over the years, but not many of us have the foresight or the opportunity to kind of preset the setting, so to speak, so that the transition part is easier for everybody. And that's it. I mean, that is a time of profound grief and loss. So crying for letting it go, that's totally appropriate.

[36:02] Dr. Ruth Roberts: And that that's so much easier for pet parents when they're in their own homes versus an office setting to be able to do that and really feel the grief and not then have to try and get in a car and drive home. I mean, that's just insanity.

[36:22] Dr. Linda Loudon: Yeah, it's not, not the way it should be. And think of things that you can do if you have to do it in a clinic or if circumstances made it that way, anything that you can do in order to make it more comfortable for you and your pet and, you know, bring their bed, their blankets, their favorite toys, their favorite treats. And, and in the home try to make it as much of a ritual, a ceremony, whatever you want it to be is what it should be. If you want it to be out in the backyard next to their favorite tree, that's where it should be. Find someone who can do that for you. I hate when I go into a room and into a house and the TV's blaring. Or, you know, just be cognizant of that. And people aren't thinking about it because they're so upset, right? So just make sure you're energetically preparing the room, whether it is in a clinic or in, in a home, you know, put some meditative music on if that feels right for you. Light candles, lavender is great. I spray all of my blankets with the lavender and all of the pets love it. Like I'll give them one of my blankets when I first walk in just to help them adjust to me. And they're all over it. They love it. They snuggle up. Cats will be rubbing on it, you know? So think about those things and make it a ceremony and a ritual that you will remember. Cause it's one of the things we all, we all remember that moment, right? If I'm at a cocktail party and someone finds out I'm a vet, the story they're going to tell me is about a euthanasia. Most of the time, unfortunately it's a terrible euthanasia, right? Something went wrong and it sticks with. So make sure you're setting the stage for yourself and for your pet to make it what you want it to be, what feels right to you.

[38:23] Dr. Linda Loudon: And don't worry about what anyone else thinks or feels. It's about you guys.

[38:28] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Right on. And I think that's something that's so critical to remember.

[38:33] Dr. Ruth Roberts: So I mean, for anyone in the veterinary profession that's worked with people and pets nearing the end of life, it impacts us personally. But what do you think is one of the biggest lessons you've learned from the pets and the families that you've supported over the years?

[38:54] Dr. Linda Loudon: Well, what I've learned from the pets is that presence. And, and I think being there at their transition has just really made me so more aware of it and everything in my life that presence is all that matters. Right. And in every situation is all that matters. And they've shown me that. And I think that's the greatest lesson that I've got from them. And I've been just so blessed to witness such a lot of things that I've loved and the bonds between animals and their pets. I've learned from guardians that, you know, all that they would do for their pets, you know, walking into a house and seeing all the runners they've put down for their dogs and they're sleeping in the living room for weeks or months, sometimes years because their dog can't get up the stairs anymore. That sacrifice is just so beautiful and it's made me a better guardian, just witnessing it. And then as a practitioner, I've learned to make sure all of the ways that I could avoid fear and discomfort for the pet. And that is waiting for their permission to do anything, adjusting our, you know, our energies and not rushing in, not rushing. Like none of this should be rushed. It has to be methodical. The dog has to be part of the decisions. You know, it's not about me going in and being like, all right, I'm going to put this catheter in. I'm going to hold them tight. So we get it quick. None of that should be part of an end of life situation. And if you're a guardian who's going into, sorry, this is a little bit off topic, but I think it's important, if they have to go into a clinic, don't let your pet be taken from you and maybe call ahead and say, I'm going to, you know, I'm going to come in for euthanasia, but my pet's going to stay in the room with me at all times. He's not going to go in the back. Are you, can you provide that for me? Because I, this is a time where they shouldn't be pulled away from you. They shouldn't have the fear of going into a strange place. They shouldn't have people holding them, trying to put a catheter in. It doesn't have to be that way. And you need to find someone who is willing to do that. You know, there's other ways too, I don't use catheters. I don't think that they're, they're necessary in end of life care. They get a sedative, they fall asleep with their owner. And then I, you know, I have a butterfly catheter. If your vet feels they need a catheter, that's fine. If that's their protocol that they're comfortable with, but give them the sedative first, let them fall asleep. There's no reason that every animal shouldn't have a sedative first where they fall asleep with you. And then an IV is done when they're sleeping and it's not going to cause them any pain. So be aware of those logistical things so that you can request them and make sure you find a vet who's willing to do that for you.

[42:26] Dr. Linda Loudon: But I would say the biggest lesson I've learned is about presence and love. And I have people say to me, and I do hate when people say this to me, it's like a trigger for all of us euthanasia vets if people go, I don't know how you do it. I don't know how you do it. It kind of makes us feel like you think we're cold that we can do that. And it's the opposite, right? It's just, it's most, one of the most fulfilling jobs I've ever had. And it's just as fulfilling as those dogs whose lives I've saved are able to provide and be witness to the beauty of the bonds and the love is, is just as fulfilling and amazing.

[43:12] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Amen to that. And I think that's kind of, we forget, we talk about euthanasia, but truly the word means a good death. And that is precisely the goal for, for us that, and especially what you're able to do with your home euthanasia service, home end of life care, you're able to provide a good death that is on the animals' terms and not someone else's. So kudos to you because that's a stance that's been difficult to carry out.

[43:45] Dr. Ruth Roberts: So having said that it's, do you think, well, actually not will there be, but what changes or advancements do you hope to see in the field of end of life care for pets?

[44:00] Dr. Linda Loudon: I do see more euthanasia vets, home euthanasia vets. I do, especially in my area. I think that guardians are going to, just like the standards of care. They are demanding more and becoming aware of these other options. I personally want to be part of changing the fact that euthanasia is routinely happens in the clinics. I don't feel like that should be the first choice or the majority of the cases. And so that's one of my missions is to change that where when we think of end of life care, we're looking to people who are professionals who know end of life care, they're certified just beyond their veterinary degrees. And I want to train more vets to do it. I won't, you know, we're going in clinics, doing workshops to help vets with just these little techniques, these little tweaks in order to make it a more comfortable euthanasia. So I do think that there is going to be better protocols. I think guardians need to demand them in order for change. And I want to shift it where it's not the majority in the clinic.

[45:23] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Beautiful.

[45:25] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Dr. Louden, this has been a very insightful conversation and as always you, your heart is in the middle of the conversation, which I think is so important. But before we wrap up, where can our audience learn more about your work or how to connect with you?

[45:43] Dr. Linda Loudon: Well, thank you. They can go to drlouden.com and they can find me there. They can find me at Dr Louden on Facebook. And yeah, that would be the first place to look for me. If you're a local, Peaceful Transitions is the name. I'm on Long Island is the name of my home euthanasia practice.

[46:08] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Beautiful. Thank you so much.

[46:15] Dr. Ruth Roberts: For those of you listening in, we'll have a new episode coming up soon. So stay tuned.

[46:19] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Thanks for listening to Healing Tails where pet parents become healers, one tail wag at a time. Want more tools and support? Head to DrRuthRoberts.com. Until next time, trust your gut, question the noise, and keep showing up for your pet.