When Is the Right Time to Euthanize Your Pet?

Deciding when to put your pet down is a heart-wrenching decision.

We’ve teamed up with Dr. Alice Villalobos to help us out with this difficult topic. Dr. Villalobos is a veterinarian who specializes in caring for pets with cancer. In this video, she introduces her Quality of Life scale and how you can use it to determine whether your beloved friend still has a good quality of life.

Dr. Villalobos calls her approach “Pawspice.” Once a pet is diagnosed with a life-limiting disease such as pet cancer, she enters her pet patients into the Pawspice care program. The goal is to help increase the quality of life while treating the disease and alleviating any distressful signs the pet may have.

In this video, Dr. Villalobos goes over each factor of her scale so you and your veterinarian can use it to determine your pet’s Quality of Life score. You will keep scoring your pet over time to make sure they maintain a good quality of life.

The scale includes 7 factors, each scored from 1-10.:

Hurt
Hunger
Hydration
Hygiene
Happiness
Mobility
More Good Days Than Bad

A score of 35 or less reflects a poor quality of life.

Download the quality of life scale to score with your vet:

Dog Quality of Life Scale: https://www.petmd.com/dog/infographic/infographic-use-quality-life-scale-decide-when-put-your-dog-down

Cat Quality of Life Scale: https://www.petmd.com/cat/infographic/infographic-use-quality-life-scale-decide-when-put-your-cat-down

Check out these articles on pet euthanasia:

How Do You Know When to Put a Pet Down?
https://www.petmd.com/dog/care/what-you-need-know-about-putting-dog-or-cat-down

What to Expect When a Pet Is Euthanized
https://www.petmd.com/dog/care/evr_dg_euthanasia_what_to_expect

For more educational resources on pet health, check out our YouTube channel or hop on over to the PetMD website: www.petmd.com

Видео When Is the Right Time to Euthanize Your Pet? канала PetMD