In others, however, the client may have doubts about which treatment to choose, whether to initiate treatment at all, or whether perhaps euthanasia is the better option. When a companion animal becomes seriously ill the client may be faced with difficult decisions.
In any case there is a need to further explore the challenges these situations raise, and for the veterinary profession to engage in more formal and structured deliberation over the role of veterinarians in relation to clients’ decision-making. It is suggested, that one way to handle this challenge is to include respect for client preference on veterinary involvement under a wider understanding of respect for autonomy, and to apply models of shared decision-making to veterinary practice. Conclusionsĭifferent preferences are likely to exist amongst both veterinarians and clients about veterinary involvement in clients’ decision-making, and such preferences may vary according to the situation. Some interviewees wanted active involvement of the veterinarian in the decision-making process, and this may challenge a veterinarian’s wish to respect client autonomy. Such influence was received in different ways by the interviewees. Some interviewees found that veterinarians could influence their decisions. if lacking a clear cut-off point, the dog appeared normal, the interviewee felt uncertain about treatments or animal welfare, or experienced conflicting concerns.
Some situations left the interviewees hesitant, e.g. ResultsĬhallenges relating to the dog and to the client were identified. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 dog owners considering treatment or euthanasia of their chronically ill or aged dogs. A second aim was to reflect on the ethical implications of the role of veterinarians in these situations. The purpose of the study was to explore the challenges these situations hold and to investigate how clients experience veterinary influence.
It is assumed throughout that both veterinarians and clients have the animals’ best interest at heart. This study takes as a starting point a situation where the animal is chronically ill, or aged, with potentially reduced animal welfare and client quality of life, and thus where clients need to consider treatment options or euthanasia. But how should veterinarians reply? Influence on clients’ decision-making may or may not be acceptable-depending on one’s attitude to principles such as ‘paternalism’, ‘respect for autonomy’ and ‘shared decision-making’. When companion animals become seriously ill clients may have doubts about treatment choices, if any, and turn to veterinarians for help.
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