Posted on 09/20/2017 8:49:19 AM PDT by AuntB
As much joy as a pet can bring to the life of its human, when a beloved dog or cat falls ill, the emotional toll can be high.
In fact, caring for an ailing animal often ends up placing a significant "caregiver burden" on its owner, new research finds.
"Think of the phrase, 'Giving until it hurts,'" said study author Mary Beth Spitznagel. Essentially, it's the heavy emotional burden one can experience when the act of caring stretches a person's physical, emotional or even financial capacities to the breaking point.
"We found that individuals with a chronically or terminally ill pet showed greater caregiver burden compared to those with a healthy pet," said Spitznagel, an associate professor in the department of psychological sciences at Kent State University in Ohio.
To explore the idea, her team focused on 238 adult pet owners. Nearly all were white and female, at an average age of 48.
Most had a dog (174), while the rest owned a cat. Half of the pets were deemed healthy, while the other half of the animals struggled with a chronic or terminal illness.
A series of surveys and mental health tests were administered to assess each owner's overall state of mind.
In the end, the team determined that symptoms of depression, anxiety and/or stress were notably higher among those caring for sick or dying pets. Quality of life was also impaired, while overall "caregiver burden" was characterized as "elevated."
The findings were published Sept. 18 in the journal Veterinary Record.
"Most pet owners consider their pet to be part of the family, so it was not a surprise that the pet caregiver's emotional response would be similar in nature to the response we often see in people providing care for a sick family member," Spitznagel said. "However, I was surprised at just how high the overall level of burden was in this group."
"Because this is the first study to demonstrate that this problem exists, we do not have any data to tell us how to best solve the problem," Spitznagel acknowledged. But she suggested that it's critical to educate pet owners about the illness at hand, and make sure they have solutions for any problems that may arise.
For example, Spitznagel noted that when caring for a person one problem might be, "How do I prevent my father with dementia from wandering when he becomes confused?" The pet caregiver equivalent, she said, might be, "How do I get my cat to take its medications?" or "How do I get my dog to tolerate wearing a diaper?"
"We will need to do more research to determine what is most helpful for pet caregivers," she added. "But I think interventions focused on problem-solving will be key."
Spitznagel also noted that the issue may also apply to vets as well, although her study didn't explore that possibility.
Veterinarian Dr. Katherine Goldberg, author of an editorial that accompanied the study, noted that the "conclusions are not surprising to me, given the level of pet owner stress and grief that I see.[snip]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jLOOCADTGs
Movie trailer for ‘A Dog’s Purpose’. Good movie. TOL brought it home just days after I lost my big grrrl. I refused to watch at first, but it drew me in.
A different perspective than what I believe, but a good flick.
“If dogs don’t go to heaven, then when I die I wanna go where they do” (Will Rogers?)
Not to many in here.
A 100% agree. I'm going to get flamed on this but here's the deal with pets.
There is a tendency for people today to treat their pets like children. Fur babies. I'm my pets dad-mom-grandma-etc. Pets are family members.
At first glance one might say "So what?"
But what this does is cheapen and trivialize REAL family relationships. We've elevated our relationship with pets to the same level as family relationships. That's not how it's supposed to be. Our relationship with family should be a huge magnitude greater than our relationships with animals. If it's not we need to focus on our family and lose less focus on our pets.
But here's why this doesn't happen. It's HARD to have and build relationships with people. It REQUIRES us to change. In human relationship we have to give and take. We have to change obnoxious or wrongful behavior in order not to offend others. We have to alter our thoughts and minds to build solid relationships.
We don't have to do any of that with pets. Pets treat us mostly the same no matter what. Angry at our pet? We can be angry every day and yell at our pet and that pet is going to forget about it the next day....heck even the next hour.
Fart in front of your pet they don't care. Swear in front of your pet they don't give a crap. Pick your nose. Scratch your butt. Yell at your kids. Curse out the mailman. Your pet isn't offended by any of that. There's no need to alter your personality of habits with a pet.
In other words, in a self obsessed hedonistic society lavishing all our love and attention on pets is the PERFECT way to remain selfish and hedonistic.
My dog had a non-cancerous tumor on her leg about 6 years ago. The vet said to have it removed. Had it removed. $1000 +. It came back in less than two months.
She wanted us to go back and take it off again and implied that we were bad pet owners for not doing that.
Then she wanted to remove the dogs leg.
Whatever it was finally went away on it's own two years later.
New vet. Now the dog is 14. She detected a heart murmur or something last check up. Wanted to refer me to a cardiologist.
For a 14 year old dog.
Amen. When Aunt B claimed that caring for a pet was "MUCH worse" than caring for her own "ailing old parents"; that's when I lost it and called her "nuts".
A couple of years ago I nursed my 20 week old pup through parvo at home. I didn’t have $1000 to pay a vet and they wouldn’t even advise me. All I wanted was to purchase some bags of IV electrolyte solution which in my state doesn’t sell through feed supply stores. They wouldn’t even do that for me. So, I had to get creative. I made my own electrolyte solution, bought an IV hose from the Feed store along with needles and proceeded to hydrate my dog. She threw up not less than 30 times the first 12 hours. I lived on the second floor so I had to carry this 50 lb dog wu and down the stairs several times a day because of the bloody diarrhea she had. She was so sick that first week that she couldn’t even hold down as little as a teaspoon of water without vomiting.
Finally at the end of a full week, she stopped vomiting and the diarrhea slowed down. I was able to find a caring vet who came out to my house .. after an intense week long search..who prescribed antibiotics for secondary infection, and pain relievers.
It didn’t end there. I had to nurse this dog back to health for weeks, months. I had to make food she could tolerate and regain her strength and health. It took her a year to fully heal and today at 4 1/2 years old, she still has a sensitive bowel.
She had a 90% chance of dying regardless of whether or not I paid for vet care, and they could do no more than what I did round the clock. It was hellish in terms of exhaustion for me, but even more so for her.
I’ve taken care of long term illness of family, and it does take a toll on people. Especially a novice. Once you learn what your own needs are, you can plan for those crucial needs to be met. One of those needs is frequent breaks...before exhaustion sets in. You must make time for your own humanity, life and interests if you are to survive the long haul. Making yourself into a martyr helps nobody. Tell your health Care providers of your needs too as you care for your sick one, and they will assist. They are resourceful.
Thus that DVM needs a license revocation hearing.
TOL worked for a Vet in Grand Prairie for a while, that dude is a serious psyco/sociopath, grifter, low life. OTH, my rural Vet Clinic is empathetic and sympathetic and will do the right thing in all circumstances.
Our female Llhasa was acting spaced out and wasn’t eating. No vet could figure it out. We drove over 500 miles to a vet we totally trust. He discovered a kidney ailment that’s common for Llhasas and put her on a special food. It’s like a new life was breathed into her. Now she starts fights with the much larger male Llhasa. Wife said she went from fearFUL to fearLESS.
We’re grateful we were able to get her the care she needed. Call us crazy. We don’t care. We love our pets.
My dog and my wife get the same deal:
“Till death do us part”
“In sickness and in health”
Anybody who doesn’t hold those as sacred truths and the definition of a relationship, be it dog/owner or husband/wife, is unfit to be thought of as a human being and is merely a walking sack of organs that would be of better used transplanted into others.
A pet is a living creature. When you got it, you took on the responsibility. If you care about it you take care of it when it is ill. It is difficult, but whining that it is a burden shows a lack of empathy and a self serving attitude. You are the kind of person that should never have a pet.
“In other words, in a self obsessed hedonistic society lavishing all our love and attention on pets is the PERFECT way to remain selfish and hedonistic. “
Balderdash.
“We’re grateful we were able to get her the care she needed. Call us crazy. We don’t care. We love our pets.”
You are not crazy. Love and care for an animal shows you are empathetic and value all life. Pets are not furniture.
“But what this does is cheapen and trivialize REAL family relationships”
If your family is either dead or distant in both senses of the word your perspective is different.
All my family is my wife and my dog, cat and parrot.
Commonsense and compassion will enable a caring pet owner to get through a stressful time such as what’s mention in the article, IMO.
Ageing and illness is a natural process of life. People and pets are blessed when they have a loving caregiver when hard times befall them.
Throughout my life I have been blessed with wonderful, loving pets. And when they have needed my care through their illnesses.... I was there for them.
To the last wag of their tail and the final closing of their eyes... I was with them ....just as they were there for me all of those years.
I carried an elderly Chocolate Lab up and down steps for months when he was unable to do it himself any longer, I loved him dearly and he deserved no less after all the love and happiness he’d given me. I paid for palliative treatment when it turned out to be cancer to keep him comfortable and happy for as long as possible and would do it again. He’d always been such a good sport and passed away on his own one night, sparing me that decision and for that I’m grateful. It still ripped my heart out. I love and miss him, and we’ll be together again. Say what you will, snark, mock and flame. It’s you who is damaged and warped.
My pets have always lived well into their teens. I rarely take them to vets but do not hesitate to buy the very best pet food I can afford, give them the same filtered water I drink, and love them to pieces.
I adopted a very crazy mistreated Keeshond and two cats recovering from being hit by cars, all within 14 months. I lived in a beautiful place, an acre of fenced lawn surrounded by tall trees, clean air. The Kees took a full year to stop being a wild girl, turned into the best friend I ever had, pet or human, and lived 17 years. The kitties lived 14 and 15 years, healthy until the very end.
But when they were obviously sick and suffering, I had no qualms about putting them down. I thought my. heart would break, but could not, in good conscious, allow my fur babies to suffer. I would never put a pet through painful procedures that might or might not work. Literally tell them that when I adopt them. Quality of life I can guarantee; length is in God’s hands.
You have the perfect attitude toward pets. You care for them responsibly but never lose sight of the fact that they are still pets, not children.
Wow! You really are a prairie lady! Can you tell I’m a limp-wristed urban girl, LOL?!
Seriously, good job.
I agree.
However, look at this statement from the expert.
We found that individuals with a chronically or terminally ill pet showed greater caregiver burden compared to those with a healthy pet
I think a five year old would know that! I hope we didn’t spend taxpayer money to discover the obvious again.
No kidding. Good grief. I've brought fluffy on that "one way trip" to the vet more than a few times over my years.
Some people are way too attached to animals. It's not healthy.
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