The revised veterinary oath commits the profession to the prevention and relief of animal suffering. gThere is a professional obligation to properly assess quality of life (QoL) and confront the issues that ruin it, such as undiagnosed suffering. There are no clinical studies in the arena of QoL assessment at the end of life for pets. This author developed a user-friendly QoL scale to help make proper assessments and decisions along the way to the conclusion of a terminal patient's life. This article discusses decision aids and establishes common sense techniques to assess a pet's QoL.
Veterinary Clinics of North America - Small Animal Practice, Vol 41(3), May 2011, pp 519-529. Author: Alice E. Villalobos. This article discusses decision aids and establishes common sense techniques to assess a pet's QoL.
