Euthanasia could be the most common procedure people from the veterinary practice do. Almost every day, there’s one pet going through euthanasia after another. However, talking about it has always been taboo, thus leading to the lack of education vet med people have with regards to the positive way of euthanizing animals that need to undergo the procedure. With euthanasia being a time of high emotions and vulnerability, it is with no doubt that we, as professionals, need to be able to manage the...
Euthanasia could be the most common procedure people from the veterinary practice do. Almost every day, there’s one pet going through euthanasia after another.
However, talking about it has always been taboo, thus leading to the lack of education vet med people have with regards to the positive way of euthanizing animals that need to undergo the procedure.
With euthanasia being a time of high emotions and vulnerability, it is with no doubt that we, as professionals, need to be able to manage the emotions both our clients and ourselves go through.
But the question is, how can we actually do the practice as we deal with the emotional guilt of letting one’s life go, a move even more painful than divorce?
Join us today as we answer that question with Celine Leheurteux, the mind behind EUTHABAG.
Celine Leheurteux has been in small animal practice since 1999. She developed EUTHABAG, a pet body bag that impacted millions of people in critical moments of their life or career. It is now used in 25 countries by thousands of practices.
In this episode, Celine educates us about euthanasia as she puts emphasis on how people in the practice of veterinary medicine can honor the bond between the vet team, the pet, and the family in tears as they proceed on doing the euthanasia process.
What you will learn from this episode:
- Understand how the lack of education in euthanasia affects veterinary professionals’ euthanasia practice and protocols;
- Discover what EUTHABAG is and how much of great help it is in educating people with regards to euthanasia, especially on the details of how to properly do it; and
- Find out all the resources you’ll need in learning about euthanasia and having a better practice of veterinary medicine through books, handouts, and other materials from EUTHABAG
“Now, the difference is I know how to provide a positive euthanasia experience that people will forever remember and be grateful for. I’m making a difference. The euthanasia I’m going to lead is not gonna be the same as the one on the other side of the street. This is going to be different.” – Celine Leheurteux
Topics Covered:
01:20 – Celine talks about the first time EUTHABAG came into the market, as well as the inspiration that led to the birth of EUTHABAG
03:36 – Celine describes her ideal client: Any veterinary professional, from the receptionist to the veterinarian; those who provide compassion and who face euthanasia in the practice almost every day
04:15 – Problem she solves for her clients: Decreasing the level of stress around euthanasia and feeling compassion satisfaction by giving the best end-of-life care
05:36 – The typical symptoms/pain points: Unnecessary stress, cognitive disruption, impostor syndrome, compassion fatigue/burnout
08:55 – The mistakes: Not having enough training about euthanasia and providing vague guidelines/descriptions
12:27 – Celine’s Valuable Free Action: “Have your staff take our free CPD. There are so many tips in it. There are so many members in our teams now, it’s getting bigger and bigger, and there are so many things to talk about around euthanasia. I think everybody needs to have the same training so we can hope that any client that comes to our practice has the same kind of experience, some kind of standard.”
17:53 – Celine’s Valuable Free Resource: Go to EUTHABAG’s website – https://www.euthabag.com/ – to learn more about euthanasia and dealing with your pet’s death
24:58 – Q: What’s a tip I would like to share? A: “The biggest game-changer for me was to provide deep, profound sedation to the pet prior to euthanasia. It calms the animal, the family, and then us – the veterinary team. Everybody feels better, and there’s no more anticipation of a reaction from the pet.”
Key Takeaways:
“Veterinary professionals, because of lack of education, just don’t feel they’re bringing the best. We’re all perfectionists. We need to be on top of things. We need to feel like professionals. And because we’re missing education, we don’t feel totally competent, especially with the family in tears.” – Celine Leheurteux
“We have to deal with it. It’s something we cannot avoid. We have empathy. We have emotional intelligence. We have compassion. We have everything; we just don’t know what to do with it. We don’t know how to show that to people. So we just need to be guided. All that we’re missing is to feel that we’re doing the right thing because we love to be following the guidelines, we love to be in line with the rules, but with euthanasia, there are no guidelines. It’s just like, do how you think is good. But because we’re don’t speak the same language, we’re not in the same pants as our clients, we don’t do the thing in an optimal way necessarily.” – Celine Leheurteux
“Now, the difference is I know how to provide a positive euthanasia experience that people will forever remember and be grateful for. I’m making a difference. The euthanasia I’m going to lead is not gonna be the same as the one on the other side of the street. This is going to be different.” – Celine Leheurteux
“Provide deep, profound sedation to the pet prior to euthanasia.” – Celine Leheurteux
People / Resources Mentioned:
EUTHABAG’s website: https://www.euthabag.com/
EUTHABAG’s CPD: https://veterinaryeuthanasiaeducation.com/
Mary Gardner / Lap of Love: https://www.lapoflove.com/
Ways to Connect with Celine Leheurteux:
Email: celine@euthabag.ca
Website: https://www.euthabag.com/
