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YouTube video series helps people cope with terminally ill pets

Saying goodbye to our terminally ill pets is never easy. Many pets serve as touchstones in our lives for 10, 15 or more years. They are often our one constant in life as we switch jobs, locations and even personal relationships.

 

Rapid weight loss and sudden refusal to beg for her favorite treat promoted a visit to my veterinarian for Callie, my 15-year-old calico. Tests, including an ultrasound, verified the diagnosis. Callie was dying from a fast-growing mass in her pancreas. All signs pointed to pancreatic cancer.

 

Now what?

 

“Let’s give her medicine to try to stimulate her appetite and give her some subcutaneous fluids to address her dehydration,” said Mary Gibbs, DVM, a veterinarian who has cared for Callie for nearly a decade.

 

How long does Callie have?

 

“Days, maybe weeks. It’s hard to say,” replied Dr. Gibbs. “At this point, let’s keep Callie comfortable. She will let you know when it’s time.”

 

The kitten I plucked from the streets of Miami 15 years ago was now a terminally ill senior cat. Through the years, she has been by my side during three career changes, eight relocations and five other pets.

 

As the author of 19 pet books, animal behavior consultant and editor of Catnip, a national monthly publication, I often travel coast to coast to help people better connect the bond they have with their dogs and cats. Callie gamely joined me when it was necessary to have a feline sidekick during speaking events and book tours. She flew with me to New York City never emitting a single mew during the flight for a three-day media blitz for my book, The Cat Behavior Answer Book. She happily perched on her favorite blanket inside the docked Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif. while I delivered a “why-cats-do-what-they-do” speech to members of the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters. She has tolerated curious children at elementary school assemblies and welcomed the arrival of my 60-pound dog, Chipper without a single hiss.

 

In her dying days, I opted to pay tribute to Callie – and to help others coping with ailing pets – by creating a 10-part video series on YouTube called “Callie’s Ninth Life.” The episodes capture Callie’s momentary appetite revival to playfully positioning herself in front of my computer monitor to get me to stop typing to the final goodbye in the vet exam room with my surviving pets, Murphy, a cat; and dogs Cleo and Chipper present.

 

Veterinarians and animal behaviorists emphasize the importance of allowing surviving pets to be present during euthanasia so that they can know what has happened to their departed pal. And, recent studies have verified that dogs and cats, just like people, do experience various levels of grief when a family pet dies.

 

Callie taught me many life lessons, including to be candid, to live in the now and to greet each morning with a full body stretch. She also reminded me about another life lesson: Our departed pets are gone but never forgotten.

  

And remember, our departed pets are gone but never forgotten.

Callie hangs out with canine pals, Chipper and Cleo.

For more info:  To watch the 10-part Callie's Ninth Life series on YouTube, please go to: www.youtube.com/user/ArdenMooreKnowsPets.