By Susan Bard Hall
Cox knew that Spider had taken a turn for the worse, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. Both her husband and personal veterinarian were
out-of-town.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of taking Spider to a stranger. A friend recommended a veterinarian who was only a few blocks away,” Cox said.
That veterinarian was Amir Shanan, DVM, Compassionate Veterinary Care, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. He also owns Allen Animal Hospital in Broadview, IL.
Dr. Shanan feels passionately that when a cat owner has no choice but to say good-bye, the choice of where to hug and hold your pet for the last time should include your home. At-home euthanasia is a service Dr. Shanan performs for patients under his care. But most calls come by way of other veterinarians, referrals, even a display ad in the Chicago-area Yellow Pages that first appeared in January 1995. They’re calls from people like Gayla Cox.
Only a few weeks after saying good-bye to Spider, Cox shared her at-home euthanasia experience because she feels strongly other pet owners should know the option exists.
“Dr. Shanan made a house call on a Friday night and took a blood test. We got the results on Saturday morning and they confirmed Spider’s condition. Together, we decided to see how he’d respond to treatment so hopefully, my husband, Bob, would be able to see Spider again,” Cox shared.
“Dr. Shanan said we would know when it was time,” Cox said. “We called him to come back on Tuesday. Spider didn’t have to suffer the trauma of going to the vet. It was very peaceful for us and for him. Because we did it here, Spider’s spirit is always here with me.”
Having graduated from Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1985, Dr. Shanan has been of the opinion that veterinary medicine serves both human and animal needs. Some years later, he attended a seminar on the human-animal bond, and then found himself thinking more about pet loss and its impact on pet owners. Dr. Shanan is a charter member of the American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians.
Coping with pet loss
“My interests began to focus on owners’ coping with pet loss, understanding grief in general, and how to support people coping with loss,” Dr. Shanan said.
Then about six years ago, a client called and asked Dr. Shanan if he would come to their home to euthanize their Doberman since their pet was no longer mobile and bringing him to the clinic would be excruciatingly-difficult.
