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Grief and Bereavement

VSW offers support in a variety of ways

These services are free of charge and open to anyone.

During Illness and Treatment:

  • Offering support during diagnostic testing and treatment (while at UTCVM)
  • Helping communicate your questions and concerns with your medical team or with client representatives (while at UTCVM)

When Making Difficult Decisions by Helping the Family:grief and bereavement page

  • Think and talk through treatment for your animal
  • Prioritize the many commitments you have in your life
  • Decide when the right time is for you to stop treatment
  • Communicate your animal’s illness and possible death with your children

During Euthanasia & Natural Death:

  • Assisting you as you think through the possible choice to end your animal’s pain and suffering
  • Being present with you during the euthanasia, if you wish (while at UTCVM)
  • Being with your animal, if you cannot be present during your animal’s euthanasia (while at UTCVM)

After an Animal’s Death:

  • Providing free individual, family or couple grief support sessions (8 sessions to any UT Veterinary Medical Center client and 4 sessions to any non UTVMC client)
  • Supplying information regarding pet cemeteries and crematories, lists of resources and information on what to expect during this time of grief
  • Inviting you to attend our Seasonal Pet Memorial Celebrations, where we honor the lives of our beloved animals
  • Offering a Pet Loss Support Group

Our Pet Loss Support Group and Seasonal Pet Memorial Celebrations are free of charge and open to both the community and clients of the University of Tennessee Veterinary Medical Center. They provide:

  • A caring environment where people can share their varied experiences of loss and grieving with others who are having similar experiences
  • A place to remember and honor the life of the animal who has died
  • An opportunity to learn additional ways of coping with the loss of an animal
  • Resources regarding issues related to pet loss

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