Looking After Chronically III Dogs: Impacts on the Caregiver's Life

Abstract

Studies in human medicine show that care of chronically ill family members can affect the caregiver's life in several ways and cause "caregiver burden." Companion animals are offered increasingly advanced veterinary treatments, sometimes involving home care. Owners choosing such treatments could thus face similar challenges when caring for their animals. This qualitative study uncovers impacts on an owner's life, when attending to the care of an aged or chronically ill dog and reflects on the differing roles of caregivers with animal and human patients. Twelve dog owners were selected for in-depth interviews based on the dogs' diagnoses, and the choice of treatments and care expected to affect the owner's life. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed qualitatively. The dog owners reported several changes in their lives due to their dog's condition: practicalities like extra care, changes in use of the home, and restrictions relating to work, social life, and finances. These were time-consuming, tough, and annoying, but could often be dealt with through planning and prioritizing. Changes in the human-dog relationship and activities caused sadness and frustration, which in turn led to feelings of guilt, and in some cases created a feeling of loss. Also, concerns about the progress of the dog's condition, it's welfare, and euthanasia brought emotional distress and many doubts. The owners did, however, respond to the changes differently and as a result experienced different effects on their own life. This study confirms that the situations of caregivers with human and animal patients are in some ways similar, yet the study also identifies and reflects on some of the differences. These include the caregiver role and the options of assistance as well as euthanasia. Veterinary staff are urged to inform owners about possible impacts on their lives when considering careconsuming treatments, and to be aware of the need for support during treatment as well as in decisions about euthanasia.

“We have a ticking time bomb”: A qualitative exploration of the impact of canine epilepsy on dog owners living in England

“…The impact experienced by owners was greater than anticipated by the investigators, although elements relating to stress, limitations and di culty sleeping have been noted in previous literature regarding animals with chronic illnesses (17,18), and parents of children with epilepsy (27). However, this study provides greater understanding of areas of importance with regards to canine idiopathic epilepsy speci cally, and also highlights the complexity of the issues experienced by owners.…”

“…However, this study provides greater understanding of areas of importance with regards to canine idiopathic epilepsy speci cally, and also highlights the complexity of the issues experienced by owners. Previous research found that owners of chronically ill animals can feel helplessness when clinical signs are not controlled, and this seems common in owners of dogs with idiopathic epilepsy when seizures are not adequately controlled by anti-seizure drugs (17). However, another recent study found that composite scores for quality of life of dogs with epilepsy and their owners were generally positive (7).…”

“…Research has shown that owners of chronically ill animals could detrimentally affect their own quality of life caring for their pet (16), and management of long term conditions can be challenging and distressing for owners (15). Yet many owners choose to pursue advanced treatment options despite social and nancial impacts (17), and place greater importance on their dog's quality of life rather than their own lifestyle (18). Owners of chronically ill animals may experience clinically signi cant levels of caregiver burden (19), increased stress, and signs of anxiety or depression (15).…”

“…Generalised seizures are physiologically stressful for owners to witness (12) and may cause more distress to the owner than the animal, given the animal is unconscious while the seizure occurs (12,22). As the success of seizure control is not proportional to the commitment of the owner (8), it is also possible that owners may have feelings of helplessness (17).…”

Validation of an abbreviated instrument to assess veterinary client caregiver burden

“…Caregiver burden, a response of strain in the context of providing care for a loved one with an illness, is qualitatively reported by pet caregivers, with approximately half of owners providing care for seriously ill companion animals demonstrating quantitatively increased levels of burden . This caregiver burden is correlated with clinically meaningful clinical signs of depression and reduced quality of life in samples of social media‐recruited companion animal owners and small animal veterinary clinic clients, with owners of a chronically or terminally ill cat or dog being about twice as likely to describe increased clinical signs of depression and high stress levels compared to owners of a healthy pet.…”