What is my pet's quality of life?

If you have had the privilege of being a pet guardian, you will find yourself asking this question.
It means you care about your pet and want to be sure they are not suffering.
There isn’t a simple answer to this question.
There are several factors that play into an individual pet’s overall physical, emotional, and social well-being.
But with a little bit of guidance you, the pet guardian, are best at answering this question. Your pet’s quality of life will change as they age or their disease process progresses.
Learning to assess their quality of life early on, and evaluating this regularly, is key.

You can start by asking yourself these questions:

Is my pet eating and drinking normally?
Can they relieve themselves on their own?
Can they move around on their own?
Are they interested in the activities around them?
Are they withdrawn much of the time?

You can evaluate your pet’s quality of life at home:

In the Evaluating Quality of Life box below, you will find several quality of life scales, ranging from very basic to very detailed.
These scales are meant to be used as an aid in helping you determine your pet's quality of life. They aren’t meant to be the sole resource for evaluating quality of life. While you can do these evaluations at home, they can also be done by a veterinarian. Finding a scale you are comfortable with and using it regularly to evaluate your pet as they age or progress is best. Pets 6 years of age or older should receive semi-annual exams along with some lab testing.

*Make a list of your pet’s unique qualities. These are things your pet enjoys to do such as playing with certain toys, requesting a walk or specific interactions with you.
*Keep a good day/ bad day calendar.
*Keep a journal
*Assess your own quality of life.
Here are some questions to ask yourself that can help you keep track of your quality of life:


How much of my time will go toward taking care of my pet? How much time do I have to spare?
What cost will I incur to take care of my pet? What other financial responsibilities do I have?
What other responsibilities do I have in my life (job, parenting)? Who else do I need to consider (partner, Children, other pets)?
Who can help me?
What other stresses and obligations do I have in my life right now?

Assessing your own life does not diminish the love or care you are giving to your pet, but rather emphasizes which priorities need to be tended to and in which order. While it can be very hard to make difficult decisions based on financial or other limitations, it is important to take care of yourself and also remember that you have done and are still doing the best that you can for your pet.

About quality of life appointments:

Quality of life evaluations include our veterinarian reviewing your pet’s history and providing a quality of life evaluation of your pet at your home. Our evaluation is not the same as a comprehensive exam, diagnosis or treatment recommendation that your pet’s regular veterinarian can do.
To request a quality of life evaluation from our veterinarian, start by scheduling a phone call with our assistant. This is a no charge- no obligation phone call. If you wish to proceed, our assistant will schedule the next step for you.
Appointments are scheduled Monday through Friday. The cost is $145.00 for a one- hour visit. We provide this service to the Michigan counties of Eaton, Ingham, Clinton, Shiawassee and Livingston.