48 BONDED CLIENT / Pain Management
experience in the veterinary field and in pain management techniques. McPeek specializes in medical Qigong
and human–animal bond counsel- ing, and founded the Minnesota Vet- erinary Practice Manager’s Network,
www.mnvpmn.org. Along with her vet- erinary credentials, Brown holds a certi- fication in companion animal pain man- agement, and is pursuing certificates in herbal therapies and homotoxicology. “Our philosophy,” says Brown, “is
‘don’t let them hurt.’ Why are we in this field? Why would we choose to let an animal suffer? Ethically, the vet needs to offer pain management options.” McPeek cites a variety of issues that
can occur when an animal’s pain is unchecked: “Blood pressure and heart rate are higher; they don’t sleep as well; appe- tite may change; they may lose weight; they can experience delayed healing; and have an increased risk of infection.” Another expert, Robin Downing, DVM,
CVPP, CCRP, DAAPM, is hospital director at The Downing Center for Animal Pain Management, LLC. She was co-chair of the
task force that authored the AAHA/AAFP Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats and a founder of the IVAPM. Downing is a recipient of the AAHA’s
Hill’s Animal Welfare and Humane Eth- ics Award and has been recognized for professional excellence and achievement in the field of veterinary medicine and for her community service and research. Her philosophy about pain manage-
ment has at its heart the Buddhist prov- erb that states, “Pain is inevitable, suffer- ing is optional.” “Our moral imperative as veterinar-
ians is to advocate on behalf of beings who cannot advocate for themselves,” she says. “That means making sure that we do absolutely everything possible to identify pain wherever and whenever it is present in our patients, and to do every- thing in our power to reduce or remove it. “Pain is important because it interferes
with activities of daily living, quality of life, and (when left unchecked) normal metabolic function and balance,” says Downing. The bottom line, she says, is that our animal companions do not
Signs of Pain The following list of signs of general and specific signs of pain was first published in the AAHA/AAFP Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats.
General Signs Specific Signs
Loss of normal behavior Decreased activity, lethargic attitude, decreased appetite, decreased grooming in cats
Expression of abnormal behaviors
Inappropriate elimination, vocalization, aggression or decreased interaction with other pets or family members, altered facial expression and posture, restlessness, hiding (especially in cats)
Reaction to touch Physiologic parameters
Increased body tension or flinching in response to gentle palpation of injured area and regions likely to be painful
Elevations in heart rate and respiratory rate, body temperature and blood pressure, pupil dilation
Source:
aahanet.org/publicdocuments/painmanagementguidelines.pdf Trends magazine, April 2013
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