Morgan Animal Hospital

Making the decision to euthanize one of our pets, is the hardest decision we make as pet owners. As veterinarians we do everything possible to help you make a decision that you are comfortable with. Evaluating your pet’s quality of life is an important job and a difficult one. General guidelines for quality of life tend to be things like appetite, pain, and general happiness. Below is a scale that was developed to assist owners with evaluating whether or not it is the right time. Please remember that the scale is still a general guideline, and the decision to euthanize is going to be different for every individual pet and owner.

Please answer the following using a scale of 0 – 10 (0 = Unacceptable, 10 = Excellent)

Score Criterion

0 - 10 HURT - Is your pet painful including distress from difficulty

Breathing? Can the pain be successfully managed? Is Oxygen

necessary?

0 – 10 HUNGER – Is your pet eating enough to maintain its body weight?

Does hand feeding help?

0 – 10 HYDRATION – Is your pet dehydrated? Are daily subcutaneous

fluids at home enough to resolve the problem? Are they well tolerated?

0 – 10 HYGIENE – Is your pet wanting to groom itself? Are there any

pressure sores?

0 – 10 HAPPINESS – Does your pet express joy and interest? Is he/she

responsive to things around him (family, toys, etc.) Is he/she depressed, lonely, anxious, bored, or afraid?

0 – 10 MOBILITY – Can your pet get up without assistance? Does the pet

need human or mechanical help? Does he/she still want to go for walks? Is he/she having seizures or stumbling?

0-10 MORE GOOD DAYS THAN BAD

TOTAL – A total > 35 points is acceptable quality of life for most pets

Please remember that this is only a general guideline, and while it may assist many pet owners in their decision of whether or not to euthanize, it does not apply to all families. Every situation is different, and if you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to discuss them with one of our veterinarians.