Our popular booklet “Death of an Animal Friend” is now available for Kindle through Amazon. Kindle books can also be read using a variety of other devices using one of the free Kindle Apps, including computers, iPad, iPhone, and Android tablets.
The price of the booklet has been reduced to only £2.50 (approx) for this Kindle edition and can be purchased from Amazon.
The paperback version of this booklet is still available for purchase directly from SCAS.
Two popular SCAS publications “Children and Pets” and “Older People and Pets” are once again available for purchase through our website.
“Older People and Pets: A Comprehensive Guide” (2005)
Compiled by SCAS, this book provides an invaluable resource for anyone who is concerned about the well-being of older people, including health and social care professionals, veterinary staff and housing providers.
The reader is given insight into how companion animals improve health, provide social support and enhance the quality of life for older people in different settings – those living in the community as well as those in sheltered housing and residential care homes – and in different ways. The book addresses a wide range of key issues, from animal-assisted therapy programmes, to the challenges faced by older pet owners moving into sheltered housing, to the impact of pet loss for older people. The book contains some very useful guidelines on pet policy for housing providers and staff working in institutions.
Price £12.50 + P&P
“Children and Pets: A guide for parents, teachers and therapists” (2003)
Parents have for many years recognised the benefits of pets for their children, but it is only in the last thirty years that the significant health and social benefits associated with animal companionship have been scientifically confirmed. We now have a greater understanding of the special bond that exists between children and companion animals and how this bond supports children in different ways throughout life.
SCAS realised that much of the information and research on child-animal interactions would be of immense value to those responsible for children and who work with children. Members of SCAS, experts in their respective fields, have collaborated to produce this publication, which will provide an informative, accessible guide to developing positive interactions between pets and children.
Price £5.99 + P&P
We also have a number of books and booklets available for purchase relating to pet bereavement support including:
When delivering training to a wide variety of veterinary professionals on how to support clients through pet loss, it is clear to see that the effects of pet loss are also significant to those involved in the process as professionals.
It is only in more recent years that pet bereavement support has been included in the veterinary nursing curriculum and still we see many veterinary professionals struggling to deal with a part of their job that is significant on a daily basis and yet a minor focus in their training. Having the responsibility of communicating and supporting traumatised and grieving pet owners is quite a weight to put on the shoulders of anyone who hasn’t received professional training in such areas.
In addition there are aspects of pet loss that can acutely affect those involved when they are part of the team responsible for completing the euthanasia. We often talk of responsibility grief in terms of an owner having to make that difficult decision to end their pet’s life but many of the emotional responses such as guilt, sadness, and anger may also be experienced by those who were present during the process itself.
A study by Vanessa Rohlf and Pauleen Bennett looking at a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in professions that take part in euthanasia concluded that occurrence was minimal (less than 15%). However, the fact that is might occur at all does raise the question of need for employers to risk assess in relation to impact on staff health as a result of working with euthanasia.
“A significant negative relationship was observed between satisfaction with social support and reported levels of stress, replicating previous studies indicating that social support acts as an effective buffer against stress (Cohen & Wills, 1985; Leavy, 1983). It was interesting that the highest perceived level of social support was attributed to pet animals, while the lowest perceived level of social support involved employers. Again, this is an area in which education programs for management may be required.
This study has several practical implications. First, it confirms perpetration induced traumatic stress as a valid avenue of study in animal workers. Although almost all of the participants did not report clinically significant levels of euthanasia-related stress, those who did clearly require further research attention. That some individuals suffer perpetration-induced traumatic stress and others do not indicates the importance of examining risk and protective factors. Second, this study confirms that social support and work experience are important determinants of how well animal workers cope with euthanasia-related stress. Third, the study suggests that recruiters should canvas concern about animal death when appointing new staff, so that appropriate stress reduction measures can be implemented as required.”
The full report can be accessed here at Animals and Society: http://www.animalsandsociety.org/assets/library/560_s1332.pdf
For information on training in pet loss support please visit our training pages. Whilst we are currently not taking enrollments on many of our courses following our organisational re-structure we intend to resume training activities soon. You can also access our pet bereavement support for veterinary professionals webinar series.