PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 22, No.2, July 18, 2002

For millions of pet owners, an animal’s illness, injury or death can be devastating. When clients and staff members of UI's small animal clinic need emotional support or assistance during an animal’s health crisis, Liz Kennedy, a client counselor specialist, is on call to help. Kennedy earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from Bethany College, W.Va., and a master’s degree in social work from Ohio State University. Before Kennedy came to Illinois, she performed crisis intervention, counseling and resource coordination for patients and families of a hospital/health care system in Ohio. A licensed clinical social worker, Kennedy joined the UI staff in April.

Tell me about your job.
This is a new position. The face of veterinary medicine has been changing over the last eight to 10 years. I think the veterinary community has grown to understand the bond that people have with their pets.

I’m a huge advocate of preparing people for what they’re about to see or hear. If it’s an emergency case, my job is to sit with the family and explain to them what’s going on so they feel like they have some control over the situation. Often, they’re in shock.

If it’s an oncology case where they’re about to give a family member very bad news, my job is to sit there with them as the doctor talks with them, help them process it and talk about what treatment options they have for the type of cancer their pet has.

I think overall the clients want information and some understanding about what’s going on. They want somebody that they can cry in front of and not feel bad.

Owners are sometimes needing more help – more emotional help — than the pets. These are people that are in a very difficult time in their lives, and when I see them it’s raw emotions, and it’s sad and hard. I feel privileged to be able to come in here every day and help.

Personally, I have two four-legged 'children,' Gabe and Hunter. They’re English setters. They’re obviously a big part of my life. If something were to happen to one of my 'kids,' I would be scared to death. I would need a lot of support and help.

How many clients do you see in a day or a week?
I don’t have appointments. I see people as they’re coming into the E.R. or as they’re getting bad news. I see people whose beloved pet has gone into surgery and something has happened. I run from one crisis to another. Some days, when it’s nice and calm in this hospital, I could see one or two people. Other times I’m running all day. Every day is completely different.

How is this different from assisting people with human family members’ crises?
For me at least, there’s the same amount of grief and crisis counseling as there is in a hospital for humans. But there’s a lot more death in an animal hospital. That was really something that I needed to get adjusted to.

Another part of my job is talking about quality of life and finding out what people want for their pets and helping the students or the doctors here with talking about death and quality of life issues.

What do you tell clients who are faced with making the decision to end their pet’s life?
That’s a talk that I give a lot. People ask, ‘How will I know when it’s time?'

I say, 'Pick five things that your dog or cat loves to do on a daily basis. When those whittle down to two or three and you know that the quality of [their] life has changed, you’ll look into your pet’s eyes and you will know.' I see them weeks or months later, and they’ll say, 'It’s time.'

Why did the university decide to start this type of program now?
I think it’s been a while in the making. There are a lot of people here who are just wonderful at sitting and talking to family members and spending as much time as they can. I know that they’d like to spend a lot more, but unfortunately they just can’t because they need to be racing off and doing things.

Since this is a new position, what kind of feedback have you gotten from clients and staff members?
[They] have been very, very appreciative. I’ve actually gotten quite a few letters from people, which I just treasure. Those are really wonderful because I’m seeing people at their worst — a lot of them are just devastated — and when they send me a little note saying, ‘Thank you so much. You don’t know what it meant to have someone there,’ and they send a picture, that really means a lot to me.

Sometimes there are people in our society who don’t get the fact that you can have such a close bond with an animal. That’s something else that I deal with a lot: People say, ‘Why am I so upset about just a dog? People tell me at work I can just go out and get another one.’ But the problem is, they’re very connected to that dog. It’s a part of their family.

What are the essential skills or qualities for someone in your job?
You’ve got to be a good listener. You have to be able to open yourself up to understanding and feeling how devastated, angry and upset they are.
You’ve got to be good in crisis situations and do a lot of fast thinking.

Sometimes I have just a few seconds of talking with the doctor before I’m talking with the client.

You’ve got to be good at talking about death and grief. A lot of times there are people who are coming back two weeks later to pick up the urn with the remains of their beloved pet and they’re still as grief-stricken and devastated by the loss as they were the day that it happened.

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On the job: Liz Kennedy

By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
(217) 244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu