AHPC Study Finds Veterinary Communication Shapes Pet Caregivers’ End-of-Life Experiences

A study published in Human-Animal Interactions by Lori Kogan, PhD, AHPC co-director, and Kathleen Cooney, DVM, CHPV, CPEV, demonstrates that the quality of communication between veterinary teams and pet caregivers plays a critical role in shaping end-of-life (EOL) experiences. Surveying 802 U.S. dog and cat caregivers who had recently participated in EOL decision-making for a companion animal, the researchers found that communication quality was one of the strongest predictors of caregiver satisfaction and decisional regret.

Caregivers consistently preferred earlier conversations about EOL care, and discussions that occurred before a pet’s condition reached a crisis were far more likely to be viewed as appropriately timed. Conversations about caregivers’ goals, emotional concerns, quality of life, pain management, and when to begin considering end-of-life decisions were associated with significantly greater satisfaction with care.

Importantly, the study found that communication quality, rather than the specific end-of-life pathway, was the strongest predictor of caregivers’ long-term experiences. The findings suggest that proactive, compassionate communication should be considered a core clinical skill and integrated throughout veterinary education and practice.

Citation:
Kogan, L., & Cooney, K. (2026). Pet caregiver experiences of companion animal end-of-
life care: The role of veterinary communication quality in satisfaction, burden, and
decisional regret. Human-Animal Interactions, 14(1), 0023.
https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2026.0023