One morning, after a particularly "grim" night shift, the ER veterinarian gave me a pep slap on the shoulder, smiled, and said, "Your Rainbow Bridge is going to be standing room only!" I will forever cherish the image that came to mind. By the time I finished my four years at the local emergency clinic, and several months with Auburn University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital, I was WELL VERSED in all things death, dying, coping, and not coping. I had seen and heard and felt i

I learned A LOT about death and dying working at the local emergency clinic, which probably goes without saying! I don't think there is a better way to summarize the time I spent there than to share with you the goodbye letter I wrote to the Cardiology Service. I had the pleasure of being a part of this dynamic duo for the best three years of my career. This was originally posted on my Facebook page in August of 2012, and has been edited for length. "I began this journey unsu

Amber was a teenage Shepherd mix with bad kidneys. She was dying of renal failure, and she looked just like Buzzy, the tri-color dog I grew up with. I got involved in her case when she was first diagnosed, and got to know her family through their frequent visits to the clinic for diagnostics and treatment. When her time came, I knew my time had also come: after two years of avoidance, it was time for me to be in the room with a patient while they died. I'll never forget a mom

I have always had a curious relationship with Death. The first memory I have of a pet dying happened when I was about 5 years old. I had a pet frog, which I kept in a red pail. I was sitting outside on a cement patio staring at my sunbathing friend when my little brother, aged 3, came running out the back door with his blue velcro sneakers on and stepped on my little frog, right in front of me. When he raised his foot, the frog heaved up like a twisted accordion. I refused to