Author | Sharon DeNayer

For us, veterinary medicine is a form of friendship, and caring for hospice and palliative-care patients is a team activity that asks for attention, care and skill from every single team member in our hospitals.

"Help clients who make the difficult choice to euthanize their pet by approaching the associated costs with sincere consideration," says Sharon DeNayer, a Firstline Editorial Advisory Board member and the clinic manager at Windsor Veterinary Clinic in Windsor, Colo.

When I turned 70 in 2011, people started asking me if I was going to retire. Now that I am 73, friends ask when Im going to retire.

Use these tips to ease the pain and strain of a veterinary visit for senior pets.