Dear Dr. Shanan,

The following accounts by clients of their experience with Dr. Shanan's services were written in the spring of 2004, in response to his request:

"In early February 2004 we called Dr. Shanan regarding home euthanasia for Mona, our 20 years old cat. Her hind legs could not support her. She would not eat and was extremely lethargic. We were prepared that day to let her go. Dr. Shanan came and assessed the situation. There was something in Mona's eyes that said she was not ready to go. Dr. Shanan suggested we give her just a few more days of support. Within 3 days she started showing improvement! It is now 4 months since that day we thought would be her last. She is still a sick kitty but she interacts with the family, enjoys sleeping in the sun and comes ready when I give treats. She is still an active part of our family. I know that when the time comes Dr. Shanan will help us through."
-- Susan LaMantia, Chicago IL

"On Tuesday April 20th, 2004, I asked Dr. Shanan to come to our house to put our beloved pet to sleep. As I waited for him to come to our house I took a picture of Woody, because in my mind I wanted to have the picture to show to myself the pain in his eyes, so I would know I made the right decision. When Dr. Shanan arrived my head kept going back and forth, Am I playing God? Am I doing the right thing? But I saw how peaceful Woody was with his head in my lap and laying on his blanket and I told Dr. Shanan to go ahead. I had my hand on his heart and just felt his little life slip away. Although I was crying, I felt Woody did not deserve to suffer and this was the only way. A couple of days later I heard my husband talking to a friend on the phone. 'It's the hardest thing in the world to put your pet to sleep, but with the vet coming to the house made a huge difference because Woody was not stressed and you are in your own house,' he said, "After the vet left I cried like a baby but it didn't matter because it was only Petie, woody and myself.' My husband and I honestly feel that when you have to put a pet to sleep, home euthanasia is the only way to do it. I'm so thankful this service exists - too bad more people aren't aware of it."
-- Petie Monachino, Berwyn IL

"I was prepared to hate Dr. Shanan for the sole reason that his presence in my life was vehemently unwanted. It meant that Pea, my sweet and affectionate 6 years old cat, would die. She had been diagnosed with Feline Leukemia 2 years earlier, and recently developed irreversible problems associated with the disease. On one of Pea's visits to our vet for treatment, the vet told me about Dr. Shanan and handed me a brochure describing his services including "End of Life Consultation" and "At-Home Euthanasia". I wasn't settled on the question of euthanasia, but I knew that if it came to that, I'd want to do it at home. I made the first of what would be many calls to Dr. Shanan. Instead of hating him, I felt that he truly understood what I was going through: that I had a very intense bond with my pet, that seeing her sick and the thought of losing her were devastating to me, and that grappling with the question of euthanasia was agonizing. By the time we'd ended the conversation we'd scheduled an End of Life Consultation. Somehow it seemed important that he meet Pea before she was thoroughly devastated. Pea needed to have fluids drained from her chest repeatedly. Her quality of life between these taps seemed relatively normal. One day in November of 2003 the vet took an x-ray of Pea's chest and told me there was nothing else they could do for Pea. She suggested it was time to put Pea down. Horrified, I took pea home. I called Dr. Shanan later that day and he made me feel that Pea's life still had value. He bought us more time together, and for that I'm grateful. Pea had a good last few weeks. I, on the other hand, had a horrible few weeks. I was sobbing with astounding frequency and force and grappling with feelings about life and death and the uneasy power I seemingly had over Pea's. I felt despondent and guilt ridden every time I left the apartment because I wanted to be with Pea. I eventually allowed myself only one 2 hour outing a day. During this time I relied heavily on Dr. Shanan, who never made me feel that my calls were intrusive or that my concerns were trivial. He was the perfect mix of philosopher, ethicist, counselor and vet. I talked with him about my doubts and fears. About interfering too soon or too late, or not at all. Would I be helping Pea or betraying her? I honestly didn't know. I woke Dr. Shanan up at 5:30 one morning thinking it was time to end Pea's suffering. By the time he arrived at my apartment, Pea's condition had improved. Dr. Shanan looked at her and said he didn't think we had to euthanize her. He had gained enough insight from our conversations to understand the gravity of the decision I had to make, and he honored that. But Pea's chest had filled up with fluids again, and attempts to drain it failed. The quality of life indicators that Dr. Shanan had taught me to look for were all pretty grim. He came to my apartment on December 1st and euthanized Pea. He spent a good deal of time allowing me to cry and say goodbye to pea before he gave her the first of 2 injections that would end her life. He was kind and gentle with both pea and me. I'm grateful that he was there guiding me and supporting me through the most difficult and painful decision of my life. It's been 6 months since Pea died. I still miss her and think about her often. And when I find myself thinking about her death, as I sometime do, I'm comforted by the thought that it was as easy on her as possible, thanks to Dr. Shanan."
-- Tori, Chicago IL