As many vets know, caring for clients who have lost a pet is a delicate and often complex time.

‍“It’s the hardest part of the job, caring for grieving owners. Even when their animal is gone, there’s still a lot to be done – and that’s where Vedi comes in,” says Dr Steve Joslyn, CEO of Vedi.

When a patient dies, many decisions need to be made. Firstly, the owner needs to decide what they would like done with their pet’s remains, something that’s often impossible to decide in the moment. From there, the vet ensures their wishes are carried out by documenting their special requests, liaising with the crematorium for pickup and checking that the ashes have made their way back to the owner.

In many practices, this process is managed through spreadsheets, whiteboards, post-its and labelling systems. And, often, it takes weeks.

‍“Obviously these methods are fallible – and time consuming. All the onus to oversee the process, and double-check everything is on track, is on the vet,” says Dr Joslyn. “What’s more, a lot of owners aren’t ready to make decisions for days and aren’t aware of how crematoriums work, so this creates further complexity to an emotionally charged situation.”

By automating much of the administrative tasks between the vet practice and crematorium, Vedi aims to give vets more time to spend with grieving owners.

As Vedi user Dr. Erin Myers explains, it’s a constant balance trying to care for grieving owners in a busy practice.

Time is a finite thing for vets and those are precious minutes that I could be spending holding an owner’s hand,” says Dr. Myers. "In a way, technology could make the end-of-life process so much more human and personal.

Because of their expanding network of veterinary providers, Vedi is also in a unique position to alert all relevant stakeholders of an animal’s passing – including the animal’s previous vets or the microchip registry.

‍“While this is the last thing on an owner’s mind when their pet is gone, it helps ensure that no one is going to reach out to them in the subsequent months and years with appointment reminders,” says Dr Joslyn.

As cat owner and fosterer Shaku Robinson shares, receiving these kinds of reminders can draw out a painful grieving process.

“When my fur baby Ginny died, I received appointment reminders for months from every vet I had ever visited. I had to call them all and go through the process of telling them Ginny had passed and it was sad and awkward for everyone involved,” says Ms. Robinson. “I know how much vets care, but how would they know?”

This new technology will be piloted with limited features to select veterinary practices in February 2023. Vets who wish to be part of the first intake, or would like further information, can visit vedi.io/connect/end-of-life

‍

Download this media release.

‍

For more information, or to arrange camera or interview opportunities, contact:

Sarah Pope
Media relations | Vedi
E: media@vedi.io
W: vedi.io

‍

‍

ABOUT VEDI

Founded in 2017, Vedi is a Australian veterinary tech company that’s building a smarter, more connected veterinary system through their cutting-edge universal health record platform. Vedi captures better health data and puts it to work to improve outcomes for vets and animals. Vedi is utilised by industry giants like Vetpath, Central Animal Records, Vetwest and Petstock. To date, Vedi is supporting the health and welfare of more than 78,600 patients including 54,013 dogs, 12,029 cats and 2,761 horses. Until August 2020, Vedi was referred to as VetDB – the new name a result of a rebrand. More information at vedi.io.

ABOUT EVERMORE

Evermore Pet Cremation are committed to improving end-of-life care for beloved pets. Their dedicated team understands the special bond between humans and their pets and believes that the care given during aftercare should reflect this. As a responsible pet care provider, they also care for the environment by making a donation to Trillon Trees for every private pet cremation they perform. Find out more at evermorepetcremation.com.au

‍