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Nobody teaches you how to have this conversation in veterinary school.

Dr. Christina Guttuso has spent 23 years doing exclusively in-home euthanasia — showing up for families in their hardest moments, in their homes across Arizona. After over two decades of experience and a recent survey of over 300 pet owners about their end-of-life experiences, what she found is reshaping how veterinary professionals will think about one of the most common and most misunderstood moments in veterinary practice.

This conversation is about someone whose veterinary career is centered on pet euthanasia. But it's really about what it means to be human in a profession that trains us to stay clinical.

In This Episode

• What pet owners are really asking when they say "but he's still eating"
• Why there's a significant gap between what veterinarians communicate and what grieving clients actually hear
• The ethics of allowing animals to suffer because of human emotion
• How to hold space for a grieving family without needing to fix anything
• What any veterinarian — in any setting — can do to show up better in end-of-life conversations
• How Dr. Guttuso's survey findings are shaping a forthcoming AVMA presentation

Take Dr. Guttuso's Survey

Dr. Guttuso is actively collecting perspectives from veterinary professionals to support her research. If you work in veterinary medicine, your voice matters. Link below.

📋 Survey link for veterinary professionals.
📋 Survey link for pet families

Connect & Resources

• Check out the video of the episode on YouTube
• Podcast Companion Substack with Podcast Club Guide

Keywords

pet euthanasia, end-of-life veterinary care, veterinary communication, compassionate care, in-home euthanasia, veterinary education, grief support, client communication, veterinary medicine podcast, Vet Life Reimagined, AVMA Convention, pet loss, veterinary wellness, compassion fatigue

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount.

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
- Nominate a guest
- Find out how to become a partner!

Send us Fan Mail

What if the future of veterinary medicine looked less like putting out fires — and more like helping pets thrive before they ever get sick?

Dr. Lily Chen is an integrative veterinarian in California who has built a practice around exactly that. After years in high-pressure emergency and general practice, a patient named Lucy changed everything — sending Lily deep into acupuncture, herbal medicine, and microbiome science, and toward a root-cause approach to healing that has transformed her practice and her patients' lives.

In this episode we cover:

· How one patient sent Lily from conventional medicine into integrative care

· Microbiome Therapy and Dr. Lily’s pet fecal microbiome transplant technique

· How to talk to clients in a way that builds trust

· How Lily built a career she is genuinely excited about — and what that can look like for you

Whether you're curious about integrative medicine, looking for a different way to practice, or simply wondering if veterinary medicine can feel better than it does right now, this episode is for you.

Resources:

🎙️ Video episode on YouTube

📬 Podcast club guide + key takeaways: Sprinkle of Wisdom Substack

🔗 Connect with Dr. Lily Chen

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount.

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
- Nominate a guest
- Find out how to become a partner!

Send us Fan Mail

Longevity medicine is one of the fastest-growing conversations in veterinary medicine — and it's moving beyond research labs and drug development into general practice. But what does it actually look like for the pets in your waiting room today?

Dr. Kevin Toman is a companion animal veterinarian with 40+ years of experience and eight practices built from the ground up. Now through his telehealth consulting practice, he's helping pet owners across the country build long-term longevity plans for their senior pets — and he believes this may be the biggest opportunity in veterinary medicine for the next decade.

In this episode, we cover:

• What longevity science looks like in general practice right now
• The Dog Aging Project, Loyal, and what's coming next for prescription longevity drugs
• How integrative medicine fits into a senior pet longevity plan
• Kevin's vision for a dedicated senior pet longevity clinic
• Why independent practice ownership still matters — and what he'd do differently

Resources:
🎙️ Vet Life Reimagined is hosted by Dr. Megan Sprinkle.

📬 Podcast club guide + key takeaways: Sprinkle of Wisdom Substack

📹 Video episode on YouTube

🔗 Learn more about Dr. Kevin Toman and his work: Website

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount.

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
- Nominate a guest
- Find out how to become a partner!