Pet Loss and Veterinarians Who Cry: with Veterinary Oncologist and Author Dr. Renee Alsarraf

We’re on break, creating all new episodes for season 3. In the meantime, here’s one of our favorite episodes from the past year. See you soon.

 

Nobody likes to talk about pet loss… but everybody wants to talk about pet loss. What a difficult scenario that is! Veterinary oncologist Dr. Renee Alsarraf joins us to talk about grief, professionalism, and the importance of being human - on the job and off. 

 

In this episode we cover: 

 

• The whole truth about loving - and losing - your pets
• The terrible advice Dr. Renee Alsarraf’s grad school teacher gave her (and why she refused to listen) 
• Why veterinarians and other professionals should really NOT check their human emotions at the door
• When it’s time to welcome a new love into your life (human or otherwise)
• How Dr. Alsarraf’s experience with veterinary oncology did (and didn’t) prepare her for her own cancer diagnosis

Click here for the episode webpage.

Notable quotes: 

 

“I think we tend to see our pets - especially when they're ailing - more like our little babies, and so we want to protect them. That's our innate role. And yet we can't protect them from the inevitable. That's really hard.” - Dr. Renee Alsarraf

 

“You can't push emotions down and expect them to not pop back up in other places.” - Megan Devine

 

About our guest: 

Dr. Renee Alsarraf is a veterinary oncologist, lecturer, and philanthropist. Her new book Sit Stay Heal is a moving and uplifting memoir of an esteemed veterinary oncologist fighting to save her four-legged patients while making sense of her own unexpected cancer diagnosis.

 

Find Dr. Alsarraf on IG @reneealsarraf  and read more about her book at sitstayhealbook.com

Get in touch:

Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of Here After with Megan Devine. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, send in your questions, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can’t be made right. 

 

Have a question, comment, or a topic you’d like us to cover? Visit megandevine.co

 

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Check out Megan’s best-selling books - It’s OK That You’re Not OK and How to Carry What Can’t Be Fixed.

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