Bond-Centered Practice Philosophy

• Bond-Centered Practice is a veterinary care paradigm that attends to the medical needs of animals and the emotional needs of pet owners.

• In a Bond-Centered Practice relationships between people and their pets are recognized as significant, therefore, they are always acknowledged and respected.

• Veterinarians as a whole have an integral role in promoting the formation of strong, "family status bonds" between pets and pet owners, thus, they have a moral and ethical responsibility to respond to the human emotional needs created by these significant relationships. This is especially true when illness, injury, or death threatens the bond.

• In a Bond-Centered Practice, caring for patients AND clients is viewed as a professional responsibility. Veterinarians must see themselves as part of the helping profession and, therefore, morally and ethically responsible for helping people.

• Bond-Centered Practitioners understand that there are emotional consequences to every medical intervention (from routine to crisis care) and they must learn how to effectively prepare for and respond to those emotions.

• Bond-Centered Practice is a human service helping model adapted to veterinary practice. Since all helping relationships are based on skilled communication, veterinarians must learn basic communication techniques and non-medical subject areas that are of concern to pet-owning families.

• Practitioners who work from the Bond-Centered Practice philosophy are fully prepared to support and respond to the emotional needs created by the bond by using an established, systematic approach to client and staff-care.

• In a Bond-Centered Practice intervention focuses on care not just cure. When nothing more can be done medically there is still more that can be done emotionally.

• Bond-Centered Practices establish a "culture of care" within the practice that appropriately support the emotional needs of all those (self and staff) working in it.