In this episode of the Inventory Nation Podcast, I’m a delight to be joined by Diana Herrera, the technician supervisor and inventory manager at Senior Paws, a hospice and end-of-life care veterinary practice.

Diana is a licensed veterinary technician, and earned her bachelor of science in veterinary medicine, then decided to study small animal massage therapy with the Northwest School of Animal Massage and earn a rehab certification. Just this month, Diana earned her hospice and palliative care certification with the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care. Diana has worked as an ICU tech for over 6 years and now has found her passion with senior care and end of life care and has managed inventory for over 2 years.

During our conversation, Diana shares her advice with other veterinary professionals: “If [euthanasia appointments] are something that is really effecting you, don’t be afraid to say it out loud. If it’s something that is really affecting you, your team can help you. Sometimes you don’t have the choice, but if you have the opportunity and you don’t feel comfortable, just say it. Your team will help you out. The other thing is there are bunch of resources to help you improve. There is a euthanasia certification training program as well as a lot of different resources. I also feel like try to be in the present moment. We are all too busy sometimes, trying to get stuff done, and we forget that moment — just say in the moment for that specific appointment. I know you’re going to have to run a cytology, take care of the puppy, and do everything else. Just breathe and take a moment to just be there. Otherwise, you are going to keep it inside you and at sometime you are going to explode. For your future appointments, take a deep breath, be there, and forget about everything that’s going on in the background. It’s going to be there when you are done. Taking the time to process those feelings is going to help you in the future because if you’re thinking “I just need to get this done” and keep moving, you don’t allow yourself to feel it what is going on in that moment and it’s going to be bad at the end.”

• Senior Paws
• International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care
• Day by Day Pet Caregiver Support
• Northwest School of Animal Massage
• The Companion Animal Euthanasia Training Academy (CAETA)