Putting it All Together: Real-World Conversations in Pain, Quality of Life, and End-of-Life Choices

2-hour webinar from the Chronic Pain Symposium 2026, presented by Dr. Tyler Carmack, Dr. Sheilah Robertson, and Rev. Ginny Mikita.
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2 hour cpd

12 months' access
to the recording

what's included...

  • 2-hour Presentation
  • Downloadable Lecture Notes
  • Multiple-choice Quiz
  • CPD Certificate

presentation overview

“How will I know when it’s time?” is one of the most emotionally complex and commonly asked questions in veterinary medicine. While often met with simple or generalized answers, this moment deserves a structured, compassionate, and evidence-informed conversation. Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of euthanasia in dogs. This session explores practical, validated quality-of-life (QoL) tools and communication strategies that empower veterinary teams to guide families through anticipatory grief, declining health, and end-of-life decision-making. Participants will learn how to incorporate QoL assessments into everyday clinical workflows, strengthen client understanding, and support clearer, more confident decisions about comfort, suffering, and timing.

meet the presenters

Dr. tyler carmack

Dr. Tyler Carmack is the Director of Hospice and Palliative Care for Caring Pathways. She founded Hampton Roads Veterinary Hospice, an AAHA-accredited end-of-life practice, and has practiced exclusively hospice and palliative care since 2011. She has served on the Board of Directors of the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC) since 2016 in various roles, including President in 2020 and 2025.

Dr. Tyler holds certifications in animal hospice and palliative care, veterinary pain management, peaceful euthanasia, veterinary acupuncture, TCVM food therapy, and TCVM End-of-Life care.
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DVM, CVA, CHPV, CVPP, CVFT, CTPEP

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BVMS (Hons), PhD, DACVAA, DECVAA, DACAW, DECAWBM (WSEL), CertVA, FRCVS

Dr. Sheilah Robertson

After graduating from the University of Glasgow, Dr. Robertson undertook specialized training in anesthesia and pain management. She is board certified in anesthesia and in animal welfare by the respective American and European Colleges and holds a certificate in small animal acupuncture. She is also a certified Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine Palliative and End-of-Life practitioner.

She is a medical advisor for Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice, a large network of veterinarians dedicated to end-of-life care. Dr. Robertson is a courtesy lecturer in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida.

rev. ginny mikita

Rev. Ginny Mikita, JD/Animal Chaplain (she/her) is a certified Animal-Friendly Attorney and interfaith minister.

While attending Notre Dame Law School (1991 graduate), Ginny served as an intern at Farm Animal Reform Movement, working to strengthen existing and lobbying for new U.S. federal legislation to better protect the nation's billions of animals destined for dinner plates.

After graduating and clerking for a federal judge for two years, she served as in-house counsel with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (successfully sought the prosecution of chinchilla fur ranchers for violations of animal cruelty statutes across the country) and worked alongside Animal Legal Defense Fund counsel in a federal case seeking to better the care and treatment of research animals at the National Institute of Health.

Upon Ginny’s return to Michigan, she co-founded Attorneys for Animals and the first-ever State Bar Animal Law Section. She drafted and lobbied Michigan’s Forfeiture Law after the seizure by law enforcement of approximately 100 goats, horses and dogs nearing starvation and was later retained by Michigan Humane Society to lobby against legislation that would have added mourning doves to the game species list.

Since 2023, she has had the privilege of serving as local (Michigan) counsel in a landmark Nonhuman Rights Project case to determine whether chimpanzees have a right to liberty (and should be placed in an accredited sanctuary).

She and her husband, Bob Kruse, have their own firm, Mikita Kruse Law Center, and have provided compassionate legal assistance to those whose voices have been silenced -- animals, neglected/abused/refugee children, LGBTQ+ individuals and incapacitated adults -- for 30+ years.

Ginny has been recognized as one of Michigan’s Top Ten Lawyers by Michigan Lawyers Weekly and is also the recipient of the Brandi Award, both for her animal protection work.

Ginny is the founder of Animal Blessings, a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring the sacred worth of all animals - companion animals with whom we share our lives, captive animals exploited by humans for food, clothing, and entertainment; and wild animals who are hunted or at risk of extinction.

Ginny has written articles for a number of publications including a monthly column for Cats and Dogs Magazine, officiates Blessings of the Animals and Memorial Services throughout the year at various locations - outside and in, secular and religious. She has also facilitated (and continues to) a monthly Animal Companion Loss Grief Support Group for individuals navigating grief and mourning in anticipation of or after the death of an animal companion for fifteen years.

She is an active member of Douglas United Church of Christ, an open and affirming congregation designated as a Creation Care Church.

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Juris Doctor, Animal Chaplain

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