Pet aftercare ordering models: Evolving to meet the needs of today's pet owner

Deceased pet aftercare is an important part of a pet owner's experience and must be handled professionally with great attention to detail by veterinary teams and pet aftercare companies. To facilitate proper body handling, some pet aftercare companies have formed business relationships with veterinary hospitals/clinics, known as a Veterinary Aftercare Ordering Model (VAOM). An alternative model to the VAOM is the Client Aftercare Ordering Model (CAOM), whereby pet owners interact directly with an aftercare company. The goal of this study was to gain insights into veterinary professionals' experiences and opinions regarding their aftercare model (VAOM or CAOM). An anonymous online survey was distributed through veterinary-related organizations, listservs, and social media sites from March 2024 through July 2024. A total of 772 participants completed the survey, with 21 % of participants reporting currently using a CAOM to support their client's aftercare ordering needs. The factor reported as most important when using a CAOM was the ability to reduce potential mistakes (e.g., misspelling pet and owner names, contact information, and forgetting memorial item requests). Staff-related factors, including the impact on time needed to review aftercare options with clients, the need to be a liaison between the client and crematory, and the negative perception of appearing to upsell aftercare services, were all rated as more important by veterinary technicians compared to veterinarians. In conclusion, participants found that the use of CAOMs to be positively perceived by their clients and the majority indicated they plan to continue using the model.