Veterinary Specialty Hospital, San Diego
  • 24-HR ER: 858-875-7500
  • Our Services
    • Blood Bank
    • Cardiology
    • Veterinary Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diagnostic Imaging
    • Emergency/Critical Care
    • Internal Medicine
    • Neurology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Social Work
    • Surgery
    • Urgent Care by Ethos Near Here
  • For Your Pet
    • Client Registration Form
    • Emergencies + Appointments
    • When Your Pet is a Patient
      • Client Portal
      • Prescription Refill Form
      • Online Store
    • Grief Resources
    • Pet Insurance
    • Clinical Studies
  • For Veterinary Teams
    • Submit Referrals
    • Our Referral Process
    • At a Glance
    • Ethos Materials for Clinics
    • Continuing Education
    • VetBloom CE
    • Clinical Studies
  • About Us
    • Our Hospital
    • Our Team
    • Why Ethos?
    • Veterinary Urgent Care by Ethos
    • Ethos Discovery
    • Contact Us
  • Blogs & Videos
    • Our Blogs
    • PAWEDcasts
  • We’re Hiring!
    • Apply Today
    • Job Fair Events
    • Benefits and Perks
    • Veterinary Training Programs
Veterinary Specialty Hospital, San Diego
  • Our Services
    • Blood Bank
    • Cardiology
    • Veterinary Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diagnostic Imaging
    • Emergency/Critical Care
    • Internal Medicine
    • Neurology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Social Work
    • Surgery
    • Urgent Care by Ethos Near Here
  • For Your Pet
    • Client Registration Form
    • Emergencies + Appointments
    • When Your Pet is a Patient
      • Client Portal
      • Prescription Refill Form
      • Online Store
    • Grief Resources
    • Pet Insurance
    • Clinical Studies
  • For Veterinary Teams
    • Submit Referrals
    • Our Referral Process
    • At a Glance
    • Ethos Materials for Clinics
    • Continuing Education
    • VetBloom CE
    • Clinical Studies
  • About Us
    • Our Hospital
    • Our Team
    • Why Ethos?
    • Veterinary Urgent Care by Ethos
    • Ethos Discovery
    • Contact Us
  • Blogs & Videos
    • Our Blogs
    • PAWEDcasts
  • We’re Hiring!
    • Apply Today
    • Job Fair Events
    • Benefits and Perks
    • Veterinary Training Programs
  • 24-HR ER: 858-875-7500
858-875-7500

Social Work

Veterinary social work is a social work specialty that focuses on the human needs that may arise in veterinary medicine.

Understanding the significance of the human-animal bond is critical to veterinary medicine and at VSH – Sorrento Valley our social worker addresses the needs that may arise for both our clients and our staff members. The changing role of animals in our lives has allowed for the development of veterinary social work; our companions are family and our veterinary social worker fully acknowledges this. Our social worker is here to help support pet owners during the emotionally difficult situations that may arise. As pet owners, we may be presented with overwhelmingly complicated situations and our social worker is here to help guide you through these tough times with empathy and support.

Social Work Services offered:
  • Pet loss/grief support (including anticipatory grief)
  • Caregiver support (support for those caring for pets with chronic needs)
  • Support when receiving a new diagnosis/new treatment options
  • Support during decision making
  • Assessing quality of life
  • End of life decision making
  • Facilitating family discussions around patient care
Our social worker will also provide additional external resources on the following topics:
  • Navigating pet loss with children
  • Ways to memorialize our pets
  • Euthanasia at home
  • Hospice care for pets
  • Coping with guilt after pet loss
  • Pet loss books and hotlines
Learn more about Veterinary Social Work

Christina Malloy joined the PAWED cast for a recent episode on the work she does, take a moment to learn a little more about her work at Mass Vet with both clients and our own employees.

Meet Our Team

  • Alisha Motily, CSWVeterinary Social Worker

Related Articles

  • Grief Resources
  • Mental Health in Veterinary Medicine
  • What is the Human-animal Bond?
  • When is it "time"? Making the difficult Decision to Euthanize
Veterinary Specialty Hospital, San Diego
858-875-7500 | 10435 Sorrento Valley Rd, San Diego, CA 92121
  • 24-HR ER: 858-875-7500
  • Our Services
    • Blood Bank
    • Cardiology
    • Veterinary Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diagnostic Imaging
    • Emergency/Critical Care
    • Internal Medicine
    • Neurology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Social Work
    • Surgery
    • Urgent Care by Ethos Near Here
  • For Your Pet
    • Client Registration Form
    • Emergencies + Appointments
    • When Your Pet is a Patient
      • Client Portal
      • Prescription Refill Form
      • Online Store
    • Grief Resources
    • Pet Insurance
    • Clinical Studies
  • For Veterinary Teams
    • Submit Referrals
    • Our Referral Process
    • At a Glance
    • Ethos Materials for Clinics
    • Continuing Education
    • VetBloom CE
    • Clinical Studies
  • About Us
    • Our Hospital
    • Our Team
    • Why Ethos?
    • Veterinary Urgent Care by Ethos
    • Ethos Discovery
    • Contact Us
  • Blogs & Videos
    • Our Blogs
    • PAWEDcasts
  • We’re Hiring!
    • Apply Today
    • Job Fair Events
    • Benefits and Perks
    • Veterinary Training Programs
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