A Step-Wise Plan
No two colleges are likely to take identical approaches to implementing a donation program. However, the following basic outline is common to existing successful programs:
1. Formulate a committee of interested faculty and staff in the basic and clinical science departments, including especially the gross anatomy faculty and ICU/Medicine technicians. It is vital to the success of the program that the faculty and staff support and understand it. Veterinary students can be recruited to help with the embalming and physical labor as the program begins to succeed; therefore, it is strongly recommended that the students are also involved in giving input in these early stages.
2. Assess available facilities. Is a storage cooler room available in clinics and near the anatomy laboratory? Are there tables for embalming in an anatomy preparatory room? If cadavers will be used for surgical procedure or psychomotor skills labs, is there freezer space to store the bodies?
3. Draw up a budget for the following items:
- Permaflow solution (Dodge Chemical Co.)
- Peristaltic pump (Fisher Scientific)
- Needles, cannulas, catheters
- Stock embalming solution (Hydrol Chemical Co.) or FES/PG.
- Ear tags (Nasco Company)
- Euthanasia brochures
- Client consent form for donation of pet remains
- Additional freezer storage space
- Technician salary or student compensation
4. Submit a protocol for animal use to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Institutional policies typically specify that IACUC approval is required for the use of all vertebrate animals, even deceased ones.
5. Create a stepwise plan for the program, starting when the client signs over the body, to transporting of the body to the anatomy lab, embalming, storing, and disposing. The Tufts model is a helpful guide.
6. Consider options for disposition of the remains. Regulations for disposal of the body vary from state to state. Contact state authorities. Cremation is standard at several universities. Consider returning the pet's ashes to the client (this would involve individual cremations and careful planning) or consider some other way of honoring the human-animal bond the client and pet shared.
