MYTH #1: Animals do not feel pain as people do.

FACT: Animals are built with many of the same pain pathways as people are, therefore we know that the mechanisms are in place for them to feel pain just like we do.

MYTH #2: Animals tolerate pain better than people do.

FACT: Animals hide their pain because if they showed signs of weakness or pain in the wild, they would be killed by predators.

MYTH #3: Pain is beneficial in limiting a recovering animal's activity.

FACT: Pain stresses the body and slows the healing process. Keeping an animal pain free will actually speed the healing process.

MYTH #4: Elective surgical procedures require only 24hrs of pain management.

FACT: The greatest amount of pain happens in the first 24-72 hours (1-3 days) after surgery and will gradually decline over the next 4-7 days. This is why we typically recommend 5-7 days of pain relief following most surgical procedures. 

MYTH #5: Sedation and analgesia (pain relief) are synonymous terms.

FACT: When an animal is sedated, they are quiet and often unable to fully respond to what is happening but all of their pain pathways are still completely functional.

MYTH #6: Postoperative pain doesn't affect animals.

FACT: Postoperative pain has many negative side effects including:

1. Poor Wound healing

2.Decreased food and water intake

3. Muscle weakness from inactivity

4. Increased cortisol (stress hormone) levels which slows the healing process.

5. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Animal Suffering