Recognition of animal pain and its management has improved dramatically in veterinary medicine. Understanding current best practice helps owners advocate for their animals.
The historical under-treatment of animal pain reflected incorrect beliefs that animals did not experience pain as humans do, or that pain was somehow beneficial to recovery. Evidence now conclusively demonstrates that animals experience pain that negatively affects healing, immune function, and welfare. Pain scoring tools help veterinarians and owners identify suffering that may not be obvious. Chronic pain in older animals — from arthritis, dental disease, and cancer — is often undertreated because owners do not recognize its signs.