Animal Doctor provides End of Life Care. Cremations services available in house. We accept referrals and provide second opinions.
Description: End of life care is also known as palliative care of hospice care. This occurs when your pet is suffering from a terminal illness and recovery is not possible. End of life care is palliative care provided to pets at the end of their lives, to keep them comfortable until they pass away.
Symptoms & What to look for: End of life typically reflects the illness from which the pet is suffering. If your pet has received a terminal diagnosis and is declining.
How does it happen? Pets can suffer from a variety of terminal illnesses due to age, breed, illness, injuries, etc.
What questions do we ask?
Does your pet appear to be in pain?
Is your pet eating? Any vomiting, diarrhea, or other gastrointestinal symptoms?
Is your pet lethargic? Hiding? Depressed?
Is your pet urinating normally? Drinking water?
What is your pet’s quality of life?
What are the steps we take to treat your pet?
We will take a thorough history, perform a thorough physical examination with appropriate testing based on the history, exam, and medical history of your pet. Based on these factors, an end of life plan will be developed.
Animal Doctor End of Life Care potential treatment plans?
Oral medications
May include anti-nausea, anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, appetite stimulant, or antibiotic medications.
Injections
May include anti-nausea, anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, and/or antibiotic medications.
Topical Medications/Treatments
May include medicated shampoos, appetite stimulants, topical antibiotic medications, for example.
What are the risks if left unmanaged?
Palliative, end of life care can help your pet transition smoothly and peacefully from this life. If not managed, your pet, and you, may experience unnecessary stress and anxiety during this process.
Dr. Alice Waters is originally from Lebanon Junction, KY. She attended undergrad at the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville. She obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1999. She has called Manhattan home since 2006. Dr. Waters and her dog, Sage, joined the Animal Doctor family on May 1, 2019. You can find Dr. Waters at our location in Manhattan: Animal Doctor Westside! We are excited to have her as part of our team.
Dr. Ary is originally from Wichita, Kansas. She graduated from KSU College of Veterinary Medicine in May, 2026. Her hobbies include soccer, running, and gardening. Her favorite part of veterinary medicine is pathology! Dr. Ary is owned by an orange feline named Charlie. Dr. Ary will be splitting her time between our Westside and Junction City locations.
Dr. Billie Deam is a Fear Free Certified Professional who was born and raised in Manhattan, KS. She is a graduate of Kansas State University with a BS in Biology (1972) and DVM (1980). She owned and operated The Animal Clinic of Boardwalk Square in Kansas City, MO until 2013 when she and her husband, Stan Cook, returned to her family farm in Manhattan. Dr. Deam enjoys trail riding her two horses, Playboy and Red, and also hiking and quail-hunting with her English Pointer, Indy. She and her husband are restoring her family home, a 160-year old stone stagecoach stop south of Manhattan. Dr. Deam enjoys all aspects of small animal medicine and surgery, particularly mobility issues which led her to get her degree in Animal Chiropractic from Options of Animals in Wellsville, KS
Dr. Klosterman is originally an Ohio native. He received a degree in biochemistry from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. Eventually, finding his way to Michigan State, he graduated with his D.V.M in 2010. He married his wife, an Army Veterinarian, shortly after graduation and moved as deployments came. Over the last 12 years, he has practiced all over the south and even two years in Korea. He has a full house of 2 children, 5 cats, and 2 dogs. He likes being outdoors: finding new hiking trails and sailing. His medical interests are broad, but include internal medicine, C-sections, and soft tissue surgery.
Dr. Leigh Wacker is from Brewster, Nebraska and attended Kansas State University. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science in 2012 and her DVM degree in 2016. During school she fell in love with the area and decided to start her career in Manhattan and Junction City. Dr. Wacker and her fiancé Brady James recently moved to a family ranch in Abilene. Along for the ride are 2 French bulldogs: Trixie and Maggie, her farm cats and 4 horses: Sugarplum, Dolly, Lil Joe and Trouble. When she’s not busy working as a veterinarian she enjoys being outside and helping around the ranch. Dr. Wacker’s special interests include dermatology, dentistry and reproduction.
Dr. Jennifer Arneson grew up in Lincoln, NE, receiving her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln in 1992, and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Kansas State University in 1997. Dr. Arneson started Animal Doctor Veterinary Clinic in 1998, Animal Doctor Westside in Manhattan, KS (with Dr. Michelle Iseman) in 2017, and Animal Doctor Blue Hills in Manhattan, KS in 2019. Dr. Arneson’s husband, Ty, oversees the day to day operations of all three veterinary clinics. Dr. Arneson and her husband have two children, Nick and Beth, and two dogs, Elly and Alice. Dr. Arneson’s areas of interest include geriatric care, dermatology, and internal medicine.
Dr. Christina Roberts is originally from Tennessee and graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in 2012. She spent most of her career in San Antonio Texas practicing small animal medicine in a shelter, emergency and general practice settings. She moved to Kansas in 2023 with her husband in 2023 with her husband and worked at KSU’s small animal emergency department for 2 years. While she enjoys many things in Veterinary medicine she loves working with senior dogs and cats and is comfortable with rabbits and other small mammals. In her spare time she likes to hike and work on her fiber arts crafts.
Dr. Fountain is from central Missouri where she grew up on a cattle operation. She graduated from K-State in 2014 with a Bachelors of Animal Sciences and Industry. In 2020, she graduated from the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and completed her masters degree in Veterinary Biomedical Sciences. She and her husband live near Randolph with their five dogs, three cats, and a heard of mostly Charolais cattle. Dr. Fountain enjoys preventative medicine, client education, and internal medicine.
Dr. Amanda Hoffman is a Fear Free Certified Veterinarian. She is originally from Maryland and received her DVM degree from Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in 2022. With her husband being a Captain in the Army, she began practicing in Upstate NY after graduation and has now moved to Manhattan, KS with her 4 Dalmatians and 2 kitties! She hopes to be able to bring her horse—an older Paint Cross gentleman— Apache, over from the East Coast in the near future! In her free time, Dr. Hoffman enjoys spending time outdoors with her dogs and trying out new food and drink spots with her husband. Her special interests include soft tissue surgery and fear free practice.
