Consent for Client-Owned Animals

Informed Consent is an integral and essential component of clinical research on client-owned pets.

Basic elements of informed consent

In seeking informed consent, the following information shall be provided to each owner:

  1. A statement that the study involves research, an explanation of the purposes of the research and the expected duration of the owner/patient's participation, a description of the procedures to be followed, and identification of any procedures which are experimental.
  2. A description of any reasonably foreseeable risks or discomforts to the patient.
  3. A description of any benefits to the patient or to others which may reasonably be expected from the research.
  4. A disclosure of appropriate alternative procedures or courses of treatment, if any, that might be advantageous to the patient. 
  5. For research involving more than minimal risk, an explanation as to whether any compensation and an explanation as to whether any medical treatments are available if injury occurs and, if so, what they consist of, or where further information may be obtained.
  6. An explanation of whom to contact for answers to pertinent questions about the research and owner/patient's rights, and whom to contact in the event of a research-related injury to the patient.
  7. A statement that participation is voluntary, that refusal to participate will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which patient is otherwise entitled, and that the owner may discontinue participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which the owner/patient is otherwise entitled.

Additional elements of informed consent

When appropriate, one or more of the following elements of information shall also be provided to each owner:

  1. A statement that the particular treatment or procedure may involve risks to the patient which are currently unforeseeable.
  2. Anticipated circumstances under which the owner/patient's participation may be terminated by the investigator without regard to the owner's consent.
  3. Any additional costs to the owner that may result from participation in the research. 
  4. The consequences of an owner's decision to withdraw from the research and procedures for orderly termination of participation by the owner/patient.