Guide to Developing a Traumatic Timeline for Animals
Please place all shocks in a chronological order starting from conception/birth, or from the present and working your way back in time. For example:
- 2002: injury requiring stitches, freezing
- 2000: emotional – traumatic move to Ottawa – sadness, anxiety, fear
- 1997: vaccination for rabies etc.
The following types of events should be considered as possible shocks or traumas.
- Pre-birth: any drugs or severe illnesses in mother (particularly of a viral nature); also consider any emotional shocks to mother during pregnancy or in mother/father at time of conception (see section on emotional traumas below); ultrasound or other invasive testing.
- Birth: Mother had difficult labour; forceps used; use of anaesthetics on mother; late breathing or other possible oxygen deprivation
- Vaccinations: Dates, if possible of first vaccination of each kind received (can ignore booster shots)
- Accidents: car accidents, falls, blows to head, concussions, broken bones, animal bites
- Surgical interventions: e.g., neutering or spaying, tail-docking, dental interventions, abdominal (including Caesarean sections), hysterectomy
- Drug Use: antibiotics, steroids (Cortisone/Prednisone), heartworm meds, routine wormings, etc.
- Hormones: hormonal drugs, etc.
- Severe Infections: e.g., Lyme disease, Parvo, feline leukemia, colic, etc.
- Electrical Shocks.
- Traumas involving loss, abandonment, grief, betrayal (e.g., death of someone close, loss of trust, loss of independence)
- Traumas involving great fear/anxiety, stress
- Traumas involving anger and indignation/humiliation (particularly where the emotion had to be suppressed/“swallowed”), guilt (mostly that someone tries to put on you)
- Feelings of envy or jealousy, or guilt
- Traumas involving abuse, whether mental, emotional or physical
NB: Some emotional traumas can involve a combination of emotions.