Hospice & Palliative Care

Hospice care is compassionate care focused on comfort, not cure, and meeting the unique needs of your pet. 

It is care that celebrates what life remains, allowing you to make the most of each day. 

Hospice care not only recognizes the needs of your pet, but also the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of you and your family.

Entering a pet into hospice helps prepare you for what is ahead and ensures that the remainder of the journey is focused as equally on living as it is on dying well. 

No, a hospice relationship is appropriate at any stage of disease, and the sooner a relationship is started, the better. 

A hospice relationship is best started at the time of diagnosis or the first signs of decline, not when "there's nothing more we can do."

The sooner hospice and palliative care is started, the more you and your pet can benefit. It is *pro-active* care that can start at any stage of disease to greatly improve comfort and quality of life for months or years.

Hospice should start at the first signs of decline or when a diagnosis is made, not when "there's nothing more we can do." The sooner a relationship is started, the more you and your pet can benefit from the support and care our team provides.

• A progressive disease such as arthritis, kidney disease or heart failure
• An incurable illness, such as cancer
• A disease for which you do not wish to pursue additional diagnostics, surgery or other therapies in lieu of comfort-oriented care
• A disease for which you do wish to pursue additional treatments, such as chemotherapy, but would benefit from additional support
• A long-term disability such as poor mobility, neurological disorders, or disc disease 
• "Old age" issues such as a general slowing down, nighttime anxiety or cognitive dysfunction ("doggy dementia")

• Comfort care in a home setting
• Chronic pain management
• Education about the disease process and what to expect as the disease progresses
• Nursing care education
• Assessment of the home environment
• In-home diagnostics such as blood work, urinalysis and blood pressure monitoring
• Preparation and planning for emergencies
• Nutrition counseling
• Facilitating end-of-life decisions
• Consultation: When should we consider euthanasia? What is the best way to plan for this time?
• Pet loss support focused on anticipatory grief 
• Cohesive and collaborative care with your veterinarian and veterinary specialists 

A "Comfort Kit" is something we dispense to our hospice families when we are concerned that an emergency might happen, such as sudden distress or pain.

A Comfort Kit is several pre-loaded syringes of a pain medication plus a sedative that families can give by SQ (under the skin) injection in the case of an emergency. This easy-to-give injection provides both pain relief and sedation, and reduces any feelings of discomfort or distress.

A Comfort Kit provides relief not just for the pet, but for the family as well. For example, if a sudden crisis were to occur in the middle of the night, families are now able to have on hand an intervention that will provide comfort until the vet can arrive for euthanasia or reevaluation, or to provide comfort while en route to an emergency hospital if care is needed in the middle of the night. Knowing you can "do something" to provide comfort during your pet’s last hours is a huge gift to both you and your pet.