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Parenting & Family > Pets > Pawspice
 

Pawspice

Yesterday I read an article from Google Pet News about veterinary students doing hospice work in there community. They are volunteers, and they are apparently trained well enough to do routine end-of-life care in the pet's home. I couldn't help but wonder if this service is available from the local SUNY college which has a veterinary program, since my oldest furkid is nine years old in human years.

Today in Pet News I found this article from Fox business. Read an excerpt before I say more:

Introducing pet hospice

A growing movement toward hospice or "pawspice" care for pets is catching on as owners demand more emotional support and options for end-of-life care such as pain management, alternative medicine or palliative radiation treatments for terminal cancer, said Dr. Alice Villalobos, a veterinary oncologist and director of Pawspice in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

"Professionals know there is a cry out there for more home care and more instruction on pets that are treated more like family members than anything," she said. "It's a natural next step."

Many times hospice is as much about serving humans' needs as those of the animal, Villalobos said. "People really want to have an extended farewell just like they did with family members and parents."

Americans appear increasingly willing to pay for it. Pet owners spent $24.5 billion on vet care in 2006, up from an inflation-adjusted $21.6 billion in 2001, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, which represents 85% of U.S. veterinarians, in Schaumburg, Ill.

Hospice programs can help pet owners deal with their anticipatory grief and discuss options for managing the pet's pain in its last days, weeks or months. The vet can help people determine what signs indicate that a dog or cat is in pain, Strubel said.

Euthanasia is still an option to prevent suffering, and deciding when to do it can be the hardest part for people, she said. "Once the decision is made, often it's a huge sense of relief."

The movement toward pet hospice encourages vets to improve their bedside manner, Villalobos said.

I had a tough time with Chuck who was finally euthanized in 1997. On the one hand, I think I kept him alive well beyond the time where quality of life was an issue. On the other hand, it was a decision I really couldn't make on my own without validation.

I couldn't bring myself to stay with him for the injection, and I didn't claim the remains, since there were no other animals in the house who needed to adjust to the new situation. The vet's office sent a bill with their sympathy, and that was that. I think some of the issues raised in this article are as necessary for the comfort of the human as they are for the comfort of the pet, since that wasn't actually that. It became a situation that I have to deal with privately.

Our society still has a long way to go. We classify one animal as "pet" and another as "food", but even there, great progress is being made. I haven't eaten veal, for example, since I saw a presentation from a classmate in "Presentational Speaking" in college. She made a convincing argument against veal based on the way the animals are raised.

But society changes slowly, and we need to be satisfied with small gains. And where pets are concerned, "pawspice" is progress for them and their human protectors.

posted on Apr 11, 2008 10:43 AM ()

Comments:

I appreciate this article!
comment by dkelly on Apr 14, 2008 7:29 PM ()
A few years ago my German Shepherd of 16 years had a massive stroke. I was willing to carry her out to go to the bathroom if there was any way her brain would be functional again. We called a vet to come to the house. He said it was as we feared. My husband and I made the decision not to keep her here for me. We all said goodby to her, held her spoke with her, told her what a wonderful part of our family she had been. I cradled her in my arms as he gave her the shot. It was peaceful. She just went to sleep. I'll never forget that moment. I know that there is a Rainbow Bridge and she'll be the first to come running, followed by Sammy, Maggie and the cats we've lost. They are our joys in life -- our furry children. They are gifts and a few of us are here to love them -- really love them. You are one of us.
comment by teacherwoman on Apr 11, 2008 4:19 PM ()
The hardest decision I ever made was to have my pit bull, Ceasar, put down. He had suffered several heart attacks and quality of life was gone.
He was my rock and my comforter during the 2 year period my husband and I separated and I could not desert him in his last hours on earth. I took him to the vet and stood with him while he received his shot. He was so sick the vet, who was a friend, had to come out to the car to euthanize him. He is buried in my back yard and every spring I put fresh flowers on his grave; everytime I walk by I tell him how much I love and miss him. He was a very special dog.
comment by gapeach on Apr 11, 2008 3:54 PM ()
It is a very tough decision to make. We made the decision as the last avenue to be taken. We held our pets, however, and loved and cuddled them until they went to sleep. They are buried beneath our Magnolia tree.
comment by angiedw on Apr 11, 2008 2:07 PM ()
yeah, it might have been denial since it was so overly painful...
comment by kristilyn3 on Apr 11, 2008 12:02 PM ()
Thanks for posting this. What's tremendously upsetting is when you discover that both PETA and the Humane Society use euthanasia on healthy dogs and cats b/c they think they're "better off." Amazing and disturbing.
comment by looserobes on Apr 11, 2008 11:34 AM ()
Love this line "We classify one animal as "pet" and another as "food", but even there, great progress is being made." So true.
and YAY NO VEAL!!!
I MADE my mother go in with me when our family dog was put to sleep after 14 years of being in our family. My mom did NOT want to go, but in the end she thanked me for making her. You aren't there for you, you are there for them... it's the hardest thing to do, but it's your final moment to stand by their side, ya know?
PS - 9 is still YOUNG!!!
comment by kristilyn3 on Apr 11, 2008 11:27 AM ()
Interesting post.This is tough when you have to make a decision on
when to put your pet down.I know that I missed out on my first one/
when home from my holiday.My died and was shocked on this and also
not to be with him when he died.Was depressed for many months.
Even today,I still think of this so many times.
Would have loved to be with him as he could died in my arms.
This is so sad when these things happened.
comment by fredo on Apr 11, 2008 11:19 AM ()

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