Determining the Right Time to Say Goodbye

• Hospice Care: Hospice is a system that provides compassionate comfort care to patients at the end of their lives. Hospice care is initiated when a veterinarian or the pet’s family recognizes that the pet has a terminal illness, and that hospice care might be a better alternative than further attempts to cure. Compassionate Veterinary Care veterinarians and staff explore with the pet’s family all the options and their consequences—ethical, medical and financial. The family is given time to think about the options and discuss them. A care plan is then developed, which is focused on an ongoing assessment of the pet’s quality of life, and on actions for increasing the pet’s comfort.
   
• End of Life Consultations:The death or loss of a pet is one of the most difficult things we ever experience. It is not the end to the relationship; but it is the end of the pet’s physical presence, which is a drastic, often devastating, change. Grief, commonly experienced before, during and after the loss of a pet, is often accompanied by a sense of loss of control over the course of events, lack of desirable choices, and powerlessness. Choosing between ever intensifying medical treatment, hospice care, or euthanasia is a difficult task for the pet’s family. Making the decision can be overwhelming, evoking anxiety, guilt, anger and other strong feelings. An End of Life consultation at Compassionate Veterinary Care gives parents of terminally ill pets the tools that help them cope with the painful reality. It helps pet parents make decisions so, when they look back, they will feel they made the very best choices available.
   
• At Home Euthanasia: Compassionate Veterinary Care veterinarians and staff know that losing a pet profoundly affects the pet’s family members. When euthanasia has become necessary, we are committed to making the experience as meaningful and positive as possible. We offer non-judgmental support, and information on normal manifestations of grief. We help families make decisions based on their values and beliefs. Ethical and spiritual aspects of end-of-life decisions are addressed as called for.