We often don’t know what life was like for our PAWS pets before they came through our doors, but we are committed to ensuring they receive the love and care they deserve for the rest of their lives.
Most of our pets end up in loving homes, but each year, a few pets come to us with severe medical conditions that will limit their lifespan. So long as they have a good quality of life and are not suffering, these terminal pets are given the best medical care that can be provided and are placed into our hospice foster program. In most shelters, these animals would be euthanized.
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Hospice Fostering
At PAWS Chicago, we work to find foster homes for these loving animals with terminal conditions. Our hospice fosters are our heroes, performing the ultimate act of kindness by taking in our sick pets and giving them a loving home for the sunset of their lives.
Our veterinarians provide fosters with guidance on how to make the animals comfortable, at no cost to the foster. That includes:
- Palliative medical care
- Food
- Any necessary medications
- Training to administer fluids and medications as needed
We work with our fosters to monitor each animal’s quality of life to determine when the most compassionate decision is humane euthanasia.
Hospice Adoption
Many times, our hospice pets thrive once in a loving environment. Often, our hospice foster parents decide to adopt. That was the case for Smudge, who got a new lease on life after being taken in by a hospice foster.