Hospice care describes the care of pets that have terminal illness, such as cancer or severe organ failure. Our veterinarians aim to keep suffering and pain to an absolute minimum, and try to maintain your pet's quality of life. This may be accomplished with pain medication (analgesia), holistic care, physical therapy, special nutrition, fluid therapy, and even surgery.
Home-based hospice care may be helpful when family members need more time to adjust to the imminent death of their pet. Hospice can be especially helpful in providing children time to understand that the family pet is dying, or giving time for a geograhically-distant family member to visit and provide mutual support to other family members.
Many veterinarians offer house call services to minimize the suffering of your pet during its last days. Our veterinarians can provide counseling about quality of life and euthanasia decisions. Your veterinarian may be able to provide you with a referral to grief counseling services or to pet loss support groups as needed.
