Pet Hospice and End of Life Care

Today I am going post about a difficult topic: Pet Hospice and End of Life Care. What does in home pet hospice look like? I give a brief description below.

Pet hospice focuses on comfort care and quality of life when a cure isn’t possible (whether due to the condition, finances or the difficulty of treatment on the pet). Hospice care for pets can involve strategies such as:

·         Pain management

·         Diet/Appetite management

·         Exercise management

·         Hydration management

·         Human interaction/mental stimulation

·         Other symptom management (depending on pet’s condition)

Pain Management

Pain management can involve the use of pharmaceuticals, special exercises, supplements, massage, and acupuncture.

Diet/Appetite Management

Diet an appetite management can involve anti-nausea medication or appetite stimulants. It also can be special diets or home cooking.

Exercise Management

An exercise plan for the pet can involve special exercises or a generalized amount of time that pet should be exercised/walked

Hydration Management

Can be oral or injectable fluids to help manage certain conditions that lead to dehydration

Human Interaction/mental stimulation

We know how important this is for people in hospice. It is the same for animals. Feeding and cuddling are great, but sometimes they need more stimulation.

Once I perform an evaluation in the home, I discuss all the above with the pet parent. The outcome of that discussion leads to a strategy for in home hospice that the pet parent partners with me (the veterinarian) on. Hospice care requires a committed owner to keep close monitoring of pet’s quality of life.

I am a firm believer that all pets deserve a quality of life. We can improve the quality of life for a period of time in most instances. Once quality of life declines, we have the option of euthanasia to end suffering. Euthanasia is a hard decision in all instances, even when we know it is the right one. In home euthanasia can help a difficult situation be more comfortable for you and your pet.