Grieving The Loss Of A Pet - 5 Questions To Ask Yourself When Considering Hospice Care For Your Pet

Most pet owners develop a special bond with their pet

, and if they learn that their pet has a terminal illness, they may not be ready to think about euthanasia. Providing hospice care until an animal dies, can be an alternative to euthanasia. Hospice means to give pain control and physical and emotional comfort care, rather than to provide a cure. Hospice care also gives the owner more time in grieving the pet loss.

Hospice care is provided by the pet owner and any available family, in the familiar surroundings the pet is used to. The idea is to minimize visits to the veterinarian, thus lessening feelings of anxiety in the pet. Not too many pets enjoy visits to their doctors' office! By continuing to care for your pet in his/her final days, you will have more time to come to terms with the continual deterioration and say good-bye in your own manner.

Your veterinarian and other office staff will provide the training necessary to have hospice care in the home. Regularly scheduled phone conversations should be arranged so that your pet's condition can be evaluated and revisions made as needed. When considering if hospice care is the correct choice, it may help to ask the following five questions:

1) do you have the capacity, support, and time needed to care for a pet that may need to be cleaned up, turned, given medicine, unable to stand, or has stopped eating and drinking?

2) is it possible to control your pet's pain?

3) are you going to feel secure in learning to give your pet a shot?

4) are all family members unanimous in their decision to provide hospice care?

5) did you decide on hospice because of ambivalence about euthanasia, or does your pet show signs of still getting pleasure out of life?

Grieving a pet loss is not an experience anyone wants to go through. However, providing hospice care to a your pet - a valued member of the family - can allow your pet's death to be a more gentle and loving process.

by: Deborah A.

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