Pet Hospices Are Growing in Popularity

You know I have a fondness for senior pets.  In fact, I regularly advocate adopting older animals.  That’s why I had to share something I read in an article on SFGate’s website.  It was about Shea Cox, a veterinarian and provider of hospice services for aging pets.  Titled, Hospice for pets comforts owners, too, the article talked about “providing an option that falls between aggressive medical intervention and immediate euthanasia” for elderly and dying dogs and cats. 

I love the idea of hospice for our pets and reading this article gave me comfort.  Why wouldn't we want to extend the same kind of care and compassion that we offer our 'human' loved ones to our pets, who we love just as much? Cox felt the same way.  She was a hospice nurse before becoming a veterinarian and she saw little preparation being made for aging and ailing pets.

Bridge Veterinary Services was created after her stint as an ER/Critical Care vet.  Bridge works with the animal’s regular vet to make assessments, administer medicine, and provide support for pet guardians as well as provide relief for the ailing or aging pet.  Many people find solace in knowing that their pets can spend the remainder of their lives at home.

Almost 2/3rds of American households have pets and the vast majority of them consider their pets part of their family.  I love that hospices are growing in popularity and are being embraced by pet parents and veterinarians as yet another service they can provide to the very pets who've enriched their own lives with so much love and joy.