Animals Unfolded

After many years of hands-on work in animal hospice and palliative care, keeping pets comfortable who are in their final years-to-days is my jam. I’ve had the good fortune of discovering and learning many things along the way and helping families near or far .  But I’m going to show you that you have the ability to provide an enhanced level of comfort for your own pet right now.   Pets who are feeling unwell—especially those who are experiencing pain or nausea—really have a tough time. This includes those with liver disease, or late-stage cancer, and especially those with airway issues like Geriatric Onset Laryngeal Paralysis & Polyneuropathy (GOLPP) and primary or secondary lung masses. They experience trouble staying cool or more accurately, feeling cool . And in pets with airway issues, they can’t breathe and pant as efficiently and that can contribute to them working even harder to breathe, and as importantly, anxiety. This isn’t good for any patient, nor their car...

There are countless ways the human-animal bond can be strengthened, but one that lots of pet guardians really love is co-sleeping. As a pet ages, though, many wonder whether it’s feasible due to some age related problems like incontinence , and as importantly, the pet’s safety: plenty of my families have expressed they’re understandably concerned after their dog has fallen out of bed.  Since the bulk of my practice is devoted to palliative and hospice care support offering overnight stays, I can attest to my families’ concerns about an aging dog’s changing ability to judge the edge of the bed, especially at night.  Some pet guardians decide that doing away with the frame of the bed makes most sense since it lowers the height of the bed considerably, while others have gone in a different direction to keep things safe while not changing their cherished routine. The video below highlights one budget-friendly way that’s done.  With over 20 years of experience in pet...

Many guardians discover as they tend to pets in their final months, their appetite just isn’t the same as it once was. It’s not a happy observation. It’s important to understand that pets aren’t giving up or being willful about their desire to eat: it’s something that can emerge with that time of life.  Disease processes can affect a pet’s appetite, along with medications and changes in physiology can impact how food tastes to them. Pain of all sources most definitely plays a role, in fact it’s the most common reason behind appetite challenges, with anxiousness following closely. Pets who’ve entered the period that leads up to animal hospice supported natural death—usually three months prior, give or take—most certainly see a decrease in food intake, along with other signals, and that’s expected and interpreted differently. While that is a topic for another time, what I will be focusing in on here is that messy, grey area in those final months when families really struggle since...

If you’re a caregiver of an unwell or aging pet, or a pet with complicated behavior challenges, and you’re finding you need to bolster your proverbial toolbox to tend to your own well being, you’re not alone. Everyone’s situation is different, and caring for oneself isn’t a one-size-fits-all endeavor. My mantra: you do you, just do it consistently . We know from the research that pet guardians who prioritize their own well being set themselves and their special needs pets up for a less bumpy ride throughout their journey together.  It’s never lost on me, as a Certified Animal Hospice Practitioner, that pet guardians have trouble accessing resources that could be useful, either because of financial constraints or geography. Mental health and well being apps like Headspace and Calm designed to help with mindfulness and insomnia are often in vigorous rotation with some pet guardians that I’m companioning, and to great effect, though they rightfully carry a fee to use them.  Two ...

Several weeks ago, I highlighted the topic of vestibular disease in dogs after a diagnosis with one of my charges. And while it’s not a life-limiting diagnosis, the accompanying symptoms can most definitely diminish a pet’s overall well-being and ability to cope until it resolves. That takes a goodly amount of patience, environmental management and supportive care to get there. The supportive care part is par for the course with most diagnoses, and how that’s carried out can take a bit of creativity.  The source of the vestibular issues with the pet referenced previously took a little time to sort out, which isn’t unusual with some diagnoses. And so, symptoms that initially got better for them but then intensified by week’s end found the family back at their primary vet clinic to get things under control.  After the vet’s assessment of a middle ear infection, they discussed what would be indicated to provide that supportive care that was critical for the pet’s comfort. And as...

It’s not unusual for me to get a text or phone call any hour of the day from families-of-record if their pet is presenting with symptoms that are concerning, or behavior is at all unlike them. (Because we know that a change in behavior is in itself a symptom, right? Of course!) My families know they can get in touch anytime in these situations, and though I can’t diagnose their pet, I can definitely assess the situation and give good guidance on next steps and what to expect if and when their primary vet or an emergency vet needs to be involved. And if I’m able, I’m happy to come by to assess what’s happening and offer support.  And this weekend, one of those calls came in.  A very unnerved guardian detailed what they’d just witnessed in their very active and happy senior dog with a sound medical history: sudden onset of stumbling about/staggering/lack of coordination (ataxia), vomiting once, and a little confused. Definitely alarming , was my initial thought, though with my p...

Dog booties are used to protect a pet’s paws from the elements, mostly in winter. The products used to melt ice can wreak havoc on the pads, as well as the skin between, and for some dogs, the cold is just too much. Booties are ubiquitous in my day-to-day as a professional specializing in caring for senior and geriatric pets and those who are receiving animal hospice and palliative care. Aside from the reasons above, they’re used to protect the top and bottom of an an aging dog’s paws when degenerative myleopathy is present, or when they need more grip on bare surfaces, like when mobility is becoming less stable .  There are lots of brands and styles, but few really measure up to the outstanding protection, affordability and usefulness that the Pawz brand does. My lending library gets lots of donations from families-of-record that I’ve worked with as a Certified Animal Hospice Practitioner, and there’s an abundance of various other brands in it for good reason: they just don’t wo...

There are a few things that pet guardians rate as important when addressing the needs of their aging or terminally ill pet: they don’t want them to suffer, they want them to eat and they don’t want to see them zorked out and sedated on pain medication. And as a Certified Animal Hospice Practitioner, when I’m supporting families as we are discussing pain management with their pet’s veterinarian, the side effects are top of mind for them. (Some medications are sedating, at least temporarily though in many cases the sedation can be a big help, but I digress.) Those concerns about sleepiness are valid. And when a family gets on board with adequate pain management, I can tell you it’s not a moment too soon.  The pet does in fact typically sleep more, but it’s easy to focus so much on how drowsy a pet seems as a side effect of meds and not take into account that maybe, for the first time in a long time, the pet has attained a level of comfort because of the medications doing their inte...