Animals Unfolded

The five pillars of animal enrichment (and why they matter more than ever) Every pet has a  telos  — an essential nature, a "beingness" — and that idea shapes how I work with them and their families. Being able to express themselves in ways aligned with their species, their telos, is essential to their well-being. Their well-being has always mattered to me and the families I've worked with over the last two decades. But over the last several years, one piece of that puzzle has risen to sit right alongside their physical health:  enrichment . Enrichment is more than a game of fetch (or keep-away, if you know what I mean), a walk around the block, an occasional chew bone, or hanging out with trusted humans and other pets. It's a whole framework — five pillars, in fact — and the pet guardians I partner with have embraced it enthusiastically, especially during the times their pets need it most: recovering from illness or injury, or on crate rest after surgery. Enrichment ...

One of the most common topics that comes up with the families I'm connected to these days is cognition—especially dementia—in pets.  It’s no surprise, really, with the focus of my practice being on seniors, geriatrics, hospice and end-of-life care support. With pets living longer and better, yes—more dogs and cats are developing noticeable cognitive changes. There is a lot more available to us in the way of understanding cognition, and how that can and does decline with age and is more palpable in advanced age. We also know how it can be supported medically, non-medically with environmental safety, with enrichment and so much more.  And as with other hot topics, canine and feline cognition can get us a little too far into the weeds which doesn’t serve pets, their families nor their vet teams in a way that makes best sense. In fact, I often observe that the line gets so blurry, that good common sense often goes by the way side and what begins is, well, pardon the expression, a...

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...