A pet parent who wants to optimize their aging pet’s health by preventing weight-gain but maintaining a healthy weight has two avenues to success – controlling the inputs and measuring the output. In other words, “Read, Feed and Weigh.”
In this guide, we’ll help you gather some tools to figure out how much food your fur-baby needs to stay fit, from calories calculators and activity trackers to the Body Conditioning chart that helps you assess your pet’s score. Read the rest of this entry »
Media reports of an oubreak of Canine Influenza H3N2 in West Michigan this summer have many pet parents wondering whether they should vaccinate their senior fur babies. As of this week, 13 cases of Canine Influenza have been reported in Ottawa County and 3 in Kent, with a total of 98 cases in Michigan.
Dogs do not have a natural immunity to H3N2, a relatively new strain that infected 1,000 dogs in Illinois in 2015 and since has spread throughout North America. According to Dr. Laurie Brush, founder of Heaven at Home Pet Hospice, vaccinations should always be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Read the rest of this entry »
For years, Dr. Laurie Brush has taken an active role in the Grand Rapids community educating pet parents about the benefits of palliative or hospice care for their aging pets. She’s appeared on local news stations, given interviews for the press, and done other forms of outreach, simply because there are too many pet parents out there who don’t know that in-home end-of-life care is even an option. All too often, people have to make difficult decisions about their pets’ final days without having enough information or time to prepare. Read the rest of this entry »
Heaven at Home Pet Hospice would like to remind everyone that National Pet Memorial Day is coming up on Sunday, September 10th, 2017. This is a day for people to remember their deceased companions in a warm, positive light and reflect on all of the happy memories from the course of the pet’s life.
The passing of a pet can hurt just as much as the death of a person, and looking back on everything that made our pets special to us is an important part of the healing process. National Pet Memorial Day is a fine occasion for pet caregivers to progress through the grief into a healing journey. Below, we’ve included a few ideas for commemorating your beloved pet this year: Read the rest of this entry »
Our fur friends in the Houston area need help while their humans are in emergency shelters in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Efforts by local and national animal advocacy organizations continue with coordinated transportation and sheltering of displaced pets through the ASPCA and Wings of Rescue, while local initiatives that include funding local food, bedding and vet care for nearby shelters. If you’d like to donate to help out, we’ve listed four links to verified initiatives below. Locally, the Houston Homeless Pet Society is also issuing updates and accepting donations here. Read the rest of this entry »
Below is a link to the segment featured on Fox 17 last month. It has information about what we do and why it might be a good choice for your pet when they are at the end of life. We are passionate about what we do and we want to make sure every pet parent is aware of these options for in home care.
We are experiencing some phone difficulties this afternoon. If you need to contact us, and have issues getting us by phone, you can do so by email at doc@pethospicevet.com, or by filling out an email request on our website here. We are so sorry for the inconvenience, and will be closely monitoring email until we are sure the phone situation is fixed.
Dr Brush was on eightWest earlier this month to help spread awareness of the availability of Pet Hospice and in home euthanasia! Click the link below to watch the clip where Dr Brush explains what it is that she does, and where her passion for end of life care came from.
Click Here to watch Dr Brush on eightWest!
Tom Radamacher, of the Grand Rapids Press, wrote a great article about Heaven at Home Pet Hospice, titled “Veterinarian Provides Hospice Care for Your Pets,” originally published on Sunday, December 21st. We so appreciate Tom for writing the article to let people know that hospice and euthanasia at home are options for their pets. Read the rest of this entry »
Dr. Brush is a proud member of the International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care, IAAHPC. The mission of IAAHPC is “promoting knowledge of, and developing guidelines for, comfort-oriented care to companion animals as they approach the end of life.” Animal hospice care is a up-and-coming field that provides families with an amazing alternative to transporting pets to and from the veterinary office as they near the end of their life.
Every year, IAAHPC holds a conference in which hospice veterinarians from all over the country gather. The fourth annual IAAHPC Conference is being held this weekend in Indianapolis, IN. Veterinarians attending the conference will be provided with round-table discussions, networking opportunities and the chance for continuing their education in end-of-life care.
For additional resources and a list of Frequently Asked Questions about animal hospice and palliative care, visit the IAAHPC website: http://www.iaahpc.org/for-pet-parents.html
