A Non-Profit Hospice Program Makes Sure Terminal Patients Can Keep Their Pets During Their Final Days

Dec 04, 2019 by apost team

A pet can provide a senior with a reason to live and a reason to keep moving. It can also provide this person with good company, and it can encourage a happy state of mind. 

An organization is making sure patients' pets stay with them, and they see to it that the pet is lovingly taken care of after their owner passes away.

A nonprofit organization called Pet Peace of Mind understands how distressing concerns like pets' wellbeing after they pass can be. The organizations' purpose is to lighten these distresses so people can focus on their health. Dianne McGill, the head of this organization, explained to Hospice Sacred Heart that many patients say their pet keeps them alive:

 “I know of countless patients who have said that their pet is their lifeline. Pets are great medicine for coping with the anxiety the comes from dealing with a serious medical condition." 

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McGill goes on to explain that having their pet with them as they approach death and having it relocated to a good home after their death concerns them very much. “For many patients, keeping their pets near them during the end of life journey and finding homes for their beloved pets after they pass is one of the most important pieces of unfinished business," McGill said. 

Since bonding with a pet is similar to bonding with a human for some people, it’s easy to understand why pets play an important part in a senior’s life and in the life of those nearing death.

It’s sad, but all too often, family members of people in hospice don’t care for the patient’s pet.

Karen Jeffries, who volunteers as a coordinator at a hospice, told U.S. News that they have witnessed relatives telling the dying family member they would take care of the pet after they die, but the canine wound up in a kennel. With Pet Peace of Mind, pet owners can be sure this won’t happen.

Donations to Pet Peace of Mind are greatly appreciated, and so is volunteer help. This not-for-profit organization relies on caring individuals to groom pets, walk pets, and find the pets a good forever home once the pet’s owner is no longer around to care for it.

What do you think of this organization's work? Have you seen something similar happen during the passing of a loved one? Tell us your thoughts below. Pass this article on to your friends and family.