New England Pet Hospice is on the Runway

A few days ago I drove out to Bolton – beautiful apple country- to meet with Heather Merrill, the founder of the New England Pet Hospice. Dressed in my Pet Hospice uni of a maroon shirt and khaki pants, we shared our enthusiasms and our ideas over coffee, then set out for the Integrative Animal Health Center, where veterinarian Dr. Randy Caviness and his team welcomed us.

I knew we were in an interesting place when I pulled into the drive, and a Buddha statue sat across from the entrance. Inside there were images from Taoism and beautiful photos of animals, along with a Tang-style statue of a horse. Dr. Randy and his team treat animals holistically and we were there to tell them how the pet hospice services would complement and support their work with animals and their caregivers.

Heather led off by talking about the many ways members of the hospice team help with respite care, nursing care, transportation, housekeeping and emotional support for the family. She stressed how her vision of animal hospice care is modeled carefully on human hospice care. I talked about grief support, creating memorial and funeral services, and also about support around euthanasia when that seems to be the best course. When I talked about supporting vet staff as well, the comments were very positive. Most people trained in medicine are compassionate, caring folks, but often don't have the time or the expertise to offer as much emotional or spiritual support as might be needed.

Heather and I, in full launch mode, appreciated the careful listening and the helpful feedback we were given.

Just today I found out that we’ll be dedicating a beautiful memorial garden for pets in Sudbury this summer. All of these options affirm my belief in the depth of the relationships that develop between species, and that honoring them is important for all beings.

Stay tuned for two opportunities to have your pets blessed: open to all, it will be held on October 2 at the First Parish in Brookline at 3pm, and another opportunity in the fall will be in Sudbury, the date and time TBA.

My Big Oops

Yesterday morning I felt awful because I had forgotten to follow through on a pet sit for my dog Maisie and I had to attend a six hour meeting starting in the late afternoon. Maisie, a five year old Morkie, part Yorkie, part Maltese, is so patient when I work, and I’m a bad pet owner, and here it was National Pet Week! Long story short, I scrambled and came up empty...what to do?

I didn't like to leave Maisie home alone for that long, and I couldn’t take her to the interviews I was overseeing, though she might have been a great ice breaker. I decided I would take her the work, where she often sleeps very comfortably in my office, and visit her during the breaks. It wasn’t ideal, but off we went.

We took a walk before the meeting, enjoying being outside on one of those spring afternoons where you can hear the maple leaves growing, smell the earthworms doing their thing in the dirt, and watch all the tulips dancing with the daffodils. Perfect. Maisie did her business and I cleared my head enough to notice something I’d left off the interview agenda.

Of course I gave Maisie a Kong toy to play with and to ease my conscience. But the best thing that happened was that a fellow interviewer’s teen found my office a good place to spend some time, and he was great with Maisie. He took her on the all-important post-dinner walk, and she kept him company while he played computer games.

And after the meeting was over they both joined us, both happy to get on with whatever came next, helping us make the transition from tough choices to home.

While it wasn’t smart to wait so late to plan for my pet’s care, and I’m lucky I can take my pet to the office, my mistake led to some insights, some deeper connections, and a tail wagging ending to a long day.

So hats off to pets and to their mostly responsible caregivers – being present to and understanding of one another's needs is how we make ourselves worthy of the company we keep!