Veterinary Hospice Care

[MartyT]

Announcing a ground-breaking event in veterinary medicine!

First International Symposium on Veterinary Hospice Care!

Register Now for the First International Symposium on Veterinary Hospice Care Coming to UC Davis in March 2008!

Click on: http://conferences.ucdavis.edu/ISVHC

The Nikki Hospice Foundation for Pets (www.pethospice.org) and the Assisi International Animal Institute (www.assisianimals.org) are proud to sponsor the First International Symposium on Veterinary Hospice Care, to be held at the University of California at Davis, on March 28-30, 2008, at the School of Veterinary Medicine. This event (the first of its kind) is highly recommended for veterinarians, holistic veterinarians, veterinary technicians and students, clinical practice managers, hospice professionals and volunteers,nursing personnel and medical staff, psychologists, grief counselors, social workers, bereavement facilitators, death educators, animal health care workers, shelter and SPCA staff, animal communicators, pet massage therapists, and the general public. CEUs will be offered to LCSWs, MFTs, veterinarians and veterinary technicians. Please join world-renowned practitioners of veterinary hospice care, human hospice professionals, and other well-known experts as they come together to discuss a fascinating and emerging field that is quietly revolutionizing both human hospice care and veterinary medicine. To register and for further information, please visit: http://conferences.ucdavis.edu/ISVHC.

Symposium Overview

This symposium will explore veterinary hospice care, based on human hospice models, which addresses the needs of people who wish to care for their dying animals in the comfort of their own homes—under the guidance and assistance of veterinarians and a professional, qualified staff. By training caregivers to provide comforting palliation for their pets and by offering extensive support services as well as effective pain management, veterinary hospice gives dying animals and their people the opportunity to spend meaningful, quality time together before the pet’s final journey. By compassionately closing the “circle of care,” veterinary hospice care honors the human-animal bond, never losing sight of either the companion animal or its caregiver in the total equation—and ultimately serving both in the best possible manner.

Symposium Highlights:

The relevance of human hospice to veterinary hospice care

The mobile hospice veterinarian

Pharmacological protocols in veterinary hospice care

Setting up a veterinary hospice facility

The value of holistic medicine in veterinary hospice care

The role of pet nutrition in veterinary hospice care

Working with grieving and dying companion animals

Kathryn D. Marocchino, PhD

Fellow in Thanatology: Death, Dying and Bereavement

President and Founder

The Nikki Hospice Foundation for Pets

Rosemoor House

400 New Bedford Drive

Vallejo, CA 94591

Tel (707) 557-8595

Fax (707) 557-5555

Email: info@pethospice.org

Website: http://www.pethospice.org

[Maylissa]

K, been busy trying to send this one, too, to any vet clinics I think might actually consider it....not many around us, likely. But I also made sure to send it to Nissa and Sabin's local vet, since she's almost always traveling somewhere for something. (and was seldom available when you really needed her)But boy, it's GOOD to see this whole concept taking off.

[MartyT]

Take heart, my dear ~ We are making progress!

[Elizabeth A.]

Marty~

You really are a wealth of knowledge. This is great information. We have to start somewhere, right? Thanks, I'll be passing this on!

[Maylissa]

I'm also hoping this will tie in to Dr. Ella Bittel's (Spirits In Transition ) slightly different perspective on animal hospice care. I don't know if you personally know any of these people, Marty, but if you do, perhaps you could mention her website and work to someone involved in this, as well? If they repeat this symposium, perhaps they'd invite her, too, next time.

And for anyone interested, Dr. Bittel is now offering a teleclass of her hospice seminar, starting Sept.8/08, (7, 2 hr. sessions = 14 hrs. total). (see her website, above, for details)

I'd also forgotten to mention that it's just incredible that an animal communication organization is getting a top billing here, being one of the sponsors! (and no one's scoffing at them! ) Now THAT'S remarkable progress!

Edited February 8, 2008 by Maylissa

[MartyT]

Maylissa, dear ~

Dr. Bittel informs me that she is already aware of this conference:

"Thanks for thinking of us! Signed up already a while ago and have posted the link on our site as well : )"

(See http://www.spiritsintransition.com/calendar.htm)

[Maylissa]

Excellent! (and thanks for contacting her, Marty, as I'm assuming you did!)

This wknd. I presided over the passing of a sweet, little butterfly who'd somehow ended up in our house last week, and whom I'd been offering things to eat (nectar, fruits) in his brief time here (but he never would have any). There's no euthanasia there, and it wasn't an easy process watching him begin to leave (took him many hours), any more than it is to watch this in anyone else, and which also brought up a few issues related to my girl's own story. However, I'm sure my love and energy healing work with him helped in some way. Same kind of principle of giving (natural) hospice care, only with a tinier (but every bit as precious) being. I'm going to bury him next to my girl, as I believe she sent him to me to teach me further, which he certainly did. Plus, butterflies were her very first 'catches', of which she'd always been so pleased about...so it's just so very fitting.

Edited February 11, 2008 by Maylissa