Nov 13, 2014, Dr. Ella Bittel Dvm - Free Teleconference & Recordin

[Maylissa]

!!! TIME-SENSITIVE POSTING !!!

Sorry there's so little notice here, but if you register quickly, you can still join in on this teleconference or at least get the recording sent afterwards to those who pre-register.

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, and Sandy Rakowitz will be interviewing Dr. Bittel on The Animal Heart Wisdom Show at 7pm Eastern/6pm Central/5pm Mountain/4pm Pacific. You will have the chance to ask questions of Dr. Bittel as well, if you join them LIVE, or can just listen to the replay afterwards.

I've previously written here about Dr. Bittel DVM (if you care to do a "search" for it), as she is the "pioneer" of Pet Hospice education, workshops and distance learning programs in the US, teaching animal parents, vets and others the how-to's and why's of true hospice care surrounding End-Of-Life considerations and tools to use for our beloved animal companions. This is vital information to gather at any time, but particularly when your animal is still healthy and well, so you can be well-prepared and informed in advance, and not have to suffer as much fear or feelings of disempowerment.

So if you still have a beloved furred or feathered family member, OR may be adopting another one at some point, NOW is the time to learn all about what TRUE animal hospice should entail, and how you can best aid your beloveds when their time to go is at hand. Even in a sudden medical crisis, I believe there are certain applications of Dr. Bittel's work that can make a huge difference to your animal and you.

As Sandy says herself, "I was truly amazed at the sense of empowerment I felt after learning about the death and dying process WITH ANIMALS, and getting new perspectives on all the tools we have to use for creating comfort and care during this time. Even though I had gone through Hospice Training with people, and had Hospice experience with people, I learned volumes from Ella...and so did my dog Haley...."

To register for this teleconference &/or recording, visit (today or early tomorrow):

http://www.onehearthealingcenter.com/pet-hospice

I believe you must also register here, at the same time, to receive Sandy's newsletter (which you can later unsubscribe to if you wish), in order for her to send you the call-in info for the teleconference, and so you will get the recording afterwards.

If you would like to also peruse Dr. Bittel's own site, please visit:

http://www.spiritsintransition.org/index.html

[MartyT]

Wonderful, Maylissa ~ Thank you for sharing this with all of us ♥

[Maylissa]

You're most welcome, Marty! Always wanting to be of help.

[Maylissa]

Did anyone manage to listen to this teleconference? As I always have, I just ADORE Ella, all the information and wisdom she imparts, and how we're truly "on the same page" about virtually everything. I seriously need more people like her in my own life.

However, years now after I'd first discovered her and her work, and approaching 15 years after the transition of my furboy, who ended up dying naturally, I'm still so discouraged to find the Animal End-Of-Life/Hospice movement remains so much in its infancy, and most resources and support for the whole concept and practice are still mainly only in the U.S.

As another caller had spoken about even at present, I, too, had almost no support when I had to deal with my boy's passing at home, and had to try and think of and research most things on my own, then ask appropriate questions of vets. Yet that's what my boy had wanted - to die at home and not in some clinic, or on the way to one, as Ella's had. I just knew, clarecognitively, we had always been so "melded," soul-wise. But even today, and despite knowing better, a portion of heavy guilt remains that I've yet to completely heal, for what he suffered for the lack of appropriate tools and support network we didn't have. And in tandem, I still carry anger towards our vet for abandoning us (for another training conference) when we needed her the VERY, VERY most, and for not giving me specific enough information about our pain management protocols, which we ended up really needing. I'd never, ever anticipated or suspected she'd be so emotionally "removed" from her patients or clients, which only added to my devastation. Likewise, the total lack of even a personal phone call to express any condolences or apologies afterwards, in addition to sending a very belated and highly inappropriate gift donation in his name, forcing me to then complain about it through the clinic's office manager. And of course ZERO grief support training or resources supplied to me afterwards, either. All these "complications," surrounding THE most important and massively devastating loss I'd ever suffered to date in my life back then -- that of my precious and wholly-beloved fur-SON and total soulmate.

Yet the veterinary field as a whole hasn't really come that much farther in all these years, regarding "pet" loss and in-house training for same. It's nothing short of shameful, imo. So I truly appreciated Ella relating her story about how and why she first delved into natural end-of-life care, and how she spoke of the guilt most of us still feel no matter how well we may have done with whatever circumstances we've had to work with. And I remain proud of what I did supply on my own despite my ignorance of what was really required, and so long before people like Ella and such resources were around.

If anyone else listened to her talk, I'd like to hear what you thought about it.

[MartyT]

Maylissa, my dear, I've not yet had time to listen to the program, but since I registered for it, my understanding is that some sort of access to a recording will be sent to me soon.

I understand completely your frustration with where we were, where we are and how far we need to go in the area of hospice care for our beloved animal companions. I think in many ways, the same can be said about hospice care for people.

I shudder to think of the ignorance and lack of bereavement support available to my husband and me when our baby David died way back in 1967, or my own ignorance of and failure to obtain hospice support for my mother (and the rest of our family) when she died in 1993. And it was the devastation and isolation I felt at the sudden death of my cockapoo Muffin in 1989 that led to my interest in the human-animal bond and the grief that accompanies pet loss.

It seems to me that we can beat ourselves up for not knowing what we did not know then, or we can learn from our past experiences and do everything we can to make it better for those who come after us.

I believe that we both are examples of the latter. ♥

[MartyT]

The replay of Sandy's interview with Ella Bittel, DVM is now available.

Topic: Animal Hospice & End-of-Life Preparation While Your Animal is Still Well

Click on this link for the replay: http://www.audioacrobat.com/email/ECJTlFfr4

Here are a few of the resources that we spoke of during the interview:

www.SpiritsInTransition.org

http://spiritsintransition.org/additional_resources.html

http://www.ahvma.org

tcvm.com

http://www.eoluniversity.com

http://www.OneHeartHealingCenter.com

And, for those who want directions for Tellington TTouch Heart Hugs:
http://en.tellington-ttouch.org/content/ttouch-heart-hugs-step-step

I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as I enjoyed hosting it!
Sandy

Heart Hugs!
Sandy

One Heart Healing Center
for People & Animals

3379 Walnut Hill Farm
Charlottesville, VA 22911
434-973-8864

sandy@onehearthealingcenter.com