Online Class Contents

Part ONE – “Approaching Animal Hospice: Geriatric and Special Needs Care for Animals”

Current veterinary care has advanced to amazing levels, yet at the same time animal owners might end up facing two opposing challenges:

• Possible treatment recommendations in which side effects can outweigh the positive effects for an animal, including heroic measures that are based on the doctor and/or owner not wanting to “give up” when realistically an animal is past the point of possible recovery.
• The other side of the two extremes, the more common one in general practice: quick recommendation to euthanize when an animal’s condition is either considered terminal, care for the animal would become more involved, or the only treatment options presented to the animal’s owner are financially not affordable.

Fortunately support options have greatly increased to address the needs of our senior animals as well as younger ones who might end up early on requiring special care. For you to be familiar with those options can be life saving for your animal friend. At this point in time, most pets belonging to caring owners are euthanized before the time for hospice would even arise, months and years before their life force would run out. This can be hard to imagine for many of us as we love our animals so deeply, and it certainly is in stark contrast to how we care for our human family members.

Whatever the situation might be, oftentimes a decision to euthanize is said to be done to prevent or release an animal from suffering. None of us wants an animal to suffer, yet given the rate in which we choose to end their lives in our society, it is time to take a closer look at what we categorize as suffering, and what the most common reasons are to euthanize, including looking at options of how we could support an animal so it instead can continue to live a happy and content life.

Topics we cover in Part 1 of SPIRITS in Transition – Online are:

• Animal hospice in our society
• Re-evaluating common reasons for euthanasia
• Holistic modalities helpful in (not just) special needs and end-of-life animal care
• Integrating our personal experiences on death and dying
• Challenges and care options for common conditions in geriatric and special needs animal care Parts I-III
• Cancer prevention
• Integrative approaches to easing pain (conventional and holistic options)
• Integrative approaches to working with emotional pain

To register for this online class, please click here.

Part TWO – “Foundations of Animal Hospice Care”

Session 1 illuminates the first five Foundational Principles of human hospice care in their application in animal care.
Their very practical meaning is illustrated by case examples, including Ella’s Golden “Samson”s last two weeks of life.

You will also learn to distinguish the core differences between Palliative/Comfort Care until euthanasia and Hospice Care for animals.

Session 2 soon to be released, is the “non-identical twin” to session 1, by covering the remaining five Foundational Principles and just how much we can learn from the field of human hospice, to guide us when caring for our animal companion when the end of life draws near.

Additional topics we will cover in Part 2 of SPIRITS in Transition – Online (release continues) are:

• How to navigate a terminal diagnosis
• Special care considerations in animal hospice
• Building a personal network of support
• Training our intuitive perception
• Creating an environment conducive to a peaceful transition
• The Dying Process: stages of dissolution and support options
• Euthanasia: procedure, options and alternatives
• Caring for the body
• Caring for remaining animal family members and caring for ourselves