Beloved Pet Mobile Vet

06/26/2023

11/19/2022

Get one for your favorite vet!

11/19/2022

For the loved one of your loved ones. ❤

It’s not uncommon for a UC Davis Hospice patient to own a pet. But what happens to the pet when a patient comes to hospice care, and what happens after the patient passes away?

11/10/2022

Dr Hendrix finally received a copy of her new book. Animal Hospice and Palliative Medicine for the Housecall Veterinarian. Available on Amazon, Elsevier, The Book Depository. Or any bookseller near you.. On sale on both Amazon and The Book Depository. https://www.bookdepository.com/Animal-Hospice-and-Palliative-Medicine-for-the-House-Call-Veterinarian-Lynn-Hendrix/9780323567985

10/28/2022

Published this week. 10/24/2022
A textbook by Dr Lynn Hendrix. To establish better protocols for veterinary palliative medicine.

08/27/2022

Sending light and love to you from us.

08/24/2022

Behaviors to watch for regarding chronic pain.

Know the signs!

08/16/2022

For people who love cats with stomatitis, which is inflammatory gums, that is painful, a new clinic may help.

The Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service (DOSS) at the UC Davis veterinary hospital is opening a monthly Stomatitis Clinic to better serve patients suffering from this oral disease and provide them with cutting-edge diagnostic and therapeutic options. This expansion of oral medicine opportunities will...

08/07/2022

Acute grief is overwhelming. We walk that journey with you.

07/16/2022

Here is the official release of the podcast.

07/14/2022

Dr Hendrix talking with Julie Squires with Rekindle about grief, palliative medicine and walking the journey with you. Podcast #176
https://rekindlesolutions.com/podcast/

During these challenging times I’ve never been more focused on offering support for your team or organization with interactive WEBINARS. Click here for more info and topics.

06/20/2022

If you would be interested in helping your and other pets with pain recognition.

Online survey BOS

04/07/2022

Hugs.

Anticipatory grief occurs before you've lost someone, but it can be just as powerful and life-altering as grief after a death.

03/26/2022

When pets lose their human... also true when pets lose an animal loved one.

I was recently at the home of a woman who died. She was in her nineties, she lived a good life, and she was loved by many. When her last breath was taken, there was not a dry eye in the room. I see a lot of different reactions when someone dies, usually they are emotional, and I witness loss so deep...

03/23/2022

These are great question and they come up in palliative appointments for pets. The answers are also true for pets ❤

Q. My mother was given Morphine and she died after that. Did the medication kill her?

Q. The hospice company my sister is at wants to give her Methadone but I am afraid she will become addicted. Will she become addicted if they start her on this?

Q. Do the medications given at the end of life, like Morphine, Lorazepam, Haloperidol, or Methadone hasten death?

These are questions I am asked often. I have attached a blog I wrote in 2019 about these medications, which I encourage you to read, but I want to respond to these questions here.

A.
I want to start by saying that I am not a big fan of pushing medications too quickly. I prefer to first try and find other ways to offer relief if possible. However, having said that, I think it is important to have medications on hand, and to educate patients and families on the benefits of the medications, and relieve them of fear. Fear plays a big role in the resistance of using the medications and I always want to remove that if possible.

When someone is given a terminal diagnosis, whether they are on hospice or not, it is already predetermined that they could die. When there is suffering of any kind, physical or emotional, the medications can bring relief. If non-pharmaceutical measures are taken, and are not effective, I would encourage you to try the medications.

Could someone die after taking them. Yes. But at least in my experience, it is not because of the medications. The diagnosis and the disease process was already ending their life. The medications calm the distress in such a way that it allows the body to shut down a little gentler, almost giving it permission to let go, and allowing them to die a little more peacefully.

Can someone become addicted to these medications? My answer is always this... if they are dying, and these medications are helping, take addiction off the table.

When someone you love is dying, and there is pain, shortness of breath, agitation, restlessness or fear... the medications can almost always reduce the suffering and that would be my first goal.

Before I suggest medications to a patient or family, I educate them. I tell them what each medication can do, the benefits it might bring, and the way it comforts a body that is in distress.

Comfort, support, education, and the removal of fear... these are my goals ALWAYS.

xo
Gabby
https://www.thehospiceheart.net/post/ativan-morphine-methadone-oh-my

03/23/2022

Written for medical doctors but may be true for veterinarians.

03/20/2022

True for vets who do what we do too.❤

People ask me all the time how I can work around so much death. I think that is a fair question. I have witnessed hundreds of last breaths, and I do see a lot of death. But I also see life, and love, and faith, and strength, and so much bravery.

Sometimes I witness a death that feels so unfair. That was my experience yesterday. I want to scream out loud “WHY?” But with that I also witness the beauty of people coming together at these most difficult times, supporting one another and rallying around those who feel broken.

This isn’t easy work.
I have difficult days.

People don’t ask me how my day is because they are afraid I’m going to tell them. If you work in this field you know.

Ask us how our day is.
Lean in and listen…. We’ve got some things we could share, that while difficult, might remind you how fragile and precious life is… encouraging you to not take anything for granted.

♥️
xo
Gabby

02/09/2022

Cats do develop osteoarthritis. Know the subtle signs of chronic pain and give Beloved Pet Mobile Vet a call or visit our website, belovedpetmobilevet.com

There’s no single symptom that points to osteoarthritis in cats. Learn to look out for these signs of a cat in pain.

02/06/2022

Our latest blog post.

There are so many emotions involved in sharing your life with a beloved pet. For most of their life, there is joy, companionship, sometimes unparalleled love in your world. However, when approaching the end of their life, the anticipation of losing all of those wonderful times, losing that love and....

01/10/2022

Reading your dog's body language can help you understand when they might be in pain. This is written for warning signs for aggression, but may be signs for any stressor.

Thanks to Umemama (https://ume-mama.earth/) for this nice infographic on dogs reaching threshold.

01/07/2022

Please wear kn95, or n95 masks to protect you and your loved ones.

Masks A post or two ago I mentioned a meta-analysis about masks and forgot to include a hyperlink to the study. I know many of you are looking for it, so here it is. In short, the authors pooled 72 studies to assess how different public health mitigation measures (like masks, socially distancing, ha...

12/21/2021

Grief can be different for every individual. What you experience is yours.

🌷Someone asked me what grief feels like...

I told her that some days it will take everything you have to get out of bed. You might go days without eating, without showering and you might sleep for days, or not sleep for days... grief is inconsistent. You will be sad, you will be angry and some days you will be both. Some days you might feel numb, or you might feel nothing at all. Some days you might cry and cry and cry... and then you will find yourself laughing, and almost feel a little guilty as though you should not be smiling or having fun, and god forbid you find reasons to laugh. And sometimes you wonder... will I ever smile or laugh again?
But alas my friends.... grief is all of that.

Imagine a lifetime with someone you love... the laughter, the smiles, the tears, the anger, the harsh words, the words of love and kindness... and even those moments where words are not spoken. Grief is all of that... it is all the feels, all the time, each day different. And the only thing you can do... is feel it all.

Grief takes time...
Grief is a process...
Grief is all the feels, all the time, wrapped tightly around all the love you ever felt..
Grief is baby steps...
Grief is the never ending box of tissues...
Grief is something we all experience, but we do it differently, so it isn't for us to tell someone how to feel, or how long they will or should feel it. Just let them know they are not alone... and to feel... whatever they need to feel.

Grief never goes away... just like our love for them.

xox
Gabby

You can find this and my other blogs at: www.thehospiceheart.net

12/20/2021

Pet Loss Support Group list.

Find a pet loss support group in your area with this list provided by Everlife Memorials.

11/30/2021

Don't miss the signs

11/23/2021

11/23/2021

Learn about the different types of cat pain and how it can impact your cat’s quality of life.

11/08/2021

True no matter who you are grieving.

When those last breaths are taken...

I received a message this morning from a woman who said goodbye to her mom in the middle of the night. I was with her yesterday, and one of the things I told her, was that despite how long she has been preparing for this, when those last breaths are taken, it will feel as though she had absolutely no warning.

We sat at the bedside together as she prepared to say goodbye. These moments at the bedside are very special to me because I am gifted glimpses into the lives of the people I am providing comfort and support to, and I cherish every word. And while I am there at that moment, it could very well be the only moment I share with them, so I want to make sure I give them everything I can to help them navigate the dying process, the death and the grieiving afterwards. But nothing I say can take away the feeling of losing someone you love... despite how hard I try.

When the phone rang this morning, I didn't recognize the number so I let it go to voicemail. This was the message she left...

"Hi Gabby, I just wanted to let you know that mom took her last breath at 4:32am and you were right... when she took her last breath, it was such a shock to me, as if I had no idea it was going to happen. But I did what you said, I said "the things," I made sure she was clean and comfortable, that she felt safe and loved, and I know in my heart I was there to help make her landing softer. Thank you for being here for us."

I called her back and we had a quick conversation. I reminded her what wonderful work she did, and how well she cared for her mom. It is important that people hold that in their hearts, because that is their take-away, but it is also the take-away of the person who died.

Those last moments are the very last for them and for you, and how present you are for them is your take-away. Handing over my tools to her, allowed her to be able to do the work her mother needed most, which is what comforted them both.

When those last breaths are taken... it feels like you had no idea it was going to happen... which is a reminder to take advantage of the time you do have... even if it's those last few moments...

xox
Gabby
❤

You can find this and other blogs at: www.thehospiceheart.net

10/18/2021

You've only got 4,000 weeks to live — give or take. While that may come as a brutal dose of reality, it's also an opportunity to think about how you're spending that time.

10/16/2021

Things palliative care can help with...though this is written for human palliative care, most are true for veterinary palliative care too.

The goal of is to improve quality of life. for living with many disease types and chronic illnesses. These include , disease like , , , , , , and many more.

10/11/2021

This is a lovely idea.

This man is recycling old picnic coolers into shelters for stray cats for winter! How very cool is this?!

Source: Reddit/mattbot106

10/07/2021

While Dr Hendrix might think a bit differently about some of the issues brought up in this article, it is still a decent overview. ❤

This page is devoted solely to helping you better understand and deal with euthanasia. Most people later worry that they finally opted to do this too late — or too soon. Rarely do we meet with a client who feels this was done at the right time. An experienced Pet Loss Grief Specialist can help cha...

10/03/2021

Anticipatory loss is real, especially for people with pets who are terminally ill. Getting guidance from a palliative veterinarian can help support and empower you.

Loss doesn't have to have happened yet to cause grief-fueled emotions—you can feel something called anticipatory grief as well.

09/16/2021

07/04/2021

Welcome our newest Doctor!
Dr. Derek Blahut is a wonderful addition to our growing team!

07/04/2021

We have revamped our website, with new information and a blog.
www.belovedpetmobilevet.com

Check us out!

Beloved Pet Mobile Vet is a housecall palliative care and in-home euthanasia veterinarian. We are honored to help you with your beloved pet during this difficult time. We keep your love with you at home.

05/23/2021

Other species deserve comfort at the end.

The Denver Zoo goes to great lengths to keep its aging inhabitants content, whether that means performing reiki energy healing or acupuncture. The zoo has about 20 animals whose health is beginning…

05/01/2021

Visit [email protected] for more!

03/28/2021

Grief is on your time, because it comes from love and connection.

Grief doesn't go away.

The way I look at it, is grief is our reaction to losing someone we love. That love doesn't stop because they have died... the love continues on forever in our hearts. So grief continues on as well.

It doesn't pack its bags and move on, and it doesn't have an expiration date... it stays with us always, just like the love does. It changes it's appearance, some days it's even invisible, but it's always there with us, tucked away until we bring it out again.

Be kind and gentle with yourself and don't ever let anyone tell you it's time for your grief to leave.

Gabby
xo
❤