Dr. Elizabeth Benson, Paws Into Grace

15/12/2023

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!

13/12/2023

22/11/2023

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and while we're all gearing up for a feast, make sure your pups stay safe and healthy during the festivities! 🦃 🥧

22/11/2023

November is National Pet Cancer Awareness Month. So, this week Dr. Benson explains Multicentric Lymphoma. Dr. Elizabeth Benson, Paws Into Grace encourages pet parents to contact their veterinarian if their animal is experiencing a decrease in appetite, anorexia or diarrhea/vomiting for more than 2 days or if they notice enlarged lymph nodes on their pet.

19/10/2023

This week, Dr. Benson explains Liver Disease.
Dr. Elizabeth Benson, Paws Into Grace recommends having your dogs and cats screened yearly with a blood panel to detect early liver disease.

11/10/2023

This week, Dr. Benson explains Hemangiosarcoma.
Dr. Elizabeth Benson, Paws Into Grace recommends having your vet screen your aging dog yearly. The tumor usually grows on the spleen, liver or heart. This is often a silent cancer because there are mild or no symptoms until the disease has progressed.

16/09/2023

As a Mother and the founder of Paws into Grace, Dr. Elizabeth Benson has many goals in mind for the future of Paws into Grace- but there is one that’s extremely near and dear to her. After losing her mother at a young age, she feels it’s crucial that we help change how children experience death for the first time. Often times, the loss of a pet is a child’s first experience with death.

See our Family Support Page here: https://pawsintograce.com/family-support/

Dr. Elizabeth Benson, Paws Into Grace

06/09/2023

We thought it would be helpful to share what Dr. Benson, the owner & founder of Paws into Grace, believes is the most important part of each and every euthanasia appointment. Her answer: Connection.

26/08/2023

This afternoon’s house call brought me to this beautiful spot, on a sail boat, in the bay. What an incredibly peaceful and serene spot for this family to say goodbye to their dog✨ ⛵️

20/08/2023

Waiting for the hurricane to make its way to San Diego, but in the meantime I'm out and about at appointments this morning, trying to stay safe and dry! Paws into Grace

24/07/2023

I was recently nominated for the FACE Foundation San Diego Animal Hero Awards! Paws into Grace and I would love if you could take a moment to vote for us! Voting Ends 7/30.

Simply go to: https://sandiegoanimalheroawards.org/vote-now
You can vote for me, Dr. Benson, under "VETERINARY CATEGORY" and for Paws into Grace under "FOR-PROFIT ANIMAL BUSINESS"

We love our Paws into Grace families and as always, thank you so much for your love & support ♥️

Dr. Elizabeth Benson is yet another admirable nominee for San Diego Animal Hero Awards! She started Paws into Grace in 2007. Paws Into Grace offers compassionate in-home pet euthanasia in Southern California. “I have the best job in the world,” she says, “because I get to witness true, unconditional love every single day.” We could not be more thankful for people like Dr. Benson! 💛🐾

📣For more in-fur-mation about this event, GIDDY-UP to nominate someone or vote! Just visit our link in bio! PLEASE ❤️ & SHARE TO HELP SAVE THE ANIMALS! 💛🐾🏆

24/07/2023

Dr. Elizabeth Benson is yet another admirable nominee for San Diego Animal Hero Awards! She started Paws into Grace in 2007. Paws Into Grace offers compassionate in-home pet euthanasia in Southern California. “I have the best job in the world,” she says, “because I get to witness true, unconditional love every single day.” We could not be more thankful for people like Dr. Benson! 💛🐾

📣For more in-fur-mation about this event, GIDDY-UP to nominate someone or vote! Just visit our link in bio! PLEASE ❤️ & SHARE TO HELP SAVE THE ANIMALS! 💛🐾🏆

28/06/2023

Zen vibes for a few minutes with this tiny ninja!

22/06/2023

My oldest daughter's first visit to the emergency vet with her pet chicken... she helped review her chart and has determined that after some fluids, meds, and a tweak in her diet, this chicken is back in good health and ready to lay some more eggs! 🐣

Many thanks to Dr. Shapiro and staff at Vet Emergency Group in Encinitas Veterinary Emergency Group

21/04/2023

Another chapter in my story, The Adventures of a ! Stuck in horse traffic on my way to an appointment. This guy decided to say hello and hang out in front of my car while he munched on his lunch…..Sometimes despite my best efforts, there are some delays you just can’t predict!

17/04/2023

Some ashes from Dr. Benson’s chihuahua-mix, Noodle, were used to create this beautiful swirl globe. Globes are available in a custom color by request, or you can choose from 12 preset colors. 🌟 Dr. Elizabeth Benson, Paws Into Grace

30/03/2023

When someone dies, the first thing to do is nothing. Don't run out and call the nurse. Don't pick up the phone. Take a deep breath and be present to the magnitude of the moment.

There's a grace to being at the bedside of someone you love as they make their transition out of this world. At the moment they take their last breath, there's an incredible sacredness in the space. The veil between the worlds opens.

We're so unprepared and untrained in how to deal with death that sometimes a kind of panic response kicks in. "They're dead!"

We knew they were going to die, so their being dead is not a surprise. It's not a problem to be solved. It's very sad, but it's not cause to panic.

If anything, their death is cause to take a deep breath, to stop, and be really present to what's happening. If you're at home, maybe put on the kettle and make a cup of tea.

Sit at the bedside and just be present to the experience in the room. What's happening for you? What might be happening for them? What other presences are here that might be supporting them on their way? Tune into all the beauty and magic.

Pausing gives your soul a chance to adjust, because no matter how prepared we are, a death is still a shock. If we kick right into "do" mode, and call 911, or call the hospice, we never get a chance to absorb the enormity of the event.

Give yourself five minutes or 10 minutes, or 15 minutes just to be. You'll never get that time back again if you don't take it now.

After that, do the smallest thing you can. Call the one person who needs to be called. Engage whatever systems need to be engaged, but engage them at the very most minimal level. Move really, really, really, slowly, because this is a period where it's easy for body and soul to get separated.

Our bodies can gallop forwards, but sometimes our souls haven't caught up. If you have an opportunity to be quiet and be present, take it. Accept and acclimatize and adjust to what's happening. Then, as the train starts rolling, and all the things that happen after a death kick in, you'll be better prepared.

You won't get a chance to catch your breath later on. You need to do it now.

Being present in the moments after death is an incredible gift to yourself, it's a gift to the people you're with, and it's a gift to the person who's just died. They're just a hair's breath away. They're just starting their new journey in the world without a body. If you keep a calm space around their body, and in the room, they're launched in a more beautiful way. It's a service to both sides of the veil.

Sarah Kerr, Death Doula
https://www.facebook.com/SoulPassages/videos/610729049323633/?t=59

08/03/2023

Paws into Grace is a women-owned small business, so what better day to celebrate than !? Dr. Benson's oldest daughter wants to be just like her Mom someday. ♥️

Dr. Elizabeth Benson, Paws Into Grace

23/02/2023

I'm in Idaho on a family ski trip and came across this beautiful statue. What a perfect representation of what we do at Paws into Grace. Unfortunately, I don't think I can bring this back on the plane with me.....

24/12/2022

The fun things I see along my way between appointments 🎄 I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

23/11/2022

If you are having these foods at your Thanksgiving table, keep your pets safe from these common pet toxins. Learn about some of these toxic foods and more Thanksgiving pet dangers here: https://aercmn.com/common-thanksgiving-foods-that-are-dangerous-to-pets

18/11/2022

Healing Through Grief

The burden of loss weighs on me
I gasp for breaths
I lay there unable to escape from darkness that wraps around me
I am falling into that space losing myself
Months apart from your sweet smiles and peanut butter kisses
Slowly I put one foot in front of the other
I begin to let myself sit with silence
l remember the details of You
I remember and weep
These Moments pass and just as unexpectedly warm smiles begin to creep in

-Dr Benson

04/11/2022

Paws into Grace was born out of my desire to give pets and their owners a beautiful last encounter. I get to witness this almost every day in my work. It's amazing and inspiring to see how families choose to say their final goodbyes! Some choose to tuck them in by the warmth of the fireplace or under shade of a favorite tree. Others put on a ceremony with special treats of chocolate, play music or toast champagne celebrating their journey together. Whatever the circumstances and however they choose to honor their pet, it's on their own terms and their final moments are how they intend them to be. ✨

28/10/2022

Meraki [may-rah-kee], is doing something with total love, and pure soul. It is leaving a little piece of yourself in your work. When I discovered this word, I started to reflect on my own journey with Paws into Grace and what my mission on this earth is. The subjects of death and loss can be seen as taboo, but my mission is helping others to realize it doesn’t have to be that way! You see, from death can come beauty and peace, not just pain. I want to help families find that, and allow this experience to transform how they experience loss.

21/10/2022

Last week we decided it was time to transition our sweet dog Noodle. He has been around to witness our family do life for the last 14 years! My oldest daughter wrote a song for him. ♥️

🎶You're my friend that I will never forget about
Oh, Oh, Oh. I love you.....
My old friend, You're the one and only
I miss you 🎶

14/10/2022

Tonight my 7 year old daughter said to me: "When I grow up, do you think I could be a veterinarian so I can help dogs and cats get wings and fly to heaven just like you do?” ❤️

07/10/2022

During a trip to Hawaii, we came across a beautiful farm, nestled on the slopes of the volcano Mauna Kea, and I thought to myself, this must be the way to Dog Heaven! Through this field of warm grass, with the sun shining down, a view of the ocean, and hopefully a rainbow in the sky. -Dr. Benson