As people approach the end of their lives, special arrangements must be made as far as medical care, a will and funeral plans.
But what happens to a person’s pet during this period of life?
That’s where the nationwide program Pet Peace of Mind steps in. The organization provides care for the pets of people facing the latter stages of life and works to allow owners and animals to remain together as long as possible.
Pet Peace of Mind also helps find new homes for the pets when the time comes.
In June 2022, Assured Hospice of Centralia joined the Pet Peace of Mind program. Hospice has now partnered with the Visiting Nurses Foundation to help further expand the program’s services throughout Lewis County.
Gwen Spencer, a group volunteer manager at Assured Hospice, said the program is important as it helps keep people and their pets together.
“A lot of our hospice patients have pets that they worry about. Where are they going to go when they’re gone? Do they have to get rid of their pets right now? With this program, they don’t have to get rid of them. Their pets can be with them even at the end,” Spencer said.
The program is provided to patients free of charge, no matter their economic status, and provides anything needed so a patient can keep their pet, including veterinary care.
Additionally, volunteers are available to take a patient’s pets on walks if needed. Even basic needs such as pet food are provided.
Visiting Nurses Foundation Executive Director Jacki Jewell said her organization is partnering to help provide funding for the project’s expansion in Lewis County.
“Really what this program does is just acknowledge people’s pets are an important part of the caregiving team and keeping pets with these patients helps with their quality of life, and that’s something Visiting Nurses is really passionate about,” Jewell said.
Most recently, Jewell said Visiting Nurses helped pay for surgery to remove a tumor from a dog named Mater belonging to a patient in Assured Hospice’s care.
“A pet had a huge tumor on his eye and it was the patient’s best friend and it was starting to impede that dog’s health, so we sponsored the surgery,” Jewell said.
As for who actually provides veterinary care, Spencer told The Chronicle Assured Hospice has partnered with Dr. Brandy Fay of Newaukum Valley Veterinary Services to give pets care as they need it.
The partnership is a part of the Visiting Nurses Foundation efforts to expand services throughout the county, she added.
“We’re really trying to focus on the end-of-life journey as a whole for families and their patients and providing as much quality and comfort and relief as possible,” Jewell said.
While the program is currently up and running in the county, Spencer said more volunteers are always needed, especially to help foster pets.
“We’re looking for people to foster. That’s come up a couple of times already. If a patient doesn’t want to keep their pet, then we have to go ahead and look for a foster then,” Spencer said.
Pet walkers are still needed as well. Interested volunteers can call Assured Hospice at 360-807-7776 to learn more, or email Spencer directly at gwen.spencer@lhcgroup.com.
Although its initial fundraising drive ended this past weekend, Visiting Nurses Foundation Thrift Stores are still accepting donations of pet food, pet care products and cash.
The Centralia Visiting Nurses Thrift Store store is located at 222 S. Pearl St. and the Chehalis location is at 435 NW Chehalis Ave.
Donations can also be made online by going to https://visitingnursesfoundation.org/.
For more information on Pet Peace of Mind, visit https://www.petpeaceofmind.org/. More information about Assured Hospice can be found at https://lhcgroup.com/locations/assured-hospice-of-centralia/.
