When Tater Bug's owner passed away, the Willamette Valley Hospice's Pet Peace of Mind Program helped find him a new home through Salem Dogs, a senior dog rescue group.
(Courtesy of Willamette Valley Hospice)
If the recent story about the terminally ill Milwaukie woman's last request to play with puppies is any indication, animals offer a comfort that transcends any medication.
For dying people and their families, hospice care can be invaluable during the painful last days of a person's life. Some hospices, recognizing the value of pets in their patient's lives, have incorporated a program ensuring a patient's four-legged family member will be cared for as well.
"Sometimes those who are terminally ill resist going on hospice because they're afraid they will have to surrender their pets," says Dianne McGill, program manager for Pet Peace of Mind.
"The idea of being [separated] from the unconditional love of a pet when a person is at the end of their life is very difficult for a pet owner to reconcile."
Launched in May 2009 by Banfield Charitable Trust, the program's goal is to help patients keep their pets for as long as possible by providing care for the animals. Hospice programs also will help arrange new home for the pets once the patient has passed.
The goal of hospice is to ease pain, and that can be emotional as well as physical pain, says Tim Larson, supervisor for Providence's hospice volunteer program, which has operated Pet Peace of Mind for about four years.
The inability to continue to provide care for animals like walking your dog every night can be a major stressor and cause significant pain for hospice patients, he says.
"If you have somebody that can provide that [service] for them, it starts to help alleviate it a little bit," he says, "and also to know you're not alone in the care for these animals."
Currently, seven hospices in Oregon and 88 around the country operate an active Pet Peace of Mind program, and nearly 200 more are in some form of development, McGill says.
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For Mt. Hood Hospice, the first Oregon hospice to offer Pet Peace of Mind, the program offers support and structure to what the hospice was already providing.
For terminally ill patients who have lost many things most of us take for granted, the unconditional role of pets in their lives can be invaluable, says Emilie Cartoun, bereavement coordinator and volunteer program manager.
"They don't care if we don't brush our teeth that morning, if our hair's gone from chemo, or we don't have ability to put on makeup," says Cartoun, who expressed gratitude to Banfield Charitable Trust for the program.
Yet during a loved one's illness, pets can sometimes fall through the cracks.
"It's great to be able to step in and walk the dog or clean the litter box or bird cage," Cartoun says.
Those types of services were a godsend for South Salem resident Cindy Sherbourne.
Her late husband, Guy Sherbourne Jr., was diagnosed with bile duct cancer the day after Christmas - a major shock to them both.
He wasn't a candidate for surgery, so Sherbourne made another heartbreaking call to Willamette Valley Hospice, which had helped her care for her late mother before she passed away in 2007.
The days that followed before he passed away, only 36 days after his diagnosis, were a whirlwind of doctor's appointments and tying up loose ends.
Yet in spite of everything, Sherbourne's husband made sure that Emily, the couple's five-pound, long coat Chihuahua/terrier mix, got her vaccinations and went to the groomer's
"I guess he might have known these things needed to be done," Sherbourne says of her late husband, "and he knew I was so focused on him."
A hospice volunteer picked up Emily for her vaccinations, complete with a bag of dog food, and returned a few days later to get the dog groomed and renew her dog license.
"One of the most important pieces of the program is that we help with placement," says Jennifer Johnson, volunteer coordinator for Willamette Valley Hospice, which has operated the program since November 2012. "I would say that's probably one of the most impactful things."
Her organization noticed that cats seem especially difficult to rehome. Yet many pet owners may experience extreme anxiety, even prolonging their dying process to ensure their pets will be cared for when they're gone.
So Johnson's organization established the Hospice Angels program, a collaboration with Willamette Humane Society that guarantees cats will get a "priority" placement at the shelter.
"Basically we devise a program to give those cats a more upfront, secure landing here, and a safety net," says BJ Andersen, the shelter's executive director.
If the shelter deemed the cat unadoptable for physical or behavioral reasons, a staff member would call a person appointed by the client to give the opportunity to make other arrangements.
So far, all cats taken in through the Hospice Angels program have been placed in permanent homes.
Salem resident Karen Miotke is convinced the Hospice Angels program helped her longtime friend, Wilbur Runner, to die peacefully.
"I firmly believe in unfinished business," she says.
For Runner, that business involved his beloved feline companions, Pocahontas and Mouse.
Pocahontas, one of the two cats that belonged to Karen Miotke's late friend, Wilbur Runner, found a home through the Hospice Angels program with Willamette Humane Society.
After being diagnosed with throat cancer in December, Runner was concerned about who would care for his "girls."
His closest relative was a 93-year-old sister in Seattle, making her an unlikely candidate, and with two cats and a pit bull at home, Miotke was unable to take them.
Miotke found out about Pet Peace of Mind through a hospice social worker and dutifully filled out a three-page "personality profile" for each cat the weekend before Runner died.
When Runner passed on April 13 - four months to the date of his Dec. 13 diagnosis - he did so peacefully, with a smile and even a thumbs-up sign. Mouse was at his side the whole time.
"I'm just happy he went peacefully like he did, before the disease progressed," Miotke says, of her dear friend, noting that both cats have since been placed in permanent homes.
"I think he went more at peace because he knew his girls were taken care of."
Mt. Hood Hospice: mthoodhospice.com/team.html; 503-668-5545.
Providence Hospice: oregon.providence.org/our-services/p/providence-hospice; 503-215-2273.
Willamette Valley Hospice: wvh.org; 503-588-3600.
Pet Peace of Mind: banfieldcharitabletrust.org/pet-peace-of-mind
--Monique Balas; msbalaspets@gmail.com