Pets are such an important aspect of our lives. There’s nothing more tragic than a pet dying or maybe an owner leaving their pet behind. There’s a new program called Pet Peace of Mind, that helps the pets of dying owners. The program allows owners and pets to stay together until the end.
How Program Help Pets of Dying Owners
The program consists of volunteers that feed or walk pets. They can also take them to vet appointments and grooming visits. Sometimes the program will even pay for food and other essentials. The program will even help place the pet with a new family when the owner passes.
A serious illness can make it hard to do basic tasks for pet care. People might not be able to walk their dog or clean a litter box. Help can even come in unexpected ways. For example, a woman had to go into a nursing home that didn’t allow pets. So a volunteer adopted her dog and visited her every week with the dog until the woman passed.
How Pet Peace of Mind Started
The program was created by Dianne McGill. She saw a need for this type of program when someone wanted to help their dying friend. The friend was desperate to help the dying friend’s cats and ensure their care after she died. The cats were going to be put down because family didn’t want to care for them and the woman asking for help was allergic.
When McGill started calling hospices and learned that this was a common problem with no solution. So McGill created Pet Peace of Mind. In 2015, it became a freestanding charity offering pet assistance nation wide.
The Power of the Human and Animal Bond
It’s been well documented that pets have a positive affect on the health of humans. It’s been shown that pet owners have lower blood pressure, more physical activities, and lower levels of depression.
It just goes to show that pets are family.
Read more here.