Since animal hospice care is still a growing field in the US and not every veterinarian is equipped to deal with hospice care situations, I wanted to mention a few organizations that you can turn to if you are considering hospice care for one of your beloved pets.  I mentioned the AHELP Project when I told you about the revised recipe for Sora’s Goo.  That organization (of which I became a Board member while I was writing my book) is a great one if you are local to the greater Seattle area.  But what if you are not?

There is an international organization called the International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC) which has many great resources available to “Pet Parents” on their website, including a listing of all of their member veterinarians located all over the world.  If you are looking for a resource close to your area, I’d suggest you start there.  If there is not a veterinarian in your local area, I’d call the nearest veterinarian and ask for a recommendation where you reside.

Another option for information is the Nikki Hospice Foundation for Pets.  They offer training seminars and events, pet loss support and lots of information on veterinary hospice care.  I’d also recommend the site of Dr. Ella Bittel, the founder of Spirits in Transition, where you can not only learn about many valuable animal hospice resources, but also register for the Spirits in Transition workshop, which is where I learned many tips and strategies that I was able to directly apply to the care of my sweet boy, Jasper, a yellow Labrador Retriever/Hound mix who had mast cell tumor cancer.

Of course, there are many more resources, but each of the non-profits mentioned above has vetted the resources that appear on their respective sites.  I’d start there.  If you have specific questions, please feel free to submit a comment on this post and I’d be happy to answer your question and point you in the direction of a good resource.

Also, as a side note:  I will be doing a webinar this Sunday, June 9 at 8pm EST/7pm CDT/6pm MDT/5pm PDT/12 midnight GMT, on the topic of “Demystifying the Process of Natural Death.”  If you are interested in learning more about the process of natural death, this is a great opportunity for you.  More information can be found on my events page here.  The webinar is free for IAAHPC members.

In my next post, I’ll tell the first of many stories of the courageous dogs and their people who each battled cancer in their own unique ways.

In one of the stories in my book, I talk about a boxer named Sora and her owner, Michelle.  (Michelle also happens to be the founder and director of The AHELP Project, a local organization dedicated to providing educational resources and support to the community on the topic of animal hospice.)  Sora was diagnosed with insulinoma, a tumor in her pancreas.  Her blood sugars were unstable and as a result, she started to experience seizures.  Michelle devised Sora’s Goo as a way to keep Sora’s blood sugar levels stable.

Michelle was initially told to use honey — or worse, corn syrup — to increase Sora’s blood sugar levels when having a low sugar episode.  But Michelle found that Sora didn’t know when to stop eating the honey, and kept wanting more and more, which wound up being too much sugar.  Since Sora also liked peanut butter, Michelle added some to the mix (now, she’s switched to using almond butter).  When Sora started to decline and lost her appetite for her normal diet, Michelle decided to add in coconut oil and hemp seed protein, to make the goo more nutritious.  The coconut oil is more nutritious than fish oils and the hemp seed protein has both medicinal properties and naturally occurring fiber.

Since Sora has passed, Michelle uses the goo to give her other dogs their supplements.  She’s revised the recipe to be less sticky and more moldable.  The mixture does not require refrigeration.  Here is the recipe:

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup almond butter

1 cup coconut oil (e.g., Nutiva brand)

3 cups hemp seed protein with fiber (e.g., Nutiva brand)

Some additional tips for use:

• if you are using this to stabilize a dog’s blood sugar, then omit the honey
• if your dog is chronically or terminally ill and/or immunosuppressed, use organic ingredients
• if your dog is prone to diarrhea, use hemp seed protein without fiber

In my next post, I’d like to talk about animal hospice resources that are available around the country.

The Tellington TTouch, developed by Linda Tellington-Jones, can be used to relieve physical pain as well as to enhance comfort and a sense of well-being. TTouch is a gentle and non-invasive method of body work, tools and techniques, and movement that has been found useful to prolong and improve the quality of life of animals and can be used on canines in all stages of cancer. Many veterinarians have recommended that people apply TTouch to their animals. It has been shown to reduce pain, improve function and it gives the animal’s human companion a gentle way of relating that is calming and helpful to both the animals and their person.

TTouch helps bring an animal into mental, emotional, and physical balance. The TTouch bodywork is calming and healing for both the giver and the receiver, strengthening the bond between animals and people. The bodywork is done with the intention of healing every cell in the body.

According to Lori Stevens, a Certified Tellington TTouch® practitioner, “when a person is truly present and doing this non-habitual, non-invasive, and gentle bodywork, TTouch gets the attention of the animal’s nervous system and positive changes often occur. We also use gentle wrapping techniques, using ace bandages, and gentle movement, which often reduce pain and change movement patterns and posture for the better. It’s common to see positive changes in behavior and function both during and after a TTouch session.” Lori also says “I’m always amazed at how much potential our animals have to heal. I’ve seen cases where animals couldn’t walk or sleep and after one or two TTouch sessions they improved to the point of walking well and sleeping comfortably. I’ve also seen positive changes in the way people care for their animals such that the cancer was no longer an impediment to touch. It’s as if a barrier was lifted and people could finally re-engage with their animals in a meaningful and loving way through TTouch.”

If you do plan to incorporate TTouch into your dog’s pain management plan, I suggest that you find a certified practitioner in your area.  If not, Lori also has two DVDs where you can learn more about her techniques, as follows:

• TELLINGTON TTOUCH FOR DOGS DVD – A WORKSHOP FOR IMPROVING HEALTH, BEHAVIOR AND PERFORMANCE
• TELLINGTON TTOUCH ® TECHNIQUES: WALKING IN BALANCE WITH YOUR DOG DVD

In my next post, I will provide an updated recipe for Sora’s Goo, and talk about when you might want to use it.

An important element of hospice care is to be prepared. One way that you can do this is by creating a first aid toolkit that you can use at home when the need arises — basically, when it is 2 am on a weekday and your dog is vomiting, anxious, nauseous or in pain. I believe it is important to have such supplies on hand and easily accessible, particularly at times when your regular veterinarian is not available.

The first step in creating the right hospice toolkit for your situation is to discuss the following questions with your veterinarian:

1. What kind of symptoms and side effects can I expect from this type of cancer?

2. How will the progression of the disease manifest itself?

3. What kind of symptoms and side effects can I expect during hospice care?

4. How will I recognize that my dog is nauseous?

5. How do I recognize that my dog is in pain?

6. How can I differentiate between my dog being nervous or anxious versus being in pain? Unfortunately, many dogs hide their pain and so it can be difficult to assess.

7. What can I give to my dog to alleviate symptoms/side effects, such as pain, nausea, or anxiety?

Some examples of items to include in your toolkit are the following:

• For pain:  NSAIDS, Tramadol, Acetaminophen, Neurontin, Tellington Touch, Castor Oil Wrap
• For nausea and vomiting:  Cerenia, Nux vomica, Ginger, Acupressure
• For diarrhea:  Fast-Balance GI
• For anxiety:  Bach Flower Essences – Rescue Remedy

As with human hospice care, an important element of canine hospice care is assembling your team.  Most of us likely have a primary veteriniarian, who might practice Western, Eastern, naturopathic or other specialty.  It is also really helpful to consult with a secondary veterinarian who has a complementary specialty.  So, if your primary veteriniarian is Western, you might want to think about also finding a veterinarian who specializes in homeopathy or Chinese medicine, for instance.

In the case of canine cancer, working with a canine oncologist is also important, so that you can learn about the latest and best treatment options for the kind of cancer you are facing.  Most veterinarians are not as well versed in the latest cancer treatments as an oncologist will be.

Other great additions to your canine hospice team include, but are not limited to:

• massage therapist
• nutrition expert
• canine water therapist

The main reason behind assembling such a team is because most of us are not experts.  And when you are faced with a cancer diagnosis for your beloved pet, it’s really hard to know what the right thing to do is.  When you have a team to support you along the way, you no longer have to do guesswork — you can ask your team for advice and then make an educated decision.  Your hospice team is not there to make decisions for you, but to help guide you as you make your decisions.

In my next post, I will talk about creating a “hospice toolkit.”

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Jean Meyer on Thursday, March 28, on her Pet Talk program.  Pet Talk is aired live from 9:00 to 10:00 AM Central time on the second and fourth Thursday of each month on the Withers Broadcasting station AM1310 KOKX.  The station is heard in southeast Iowa, northeast Missouri, and west central Illinois.

Jean and I covered a full agenda, ranging from what prompted me to write the book to how important it is to assemble your “team” once you have a diagnosis of cancer.  You want to make sure that you explore both Western and Eastern modalities, and consider nutrition, massage therapy, and specialists, as needed.  Especially when you are in a hospice care situation, having a team helps ensure that every aspect of your dog’s care is complementary.  The last thing you want is to have a situation where different elements of care compete or interfere with each other.

We then covered diagnosis and treatment briefly, followed by a discussion of the similarities between canine and human hospice care.

I will share the recording as soon as it is available.

March was a busy month.  I want to give a quick recap of the presentation I gave on Saturday, March 23 at Seattle Veterinary Specialists in Kirkland, WA.  (And a special thanks to SVS for their support of The AHELP Project and for allowing us to use their CE room.)

It was difficult to relay everything that a pet owner should know about cancer in a single one-hour presentation.  The key areas I focused on were:

• The Cancer Diagnosis
• Treatment Options
• Hospice Care
• High Quality of Life
• Key Tips
• Natural Dying Process

I also shared some stories from both my own experiences and those of the many people that I interviewed for the book.  I was so happy that several people that I interviewed came to the presentation and/or wine tasting, and brought their sweet pups as well!  I’ll be sharing some photos from the event soon:  Blake, Jack and Nelson were indeed the stars of the afternoon!

For those interested in seeing my presentation, you can download a copy of it:  Presentation — When Your Dog Has Cancer.

If you missed my interview with Julie Forbes on Wednesday, March 13 from 2-3 pm, you have another chance to listen this Sunday, March 17 from 1-2 pm.  The show will be rebroadcast and you can hear it on 1150 AM.  It is also available as a free iTunes “Pawdcast.”  Listen and let me know what you think.

Julie and I had a great conversation, and focused mainly on my inspiration for writing this book — Porter and Jasper — as well as how you go about getting to a cancer diagnosis.  I stressed the importance of knowing your dog from head to toe, and having a good baseline of health for your pup.  I massage and pet my dogs daily, going over every inch of their bodies to check for anything new or abnormal.  I also observe their eating, drinking and elimination habits.  When anything seems awry, I call our veterinarian and determine if I need to bring them in for an appointment or not.

I also talked about the importance of listening to your instincts, and told a few stories where lab results returned false negatives and lumps were misdiagnosed as cysts and not tumors.  If your gut instinct tells you it is something serious, get another lab test done but at another facility or get a second opinion from another veterinarian.  Remember that while medicine is a science, there is also an art to it.  Every practitioner has varied experience and expertise, and it’s okay to question diagnoses or procedures.  You are the guardian of your dog, after all.  Their welfare is in your hands.  So trust yourself and do the best that you can with the information you have at hand.  When you have new or additional information, you might make a different decision.  But you’ll cross that bridge when you get to it.  Take it one day at a time.

My interview with Julie Forbes will be Wednesday, March 13 from 2-3 pm Pacific Time on 1150 AM radio.  This is my first radio interview and I am looking foward to it!  It should be a really great conversation.  I know that Julie has her own experiences to share with cancer and her dogs.  I will bring tissues!

For me, it can be challenging to not get emotional when talking about my experiences.  Our dogs are part of our families and it is so hard to see them face something like cancer.  I’d love to hear your stories, so please take a moment to leave your comments.  Our stories are all different, even if the type of cancer is the same.  We all learn from the experiences of others when it comes to cancer.  You never know where you are going to learn a great tip that will help you down the road.

Today is the 5th anniversary of the day that my beloved Porter died in my arms from hemangiosarcoma.  It both seems like a long time ago and like only yesterday.  I remember too vividly the phone call from his veterinarian telling me that he had cancer, followed by the whirlwind of visits to specialists and xrays and tests and ultrasounds.  When all was said and done, there was not much that could be done, other than to ensure that he lived out his days without pain and suffering, and with as much pleasure as he could enjoy.

It was a few months after Porter passed away that it dawned on me that I should write a book to capture all of my learnings and experiences, so that other pet owners would not have to reinvent the wheel and repeat all of the research I had already done.  So I started writing and researching, and many, many tears were shed.  The writing was difficult, and sometimes, I would have to take a break for a few months.  Then I would pick up my manuscript and work vigorously, until again, invariably, the reality of my loss would creep back in and another break would ensue.

In the process of my research, I learned that there was a name for the type of care that I had provided to Porter — hospice care.  Much like the human hospice model, the intent of animal hospice is, put very simply, to care for the patient, ensure their pain is under control and provide a high quality of life.  I began to explore and learn about more hospice techniques, and took the Spirits in Transition seminar to learn more.

And now, almost 5 years later, my book is available and I am grateful to the wonderful people at Dogwise Publishing for their belief that the world needed a book like this to teach us how to care for our wonderful dogs when they are diagnosed with cancer.

I’ll share more about my journey in future posts.  For now, I treasure the fact that today, on Porter’s anniversary, we were given a beautiful day here in Washington, without rain and with strong sunshine and blue skies.  For the 5th year in a row, my dogs, my son and I took our annual stroll to a local dog park, where we spread the ashes of our beloved dogs, Porter and Jasper.  I know they would have loved being out there with us on such a glorious (almost) spring day, and in my heart, I know they were.  We miss you, Porter and Jasper.