Pet Hospice: Death Of Pet Like 'Losing A Friend or Family Member'

PEORIA, ILL —Dr. Marie Roe, a Peoria veterinarian, understands how the terminal illness of a family pet impacts the animal and its owners. Roe seeks to help both through Lap of Love, the local office of a national network of veterinarians providing in-home end-of-life care for pets.

According to Roe, Lap of Love provides family-centered in-home hospice and euthanasia care for pets. The company is dedicated to maintaining comfort and quality of life for terminally ill or geriatric pets until natural death occurs or the family chooses peaceful in-home euthanasia. The service also helps to ease the emotional toll a pet's illness can take on its owners.

"In many ways, the loss of a pet can be as traumatic as losing a friend or family member to a terminal illness," Roe said. "Pet owners face helplessness and anxiety, with one question always at the forefront of their minds: 'how can I help my pet be more comfortable?' At Lap of Love, we provide the answer."

By providing its services in the home, Lap of Love helps eliminate the stress on pets, and owners, of going back and forth to a veterinarian's office, according to Roe.

"Educating the owner about their pet's medical condition is the most important aspect of hospice care, and we spend a great amount of time doing this," Roe said.

Hospice care for pets is an emerging trend in veterinary medicine. There are approximately 54 million senior pets in the U.S., according to Lap of Love, and cancer accounts for nearly 50 percent of pet deaths.

"The whole point of what I do is about the comfort of the animal," Roe said. "This is not a depressing line of work, it is actually an honor to help families, and to see the love they have for their pets makes this job worth it."

Roe added: "Our veterinarians treat pets and their owners with dignity, respect and love as they go through this difficult time."

More information about Lap of Love in Peoria is available online. To learn about other Lap of Love locations visit https://www.lapoflove.com/.