Cat World May 2015: Our very own tender tale about peaceful Animal Hospice

Meet delightful Rosy Lee (originally from Mauritius where they are mostly allowed to love dogs as pets) and her "furry baby" Fifi, her lovely 16 year old stay-at-home Tortie kitty, in this months touching hospice case story of ours featured in Catworld Magazine's May Issue...In stores now.

Or read it here here: http://peacefulpetgoodbyes.uk/wfData/files/News/Catworld_May_2015.pdf

http://peacefulpetgoodbyes.uk/wfData/files/News/Catworld_May_2015.pdf

Not exactly "a walk in the park"...

It's Saturday afternoon, it's September and there's a bit of a chill in the air between the more distant rays of sunshine and the white clouds are moving fast across the sky. More importantly - for some unlucky pet owners - most local vet practices are now shut for the weekend and so my workday as an on-call emergency vet is about to begin - any minute.

2.15pm - the phone rings. It's the cafe proprietor in Buckingham Park in Shoreham, she reminds me who she is and how I went to help her dog at home just a few weeks prior. She explains, slightly breathless, that there's an elderly lady who is desperate for a vet to come out as her large, likewise elderly dog has suddenly collapsed in the middle of the Green, is in pain and simply cannot get back up - and there doesn't seem to be a local vet surgery open as she has phoned around all the local vet practices before she finally remembers to try me. Vets2Home luckily just "happens" to be the only visiting vets out-of-hours available for home (or park) visits in Sussex and borders!

Our special service offering urgent out-of-hours home vet visits, was something we started 10 years ago, while I was working as an emergency vet for Grove Lodge in Worthing, soon realising we were having far too many calls to the clinic for a vet to come out to suffering pets after hours. Equally frustrating for all parties however, is not being able to send one out due to the low weekend/night staffing levels and very busy times at both the regional 24HR clinics in Worthing and Brighton.
This was definitely a rather huge and recurring problem I thought seeing house calls were not something readily available to pets and owners in Sussex - or in the UK in general - so it was something I soon decided to change. With an equally frustrated Vet Nurse, Alex, having had the same experiences in her practice, we then started Vets2Home together in 2005.

Fast forward 10 years and my practice have thousands of times been called out to help pets in need - and owners in distress - who cannot come to the emergency practice - very much like Maisy - or when some owners understandably don't want to come in as it may very well be that it is the "very last vet appointment" which in their - and my opinion - is best taken care of peacefully at home.

Luckily this Saturday I have not yet had any other calls so I reassure the worried Cafe Lady that I could get there within half an hour - depending as always on traffic as my flashing blue lights are still just wishful thinking for times like this.

I get to the Park which this Saturday afternoon as always is full of families with children and dog walkers in abundance enjoying this lovely autumn day and I quickly try to gain access into the large center Green in my appropriately stickered up "Vetmobile".  Luckily the nice Park Ranger is waiting to escort me safely onto the pavement and into the middle of the Green with my hazards lights on to alert any "straying" dogs or small children.

As I approach the lady sitting with her dog there in the middle of the Green, surrounded by the bustling of activity all around, it almost looks like they are just having a little cosy rest as the lady, Mrs Burgess her name is, had been served a caring hot cup of (hopefully very strong) coffee by the compassionately concerned Cafe Lady while waiting for my arrival.

Mrs Burgess and lovely Maisy with her face showing her pain

Her lovely old dog, Maisy the 13 year old German Shepherd/Labrador mix, is lying peacefully on her side as if just lying down for a rest. But her face tells a very different story.  It is very clear - to me anyway - that her whole expression, even while being stroked gently by her owner, is very strained  and in excruciating pain. Poor, poor old girl.

As I gently take a closer look at her hind leg, it is clearly in a wrong position, swollen and when touched poor Maisy cries out in agony. It's very bad news indeed - Maisy is an elderly "lady" and Mrs Burgess tells me she has been increasingly lame over the past months but she still loves and wants to go on her usual walk in her park - albeit at a much slower rate now to earlier in her life. The medication she had been given by her normal vet a few months before had helped Maisy - and her owner - to start to enjoy her walks again so Mrs Burgess had been hoping it was just arthritis as many large breed dogs (and smaller ones and even cats) suffer from when they get older.

Sadly, it is very clear to me that her leg is fractured - and at her age with the sneaky symptoms Mrs Burgess described, it is highly likely a nasty bone cancer that has caused the leg to weaken and break so easily when Maisy was just walking normally. She wasn't even running or trying anything when it happened.

I offer Mrs Burgess the option of taking them both in my car (not something I am allowed to do but feel I must help this poor lady best possible) to the nearby emergency clinic - for x rays and confirmation if need be - but Mrs Burgess is not in doubt - her face says it all - she doesn't want Maisy to go through anything painful at her age and it is rather clear she says what the prudent decision is - for Maisy's sake.
She quietly ask me if I can stop her pain - Maisy's that is? I nod - I can luckily take all her pain away - with one quick injection in the back of her neck containing a strong sedative which will make her go to sleep very gently and gradually over just 10 minutes. Mrs Burgess agrees this sounds the best decision - right here in this spot - in Maisy's favourite park - on her favourite walk.
I give her owner a tasty treat to give to Maisy as she despite the pain, is still part Labrador, so I always carry tasty treats in my bag and so Maisy never notices the injection I sneak into her soft blonde fur in the back of her neck.

What happens next is one of the greatest wonders that makes it SO rewarding to be an animal doctor: Maisy's face softens as her grey-blonde muzzle gradually relaxes - and she almost has a subtle little smile on her face as she slowly puts her head down on the soft grass - the "doggy morphine" as I call it, is working wonders in no time and she is clearly feeling that lovely fuzzy warm feeling that just takes all her worries away - all the while she is having cuddles from her "mum" who in turn is being reassured by the lovely, supportive Cafe Lady who, having just gone through a heartbreaking goodbye herself only weeks before, is also getting misty eyed - as are we all - including the (not so) weathered looking Park Ranger and myself who is finding this whole scenario a bizarre mix of sadness and beauty all at the same time - as are a few other people watching the ordeal from a distance.

Maisy relaxing and sleeping in the park -  no more pain!

As Maisy is having a gentle snore, I shave her front leg and give her the final intravenous injection but she notices nothing at all. She is just having sweet dreams - probably dreams of running on all four painfree legs again and enjoying the relief of "ridding herself" of this old painful and well used "shell"...

Maisy passes very peacefully and Mrs Burgess is clearly collecting all her strength while I cannot begin to imagine the turmoil of emotions inside her, having left her house only a couple of hours earlier for her normal walk in the park, only to return home but without her beloved companion.

Looking at Maisy's peaceful face and posture, the helpful Park Ranger and I both seem to discreetly wipe away a stray tear and together we put Maisy in the big dog bed I always have in my car, cover her with a pink blanket and then we load her carefully into the boot of the car.
Despite the strict company policy I don't hesitate for one second - of course I am taking Mrs Burgess home - with Maisy in the boot - and later I will take her to the crematorium.
So we slowly drive off right across the green back towards her house across from the park - with a very heavy heart - all the while the small crowd disperses and the Cafe Lady and the Park Ranger go back to what they were doing earlier but surely forever marked by the turn of events this Saturday afternoon - as were we all. But surely none more than Mrs Burgess who was displaying an amazing amount of inner strength this unexpectedly sad day, where she suddenly had to decide to see and support Maisy safely through to her destined but heartbreaking end - however peaceful it may have been in the end.

As you my dear reader can vividly imagine by now I am sure, actually being able to help this poor Iady and her poor dog in this painfully urgent situation, is exactly what is truly rewarding about being a mobile, emergency vet. As many, many animal lovers like myself know very well, absolutely nothing feels better than helping animals (and people) in real need and particularly when these lovable creatures are in a tremendous amount of pain. Who didn't always want to be the one removing that thorn from the tigers paw.
So enabling animals to not have to be painfully handled and transported to a clinic first, is what makes me get out of bed in the morning (or in the night for that matter) and is definitely what made me spend almost decade of my "best" years going through vet school!

Sweet dreams lovely girl...

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015

Here's hoping 2015 will be your best year yet - full of adventures, love and happiness for all two - & four legged family members...

#GoldenOldies
#SunsetPets

BEST of 2014: Instruction note for dog-sitter: DON'T take Rolo to the vet!!

Got to be the FUNNIEST dog-sitter instructions we have ever seen in 10 years of being mobile, home visiting vets:

Note pinned on wall in the kitchen for Rolo's (a very large 48kg chocolate labrador) dog-sitter - taped on wall next to dog food... 
Ever since being neutered, Rolo did NOT like vets and was apparently one of the very few dogs that the Principal Vet at his normal vet practice (in Peacehaven) was really scared of. 

Luckily we know he is a real labrador and like his treats very much...

#GrumpyDogs, #AtHomeVets, #GeriatricPets, #MobileVets

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vets2Home-Veterinary-Service-Say-goodbye-in-the-comfort-of-home/169137883109536

Is there a right time to say goodbye to a pet?

Having been a veterinary surgeon for 15 years, the question of when is the right time to say goodbye to a pet is one of the most difficult questions to answer and perhaps the reason why it's the question I hear the most. But one thing I am certain of: a good life deserves a respectful and gentle departure at the end which paves the way for everlasting happy memories. And this is what I, as a 24/7 on-call hospice vet, want to help pet parents have...

After treating pets at home since 2005, we have become experts in this field and my practice, Vets2Home, now specialises in helping families have time for a peaceful ending with their much loved pet - in the comfort of their own home. 

Although we often hear pet owners express the secret wish that their pet will go quietly in his or her sleep this almost never happens, or usually not without some degree of suffering first - something we allow to happen to humans but which we luckily can spare our animals.

Having visited and helped thousands of pets at home, I strongly believe “the right time” is when your pet and you lose the joy in your life together, whether this is due to old age or unmanageable illnesses. The reasons can be many - from not eating, or eating excessively but with severe weight loss, poor mobility, hidden or subtle pain, vocalising, hiding, not interacting, soiling inappropriately, grumpiness or even aggression to sleeping a lot - or not at all. Some of which could be indications of severe illness or of what I call “petzheimers” which makes your elderly pet a completely different “person”.

I strongly believe the one last gesture of love we can show our pets is giving a calm, respectful end - without stress, pain or suffering, when it is most needed and not before. And that goodbye should ideally be at home, surrounded by loved ones, familiar smells and sounds, pain-free and in that favourite spot.

As a hospice vet and life-long animal lover, I want to leave pet owners with only happy memories of their special furry friend and I feel honoured to be able to give my patients a dignified, pain-free end - without any worry or pain of travel, stress or strange places - that one last time. 

I am grateful and humbled to receive so many kind words from our clients afterwards as you can view on our website www.vets2home.co.uk or please come meet us on Facebook to ask us any questions or concerns you may have about being a senior pet parent or just to hear what some of our many lovely clients said about us over the years.

What "Pets at Home" Really Should Be...

"PETS AT HOME" = Vets Helping Pets in Their Own Home - In particular senior and terminally ill pets...

At Home Geriatric Care, Animal Hospice & Pet Euthanasia Services 24/7 - Home Vet Care to Your Pet by a Compassionate Mobile Vet Service.

Introducing Susan Gregersen & Alex Gravett, Vets2Home:

Please come "meet" us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+
or on the Vets2Home Website

The story of the dog that “does not do vets”...

When treating the more than average challenging animals that people keep as their pets, meeting them in their own home environment is always a new experience and it is never boring. Actually it’s always a special treat to go to a pet’s home - for a Viking vet liking a good challenge... 

For the most successful outcomes when dealing with these “special needs” animals - and their families - it is important that treatment can take place in the safest and most comfortable surroundings possible and on their own terms, with ample amount of time to hand - a privilege not afforded in normal eight minute consults which is why I left normal vet practice behind many moons (owooooo...) ago - almost ten years ago to be exact!

One such very memorable, special and unpredictable patient I have ever had the pleasure to meet (and treat) at home in my nine years as a mobile vet in Sussex, was one bright sunny Saturday afternoon when I was called out to treat what the owner, Dona, called “a large dog that does not do vets” and who had suddenly become very lame on one of his hind legs! The owner strongly recommended I looked up information of this dog breed prior to coming out - as many devoted owners of rare breeds often do. I only wish I had this time...

So this is not at all an unusual description for a mobile vet to hear as we get many calls to treat rather unsociable and/or very large canines - or particularly delicate and sensitive felines at home (which is actually most cats I would think) or the just extra precious and rare breeds of pets. The eight year old lame dog that I was called out to treat this sunny afternoon clearly fitted all of those descriptions.
What I learned, soon after arriving at the big iron-gated house on one of the distinct hilltops of Brighton, was that this particular dog, greeting me in safe distance from the other side of the garden pool, with the unfamiliar breed name to a UK based Danish vet anyway, was the one time that I probably should have looked up this particular breed of "dog" - just this once. The registered breed name had worked as the “undercover” name trademarked to this very large dog type and what had enabled his otherwise unlawful import with his family to the UK seven years prior: Kono, as my new patient was called, had the distinct and unfamiliar breed name of "Native American Indian Dog" and. was. clearly. all... WOLF - or rather – an immensely handsome and shy version of a large wolf hybrid - half dog, half wolf!

Kono greeting me from the distant, safe side of the pool

The result of this type of breeding native to the USA is a unique, quite unusual type of dog, bearing all the expected characteristics of a wolf; shy, independent, extremely handsome and stoic - and with very strong flight reflexes. And also hypo-allergenic apparently.

For a vet, that translates into a very difficult task to help him indeed, especially at a time when he was feeling very low, extra vulnerable and unable to move his legs as he was accustomed to.

Now Kono’s lovely owners, Mr & Mrs Roche-Tarry, were merely unaware when they went to acquire a hypoallergenic dog, that this handsome dog possessed some very unique characteristics.

A Poodle - hypoallergenic and pretty

His owners had given the task to their two teenage sons to research for a hypoallergenic dog to suit their mum’s multiple allergies and the whole family were all very excited to introduce a new furry family member into their household. Well, unsurprisingly the two budding young men were somehow not impressed about having the obvious choice, a fluffy Poodle!

So living in America at the time, they kept researching and after much digging they finally found this unusually named dog, a Native American Indian Dog (NAID). The parents were very impressed with the real effort and devotion their sons had shown in helping their mum have her dreams fulfilled to be able to finally have a furry family member and so they lovingly trusted their normally very responsible sons to have found a lovely bundle of non-allergenic fluff to liven up the house...

Fast forward to 18 months or so later, I think the first time they came home to their house in America with this “fluffy bundle of joy” sitting now fully grown, on top of the low roof of the house in the very nice and quiet neighbourhood, vocalising and howling at the moon in his best Hollywood wolf style, convincingly reluctant to descend, was perhaps the time the Roche-Tarry's may have slightly regretted this decision. I think there were perhaps more than a just a few such especially memorable episodes living with his human family over his lifetime.

That Saturday afternoon I was particularly pleased to have over 7000 home visits under my belt as all the hard earned “tricks of the trade” treating animals at home could now be unleashed to good use dealing with this handsome fellow .

Now Kono was definitely more than an average challenging patient I thought looking at him from across the garden. This day his “mum”, Dona, called me because he had suddenly become very lame on one of his hind legs, having known a bit about the specific breed traits of this dog before coming out on a home visit, would possibly have been quite helpful. Well, the ability of improvisation is a key quality and also quite the survival predictor of any mobile vet which I had already learned the hard way after years of "straying" from the safety of the clinic with relatively well-behaved dogs kept on leads.

Kono was very calmly standing in all his handsomeness, in safe distance on the other side of the pool – also safe for me, I thought, when it suddenly dawned on me that this dog looked far more wolf than dog. I was sincerely hoping my faint memory didn’t fail me and that the main trait of a wolf is not severe aggression, as some people may think, but rather avoidance and shyness.

The "dog" that does not do vets...

I spent the next 45 minutes with the owner trying to get nearer my reluctant patient in order to find out how I could best help him. As we all slowly moved around the garden, it was obvious he was in pain with his leg but still able to move with great agility so while gaining his trust by moving slowly, I discussed the best approach to help him with his "mum". After the experience gained on nine years of home visits, we always tailor our treatment to the individual patient - and owner - as all have very different personalities, abilities and needs.

We then agreed it was best to simply start Kono on pain relief and anti-inflammatory treatment for ten days or so to see how this would help him as a clinical examination was simply out of the question. After one hour, Kono had realised I was not a complete foe but willing to chance it that I was merely here to do no immediate harm to him. Without looking at him, he let me sit next to him and stroking him gently without him hardly noticing I even managed to sneak in a quick injection of pain relief into him to get him feeling better very soon. The follow up treatment was handed to the owner to give him in his food every day.

Luckily Kono responded very well and was able to move even better than normal immediately and for the first week or two and the owners were very pleased. We all hoped this was merely the beginning of osteoarthritis – a very common disease in large dogs – and apparently also wolves.

But the triumph was short lived - suddenly after two weeks on treatment - Kono became even more lame than to start with and was in more pain than ever. It was decision time. Should we try to find a diagnosis with all the stress and upheaval of getting Kono X-rayed at a clinic or should he have even stronger pain relief and stay at home in peace and see where this lead to but without him being in pain? At this time, Kono was only 8 years old and as a hybrid wolf-dog breed was estimated a much longer life expectancy. 

So the owners and I thoroughly discussed our options: would it be worth putting Kono, the shy reclusive wolf-dog, through the immense stress to have X-rays at a clinic to find out once and for all what was causing his lameness and pain?

The owners told me the story from when Kono was only six months old he had coped with being transported all the way across the Atlantic when he moved to Brighton with his owners seven years prior so it may be possible to get him to the vet. In favour of taking this action was that he actually liked going in the car as that to him usually meant going to “pastures new” and long walks on the Downs. So after “buying some decision time” for a few more days on much stronger pain relief, the owners finally decided they could not bear living with the unknown and seeing Kono struggle.

I referred Kono to The New Priory Vets and the owner managed to get him there in one piece and the skilled staff somehow managed to knock him out and take X-rays. However he was so stressed when he woke up in cage confinement after his anaesthetic, that he completely savaged his cage while the nursing staff tried their very best to try and calm him from the outside.  But only when the owner came could she calmly woo him out of his cage to take him home after his frustrating “meal” of metal mesh and bars.

However high the stress levels of all parties involved, Kono finally had a definite diagnosis: the X-rays revealed very obvious osteosarcoma – a nasty bone cancer – of his femur. The owners were understandably beyond devastated - as was I - his vet: my very first wolf patient, that I had gotten to know quite well by now and made him trust me, while knowing that under all his fierce, rugged good looks, he was actually such a lovely, kind and gentle animal. Now he suddenly did not have very long to live.

A very handsome boy still...

Once again life had proven to be unfair to the gentile, as Kono was only eight years old and likely to not have long before his quality of life was just too poor even with large amounts of strong pain relief. The lurking worry was that he would suffer a devastating fracture which is the worst possible outcome of the weakened effects of cancer in the bone.
Before his pain got too unmanageable, the rest of Kono’s loving family - their now two fully grown sons - flew in from both Spain and America to be with Kono on that last evening. They celebrated his special life, and shared his wolf-dog antics, with many memories, stories - and glasses of champagne. I then arrived to gently sedate and send him off on his very last journey. Already having built trust, this time he just let me give him the quick injection as he seemed to somehow know I was only there - yet again - to help him not suffer.

That night Kono peacefully snored his way into eternity, surrounded by all his loved ones while resting in his favourite spot.

Kono in his prime - with his blonde "normal" dog friend

Kono, exhausted just a few days before his journey ended

KONO, a handsome and lovely boy, R.I.P.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN....

Meeeeeeeeeeooooouw........HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all the cuddly, furry souls, enriching our lives every day. Look after them all tonight...and especially all the black kitties!

A touching story about saying goodbye to a furry soulmate...double spread in Cat World Nov Issue 2014

We are proud to this month have a double page spread in the lovely and elegant Cat World Magazine where Tinker's owner, Tara Harley, is sharing her experience of parting with her soul mate for 18 years - Tinker the Tortie.

Mine's a pint - Tinker Harley - the lovely Tortie

Please read the full feature as it appears this month in the magazine by clicking this link:
http://www.vets2home.co.uk/wfData/files/News/nov_2014_cat_world.pdf

We are grateful that Tara, who is now an animal healer herself, was being so open and kind to let us share her tough journey. 

It is in the hope this will help other pet parents to know that animal home hospice care is a real and gentle alternative that has now arrived in the UK through Vets2Home, in order to offer support and a peaceful goodbye to pets and their families/owners at the most difficult time when the end is approaching...

Or try this link: http://lnkd.in/bqV3vHF

Cat World Magazine November 2014

A London call out at 2am - a BUSy night...

Thursday night 2 am: 

Driving around London last night as also covering as an emergency mobile vet, helping out the busy, central emergency and out-of-hours providers in the area when they cannot attend away from their clinic to an urgently unwell patient that can be best helped at home: 

Well in this case I was helping a very sad, poorly but really lovely 10 year old Black Labrador called "Fella" (very sadly diagnosed with a heart tumour only 4 weeks ago) so he would not suffer unnecessarily as he had a bad sudden turn in the evening. Luckily his whole family was there with him and they were obviously extremely upset as this was still somewhat unexpected and as he still in many ways up till very recently had seemed a young lively dog with a shiny black coat. 

Although Fella still mustered a sad, little wagging tail when he politely but slowly came up to me and greeted me, he instantly rested his big square, heavy head looking up at me with those big brown sad eyes on my knee as to say: pleeease help me ....so heartbreaking that even this hardened (not really) emergency and end-of-life vet was struggling to hold back a tear. 

So I did help him - the poor fella - ever so peacefully... and it was really truly the only way we could help him, knowing only too well what was just about to happen to him had the family waited much longer to make a decision! 

Well as if that was not rewarding enough to be able to help Fella not suffer - in peace at home - then as an added bonus for this Danish "tourist" vet, on the way back from my relatively long travels, I got to see an unexpected "attraction": A packed, almost blocked road (and garage) with London Busses all over the place - queuing up at the Drive Thru BUS WASH.... Quite a spectacle! 

For some unknown reason it just lifted my travelling spirits up after leaving this very sad family... And together it just served as a reminder why 

I so do love what I do - for so many, many reasons!