Part 2: What Are the 3 Stages of Pet Hospice Care?

In the last piece, I explained the first two stages of Pet Hospice using my own experience with my sick cat, Mikey. In the first stage, the Initial Diagnosis was made, followed by an acceptance that Mikey’s quality of life would likely need to be managed going forward. In the second stage, the focus shifted to tactically evaluating and managing Mikey’s quality of life. This is where Pet Hospice really shows it’s value as you benefit from an unattached pair of eyes who can help you develop a palliative care strategy. In this piece, I’ll focus solely on the third stage of Pet Hospice care: Coming to terms with the decision to euthanize.Stage 3: Coming to Terms With the Decision to Euthanize a PetThis is by far the most difficult of the three stages. Caring for a sick pet is extremely emotionally taxing and the decision to euthanize isn’t something to be taken lightly. When you’re in that situation, it’s helpful to speak with someone who can help walk you through a plan. Many pet parents experience a sense of relief when finally letting go of a suffering pet whose quality of life is really diminishing.Though we thankfully,haven’t yet reached this stage with Mikey, we did recently experience a scare. In fact, I feared we were getting to the point of euthanasia last week. Mikey was really antsy, having a hard time eating. He’s also been urinating around the house and is blocked off to certain areas as a result. Even though I deal with this sort of thing daily in my professional life, I sought guidance from other people because I didn’t want to make this decision under stress. I've been through euthanasia before I really wanted to make sure I was ready, and I felt like I wasn't. I made some changes to his medical plan and decided to push forward. That's where we're at now. I just wasn't quite ready to let go of him.Letting go of a pet will never be an easy decision, and you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it. Pet Hospice allows you to make this decision alongside an expert who can reassure you when you're doubting or second guessing your decision. They can provide peace of mind and relief in knowing that you did everything you could to enhance and prolong your pet’s life. As for Mikey, every day I get to spend with him is a blessing. I don’t look forward to the day we have to come to terms with Stage 3, but if and when I do I’ll know that I did everything I could possibly do to determine that it’s time.