On occasion, here at Les Amis, we are asked to take on end of life care for poorly cats and dogs, for example those with cancer. As you can imagine, these little ones can be difficult to place. Les Amis cover the costs of all treatment but, the main issue is that these aren’t going to be with us for very long, so it takes very special people to take in a pet with a, possibly, short lifespan. It is likely that it might be one of the unspoken “worry” areas for people who shun taking on an oldie for fear that their own courage may not hold up, or they may not know when the time has come for that final journey.
One of our Life Time Fosters (LTF’s) gives his own view on what palliative care can mean: “Among our pack of dogs and cats, we have had two dogs, and one cat, who suffered from cancer. They are our personal experience of what it is like to have animals with a shortened lifespan. The dogs, Libby, and Poppy, both developed bone cancer, and we were told, by the vet, that they could live for years, or the disease could spread, and they could come to the end much quicker. Our cat, Sam, had a tumour on his head, which needed constant care. However, dogs, and cats, have no idea about death, so they just carried on their lives as normal, and we just monitored their health, regularly taking them for check-ups when we were worried about anything. Libby, our Labrador X, lived for about a year after her diagnosis, because the cancer did spread. Poppy, our Pointer X, left us a few months later, which was pretty devastating for us. Sam passed away just a few months ago, after living a good, active, life for about 2 years from his diagnosis. How did living with this affect us? Naturally, we were upset when we found out they were so ill, but we found that the animals themselves gave us the strength to carry on. Right up to the end, in their minds, all three of them were no different than before their illness. Because we knew our animals so well, and because we could seek the advice of our vets, we just knew when they had come to the end of the road. For example, Sam jumped on the sofa one night, and just curled up next to my wife, and it was obvious that he was tired, and no longer his usual, happy, hungry, self. However, their passing has not deterred us from saving their places on our sofa for more life-time fosters, in fact it made us more determined to ensure these animals, whether they are with us for a short time, or live beyond their expected lifespan, are not left in shelters – it is amazing how some of these old ones can come to you looking very sad, and unhealthy, only to thrive for years in a loving home.”
Life Time Fosters with palliative care just need a little bit of extra care, patience, and someone who is happy to give medications. We treat these dogs and cats exactly the same as all our LTFs, and ensure that the family that take them on are well informed with all the pet’s needs. More often than not, all they require is a home where they can spend their last days in comfort, and to know that they are loved. Don’t they all deserve this? Let’s help make their last days, their very best days. As one of our current Life Time Fosterers has said: ‘There is nothing more rewarding than seeing an old dog, or cat, curled up on the sofa, fed, warm, content, and loved, knowing that, but for you giving them your heart, they would end their days in a shelter’ If this is something that you want to be a part of, or would like more details, please get in touch, on email address – enquiries@lesamisdesanimaux.com.
