Palliative Care

The Gwen Fund, at its core, has a mission to increase the quality of life for our pets. Sometimes we assist in rescue efforts to place pets in safe and loving homes, we may provide funding for basic veterinary care when the family is in a pinch, or The Gwen Fund may need to step in to assist with funding for more complex care situations like palliative care.

Palliative care, or hospice care, is a philosophy of care in which the decision has been made to decline or withdraw the pursuit of curative therapy.  This type of care is delivered when your pet suffers from a life-limiting disease where there is no cure.  The goal of this type of care is to make your pet as comfortable as possible, and for you and your pet to enjoy this end stage of life. 

As the President of the Gwen Fund, I find this type of care extraordinarily valuable. In fact, it is what led us to start this organization. When you have no other options to cure your pet, we owe it to them to have a comfortable and dignified end of life experience. Finances around that experience shouldn’t be the only determining factor. The Gwen Fund is here to step in to work with beneficiaries and their veterinarians.

Its important to have open and honest conversations with your veterinarian. They can teach you how to care for your pet at home and help you to make the difficult decisions related to after death.

To learn more about palliative care check out this post from VCA.