National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, November 2011

By proclaiming November 2011 as National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization encourages every American to increase our understanding and awareness of care at the end of life and to observe this month with appropriate activities and programs.

Most of us have heard about hospice care.  We know that hospices care for people at the end of life. Many of us know a family or friend who was helped by hospice when faced with the serious illness and death of a loved one.  But there is so much more to know.

For example, did you know that hospice provides what the majority of Americans say they want at the end of life ~ excellent pain management, comfort, and support for the patient and family caregivers?

Here are ten more things you should know about hospice:

Caregiving and Hospice, October 23 - October 29, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Denise Brown on generating a national data base for caregiving, http://j.mp/w4Bj1D via @caregiving

• Why Choose A Hospice Care Program? http://bit.ly/txe9ih via @SanDiegoHospice and @SolariHospice

• Jesse Hinton's Testimonial for Hospice and Palliative Care Center, http://ow.ly/7cnEg via @HospiceCareCntr

• Support of the Fur Family in Caregiving, http://lnkd.in/bsyySu via @RealmQuests

• Promise and pitfalls of palliative care, http://lat.ms/mUeprR

Understanding and Managing Grief, October 23 - October 29, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Lovely! We only think we have forever http://scr.bi/rNKToT by @likes2writealot

• Losing a Child: Connecting Now and Forever, http://j.mp/synhUo

• How Not To Respond To News Of A Divorce, http://j.mp/tpn2mE by @huffingtonpost  via @StoryForHealing 

• To Tell or Not to Tell…That You’re Dying, http://bit.ly/sjw0bi by @friendgrief

• Finding a sacred space for grief allows connection, http://bit.ly/v12sli

Coping with Pet Loss, October 23 - October 29, 2011

Best selection from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Veterinary students learn to comfort bereaved clients, bit.ly/tPcV3B by @WSUvetmed

• Mourning the loss of Bella the Dog, dear companion to elephant Tarra, http://j.mp/s2sq4n 

• Wonderful! "Dogs in Heaven," http://bit.ly/ujKK8m by @douggosling

Voices of Experience: The Pie Dish

It is the miracle of memory that transforms a houseful of stuff into a heritage of love and connection. ~ Emily Barnes, in Timeless Treasures: The Charm and Romance of Treasured Memories

Of her beloved grandmother who died earlier this year, the author of this lovely piece* writes, "My Grandma raised me, so she was more like my mom. She was my best friend ~ my biggest supporter ~ the only person I have ever felt would love me no matter what."

It is amazing how small things can take you back to the one you love. The way the sun streams in the window, a smell, a sound . . . little things.

Caregiving and Hospice, October 16 - October 22, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Keeping a Wheelchair-bound Loved One Comfortable http://ow.ly/75yP4 MT @CaregiverTweets

• Benefits of palliative care for seriously ill, http://ow.ly/72zwH via @ContinuumHCH @GetPalliative

• Personal stories about people's experience with hospice, http://ow.ly/73Xnq MT @HouHospice

• Jane Gross on the Failings of Medicare - Excellent review, http://ow.ly/74Olk by @geri_doc on @geripalblog 

• Caregiving Dilemma: The Undeserving Parent, nyti.ms/mQrtuO by @nytimeshealth via @emilybarryPR

Understanding and Managing Grief, October 16 - October 22, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Book, Alone - For All Those Who Grieve by W. F. (Bill) Cento - Beautiful, touching, uplifting  via @amazon

• Book to help young children understand death and grief: Tess's Tree, via @forthoodhousing

• Is Depression a chronic disease? http://j.mp/q3cFBH

• When friends aren't notified of a death, http://bit.ly/ooMyqw by @friendgrief

• Practical, helpful suggestions for Healing After Trauma: Open to Hope interview with Ed Tick, http://j.mp/p5Z8aI

Coping with Pet Loss, October 16 - October 22, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Online Studies Program Offers Expert Help in Dealing with Pet Loss, http://ow.ly/732Nq via @VillageMemorial

• Veterinarians: Fluent in Dealing with Death - Vetstreet, http://j.mp/qexSna

• Finding Support for Pet Loss, http://j.mp/olji4Y

• In Caregiving and Grief: Beware of Military and Sports Metaphors, http://fb.me/CYzZx008 by @BeezerAndBoomer

Finding Support for Pet Loss

[Reviewed and updated October 29, 2025]

If you are mourning the loss of a cherished pet, you may have some of the same questions and share some of the same concerns I often hear from other bereaved animal lovers:

How do I know when it is time to actually get some counseling for grief from loss of a pet?  Sometimes we wish that others would just be there for us without our having to ask. Unfortunately, when it comes to loss of a beloved animal companion, that’s not likely to happen. It’s not so much that others are cold and uncaring. If they’re not animal lovers and they’ve never had pets, or if they’ve never allowed themselves to become attached to animals as companions, there simply is no way for them to fully understand the attachment we had to the one who died, the significance of our loss and the depth of our pain.  They may unintentionally minimize our loss or, not wanting to see us hurt, discourage us from expressing our grief.  Sometimes the insensitivity of others can be even more painful for us than grief from the actual loss.

Caregiving and Hospice, October 9 - October 15, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Nutrition As We Age, ow.ly/6WzVA by @CaringPeopleInc

• Heartwarming! Pets as Caregivers, http://ow.ly/6Xisn via @susanavello

• Beautifully stated observations on end of life care, http://bit.ly/nIkcvK via @StoryForHealing

• The Double Effect of Aid in Dying, http://huff.to/nmxIAU via @EOLnavigator via @huffingtonpost

• Clearest overview of Medicare hospice payment, http://1.usa.gov/r10sty via @ContinuumHCH and @donaldhtaylorjr

Understanding and Managing Grief, October 9 - October 15, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Why a Parent's Death is a special kind of loss http://tinyurl.com/3zdxmjc via @HorizonHCH 

• Psychic Medium John Edward spends an hour with Anderson Cooper on Monday, October 17, http://j.mp/qiJ0zY

• Light Up A Life: Hospice of the Valley's annual remembrance event, November 11, 20/11, http://j.mp/nyGnJy

• Birthdays after the gift of grief, http://bit.ly/aeds6z by @DoyleDiana

• Helping a Grieving Parent, http://j.mp/oGdFP5

Coping with Pet Loss, October 9 - October 15, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Saying Goodbye to Linus http://j.mp/oVDViF by @mypixieblog via @GDRPempress

• CLEO: The Cat Who Mended a Family (Book Review), http://goo.gl/fb/X7LLT via @htmlinputwidth1

• Survey: Seeing a favorite pet is the "most common dying wish," http://ow.ly/6Sl8O via @VillageMemorial 

• In Home Pet Euthanasia Becoming More Popular, ow.ly/6Sm7o via @VillageMemorial

Helping a Grieving Parent

A reader writes - My mom died six months ago after a long battle with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Knowing that she had a terminal illness and that she was in the end stages of this disease, our family agreed to take her off life supports. I thought I had this all figured out, her dying. I thought I was prepared for that day. Boy what a shock to myself. This has been the worst thing that I have been through. I miss my mom so much that I feel physically ill. I don't think you ever really get over it, just need to figure out how to live with it. Now I am very worried about my dad. He has shut down. He drinks too much. He sits on the couch watching TV. He says he has no ambition to do anything. He misses her badly and is very lonely. My adult children do not visit him because they don't know how to handle him. So I call everyday and visit, have him over two or three times a week for supper. I don't know how to help him start living again.

Understanding and Managing Grief, October 2 - October 8, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Free download: Mystie's Magical Message for grieving children, http://ow.ly/6Py6r by @BarbaraASimone

• Ain't No Sunshine: Men Reveal the Pain of Heartbreak, http://bit.ly/oeligm via @KindleCoyote

• Outstanding! How hospice helps with grief, in @upheremag http://bit.ly/oUrs9g via @OutCareTweets @virtualhospice

• Writing and Creative Expression in overcoming grief, http://ow.ly/6PzcH by @storyforhealing

• Grief and Children with Special Needs, bellaonline.com/articles/art56… by @DownSynAdvocacy

Caregiving and Hospice, October 2 - October 8, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Online Prescription Scams and Dangers http://bit.ly/oSQ9Uy RT @SilverPlanet

• Retired Seniors Might Be Answer to America's Aging Problem http://huff.to/nCbw4y via @CaringPeopleInc

• Today is Hospice and Palliative Care Day. Please share this video: http://bit.ly/hYxfEn from @ctffox via @aahpm

• 5 Life Lessons Learned from Grandparents | Maria Shriver, http://j.mp/oQ5Qdk

• Respite Care: A Break for the Caregiver (via AARP), http://ow.ly/6EtLR via @connectdforlife

Coping with Pet Loss, October 2 - October 8, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• How to ease the pain of losing a beloved pet, http://ow.ly/6PZi0 via @VillageMemorial

• Beautiful! Lessons learned from loving a dog, http://j.mp/qL9OGd

• Great information about Pet Hospice and the IAAHPC, http://ow.ly/6PrYr by Laurel Lagoni @VetWisdom

• End-of-Life Care for Animals, http://j.mp/oIgz4E

• Spirits In Transition weekend seminar on end-of-life care for animals, Dec 2-4, 2011, http://j.mp/reaMwJ

• Grief for dog inspired author Jon Katz to write Going Home: Finding Peace after Pet Loss, bit.ly/rfoiNx MT @JenMarsh2

• Grieving The Loss Of Your Special Pet? Attending a pet loss support group can help, http://j.mp/qCvEq2

End-of-Life Care for Animals

Find the latest version of this post here: 

End-of-Life Care for Companion Animals

Coping with the terminal illness of a cherished animal companion presents the same challenges to an animal lover as would anticipating of the death any other family member. Today hospice and palliative care for human beings provides a much needed service to the dying and to those who care for them, but finding such support for a beloved animal close to the end of life can be more difficult.

Reflecting a growing trend toward allowing companion animals a natural death at home, the concept of providing hospice and palliative care for our four-legged friends is similar to that offered for people. The focus is the same: on providing safety and comfort care in loving, familiar surroundings, rather than on aggressive treatment and cure in a hospital setting. Animal hospice is based on a belief that, with proper preparation and guidance for everyone involved, symptoms can be managed, pain can be controlled, and death can be experienced with dignity and compassion. In this way, pet hospice can be an effective alternative to euthanasia.  Read on here > > >

Understanding and Managing Grief, September 25 - October 1, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Lovely! What my Dad's dressing gown taught me about grief, http://bit.ly/mPOYbT by @Belinda_Pollard

• Great read! Making Sense of Surviving Your Friends, http://j.mp/oLlEjd by @friendgrief

• Three Ways To Help Children Turn Bad Grief Into Good Grief, http://ow.ly/6vvUL by @BarbaraASimone

• Helping Children Deal with Grief, http://ow.ly/6C8ug by @BarbaraASimone

• Coping Strategies for Bereaved College Students, http://j.mp/ofUIpD by @JeffsPlace

Caregiving and Hospice, September 25 - October 1, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Moving! Caregiving doesn't make you immune to needing care, http://bit.ly/ojM3Su by @StoryForHealing

• "Seemingly Innocent Boundary Violations and How to Avoid Them," http://fb.me/1b9UQJ9cM via @NHPCO_news

• Continuing series: Choosing music for selfcare or caregiving, http://bit.ly/nVUTUe by @RachelleNorman

• Beautiful post! 1 in 8 people: Could it Be You? http://wp.me/p1ROGI-I by @thezenblog

• Heartwarming story shows what hospice can do, http://bit.ly/ohZh1s via @leighanne41 @NHPCO_news

Coping with Pet Loss, September 25 - October 1, 2011

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Did My Cat Go to Heaven? | Open to Hope Foundation http://j.mp/qABDW4

• Works for pet loss too! On Grief and Grieving: Losing Friend Support, http://dlvr.it/nc80Q via @houstonfunerals

• Helping your child cope with pet loss: Sac Paws Pet Connection, http://j.mp/oiWCDo

• 3 new children's books on pet loss, http://tinyurl.com/3vccggd by @Books_Heal_Kids via @ecmmason

• Jon Katz's new book explores life after pets die, http://reut.rs/n05eLU via @_lizzy_ @reuters