Hospice & Palliative Care for Pets
Supportive care focused on comfort, guidance, and quality of life
Hospice and palliative care provide support for pets with serious or life-limiting illness when the focus shifts from cure to comfort. These services are designed to help manage symptoms, support quality of life, and guide families through a changing and often uncertain time.
Care is provided in the familiarity of home and tailored to each pet’s individual needs by a veterinarian certified in hospice and palliative care.
What Is Hospice & Palliative Care?
Hospice and palliative care focus on comfort, symptom management, and support for pets with advanced illness, chronic disease, or age-related decline. The goal is to maintain the best possible quality of life while providing guidance and support for families along the way.
This type of care may include pain management, mobility support, appetite and comfort strategies, and ongoing assessment as needs change.
When Hospice Care May Be Appropriate
Hospice or palliative care may be appropriate if your pet is experiencing:
- A terminal diagnosis
- Progressive or chronic illness affecting comfort
- Declining mobility, appetite, or energy
- Symptoms that are difficult to manage without support
- A need for ongoing guidance as conditions change
Hospice care does not require an immediate end-of-life decision and can be adjusted as things change.
How Hospice Care Is Structured
Hospice care is structured to provide ongoing support for both pets and their families as needs change over time. Care focuses not only on comfort and symptom management, but also on helping families navigate decisions with clarity and guidance.
After an in-home assessment, a written care plan is provided outlining observations, comfort recommendations, treatment options, and suggested next steps. This plan serves as a reference as symptoms or needs change.
Ongoing support may include follow-up communication by phone, text, or email to answer questions, discuss changes, and make thoughtful adjustments to the care plan as needed. When additional in-home visits are recommended, these are scheduled separately based on your pet’s condition and level of support required.
Hospice care is not one-size-fits-all. The level of care is determined together based on medical assessment and your pet’s needs and may change over time as conditions evolve.
Levels of Hospice Support
Hospice and palliative care are tailored to each pet’s condition and may vary in intensity over time. Support is adjusted based on medical needs, symptom burden, and how quickly changes are occurring, rather than offered as fixed packages.
Supportive Hospice Care
For pets whose condition is relatively stable but who benefit from comfort-focused guidance and monitoring.
This level of support may include:
- In-home assessment and physical exam
- Review of medications and comfort strategies
- Written care planning with guidance on what to monitor
- Follow-up communication as needed
More Intensive Hospice Support
For pets with progressive illness or increasing symptom burden who require closer monitoring and more frequent adjustments.
This level of support may include:
- Follow-up visits as indicated
- Active symptom management and medication adjustments
- Support for mobility, appetite, and daily comfort
- Close communication and decision support as needs change
The level of hospice support is guided by medical assessment and your pet’s needs and may change as your pet’s needs change over time.
Pricing & Care Planning
Hospice and palliative care pricing reflects the level of support and intensity of care required. Because each pet’s needs are different, care plans are individualized rather than offered as fixed packages.
After an initial assessment, the level of support is discussed and pricing is reviewed based on your pet’s condition, symptom burden, and anticipated follow-up needs. As circumstances change, care plans — and associated costs — may be adjusted and will be discussed openly and transparently.
This approach allows care to remain flexible and responsive, while avoiding unnecessary or premature decisions.
General pricing information is available on the Services page, with specific recommendations discussed after an initial assessment.
Relationship to Quality of Life Consultations
Hospice care often follows a quality of life consultation, particularly when ongoing support is recommended. In other cases, hospice care may be initiated independently when a pet’s condition and needs are already well understood.
Hospice support begins only after an in-home assessment and discussion to ensure that this level of care is appropriate. If hospice support is not indicated following the exam and conversation, the visit functions as a quality of life consultation, with guidance provided based on your pet’s comfort, needs, and current situation.
The goal is continuity of care — offering thoughtful guidance and support that adapts to your pet’s needs at each stage.
Scheduling & Next Steps
If you’re unsure whether hospice care is appropriate or what level of support may be needed, guidance is available prior to scheduling.