Animal Holistic Care
A Terminal Diagnosis for Your Beloved Pet & What You Can Expect
One of the most difficult situations a pet parent can face: Your cherished animal received a terminal diagnosis. What can you expect? What do you do now? How can you best support your loved one? What is the best way forward for our family? These are just a few of the many challenging questions that…
Read More2 Ways Helpful BrightHaven Caregiver Resources Are Better Than Ever!
BrightHaven’s goal is to help you help your animals live well each and every day! Founded in 1990 by Gail and Richard Pope, BrightHaven is a renowned animal rescue, hospice education and holistic education nonprofit organization. Our primary focus: senior, disabled and chronically ill animals, a vulnerable population that has an overwhelming need to find…
Read MoreHow Do I Navigate a Terminal Diagnosis for My Loved One?
As all of us animal lovers know, being told by the vet that our beloved’s illness is terminal is one of the most difficult things to hear. What do I do now? How can I best support my animal friend? What is the best way forward for our family? These are just a few of…
Read MoreOn the Subject of Animal Hospice & Natural Death
In March 2017, Adam Clark, LCSW, AASW, interviewed BrightHaven President and Founder Gail Pope for a Psychology Today article about animal hospice and natural death. This information remains very relevant to those who are seeking an alternative to euthanasia for their beloved animal family member. As you can see from our animal hospice guiding statement,…
Read MoreWhat Really Matters Most Each & Every Day
I often feel uncomfortable when I hear that an animal or person has been given a specific number of days, weeks or years to live when they receive a terminal diagnosis. When it comes right down to it, who actually knows? None of us has an expiry date stamped in ink across our forehead! Of…
Read MoreWhen Should I Consider a Holistic Vet for My Animal?
Please note: None of the information contained in this post is intended to replace consultation with a qualified veterinarian. Since holistic approaches form the foundation of BrightHaven’s Menu for Healing, in most cases a classical veterinary homeopath is our “go-to” vet when an animal shows symptoms. All classical veterinary homeopaths are also DVMs, or Doctors…
Read MoreA Practical Way You Can Help Bring Comfort to Dying Animals
Melissa recently contacted Gail for a consultation regarding her treasured cat Dexter. About a year and a half ago, he was diagnosed with a cancerous nasal tumor near his right eye. The journey that Dexter and Melissa shared was challenging, and they found Gail’s ongoing animal hospice support extremely helpful. To honor Dexter and to…
Read MoreHow to Help Your Animal Live Well Through the Last Breath!
At BrightHaven, we often say that it’s all about living well through the last breath! But what exactly does that mean? Living Well Though the Last Breath the BrightHaven Way BrightHaven is unique because of the way we work and the results we get. Our Menu for Healing forms the foundation of our work. It…
Read MoreMy Animal is Dying – Can You Help Me Please?
BrightHaven is unique because of the way we work and the results we get. Our Menu for Healing, which is the foundation of our work, focuses on the best quality of life at all stages, all the way to the most peaceful and loving dying process. The goal is to achieve optimal balance of body,…
Read MoreCelebrating the Life of a BrightHaven Lion
Gail Pope’s heartfelt farewell (see below) to Tarka clearly shows BrightHaven’s key tenets, which also apply to animal hospice care: Animals are sentient beings, capable of conscious awareness, feeling and suffering. They deserve an environment and conditions that allow them to achieve a state of well being throughout their entire lives. Animals are always true…
Read MoreWhat Forms the Foundation of the Best Animal Hospice Care?
The answer to this riddle: human hospice care! Guidelines for Human Hospice Care The guidelines for hospice care for humans have been very carefully created over many years and form the foundation for animal hospice upon which we must all build: Hospice is a special philosophy of care designed to provide comfort, support and dignity…
Read MoreWhat a Beautiful Cat Taught Us About Natural Death
Once again, one of our animals helped to shift our thinking and led us to the natural path of death, which became part of BrightHaven’s Menu for Healing. BrightHaven’s Gail Pope shares Mariah’s story: “In BrightHaven’s early years there was no such thing as natural death for us, as we believed euthanasia was always the…
Read MoreWhat Do You Know About Classical Veterinary Homeopathy?
Classical veterinary homeopathy is a key ingredient of BrightHaven’s Menu for Healing, which is the cornerstone of BrightHaven’s unique approach to living well through the last breath! Meaning of Holistic vs. Homeopathy Before talking more about this fascinating subject, it’s important to understand that homeopathy is a holistic modality. Oftentimes people get confused between the…
Read MoreWhat is the One Book Every Animal Lover Should Own?
Soar, My Butterfly: The Animal Dying Experience provides knowledge, comfort and helpful tips to those who are accompanying a beloved animal companion on the journey to transition. It’s all about living well through the last breath! Purchase a copy for you and for all of the animal lovers in your life. This book is truly…
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