Animal Reiki: A Vital Part of BrightHaven’s Animal Hospice Care – Part 1 of 2

BrightHaven’s approach to animal hospice care the BrightHaven way is all about living well through the last breath, regardless of circumstances. And that’s what Reiki is all about too! What is Animal Reiki? It’s essentially meditating with animals to share a peaceful, kindhearted space where connecting heart-to-heart promotes optimal balance of body, mind and spirit…

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A Beautiful Tribute to Rico, One Amazing Cat

We are honored to share the loving tribute to Rico written by longtime BrightHaven friend and supporter, Dr. Kathryn Marocchino of The Nikki Hospice Foundation for Pets. Along with BrightHaven’s Gail Pope and Dr. Ella Bittel of Spirits in Transition, Kathryn co-created the Quality of Dying Checklist, which assesses quality of life as the hospice journey progresses…

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What Really Matters Most Each & Every Day

Jonah-blog

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…

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Loss of Beloved Animal or Human, Grief is Grief is Grief

As BrightHaven’s Gail Pope wrote in “The Art of Dying—What Animals Teach Us” article that recently appeared in the Natural Transitions online magazine: “The death of a beloved animal companion is one of the most difficult things we as animal lovers ever face. In my experience, sometimes this loss is more difficult than that of…

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A Practical Way You Can Help Bring Comfort to Dying Animals

melissa-and_dexter-blog

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…

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My 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,…

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Celebrating 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…

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What 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…

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What 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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