{"id":3916,"date":"2020-02-07T00:19:26","date_gmt":"2020-02-07T00:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.net\/blog\/?p=3916"},"modified":"2020-02-07T00:21:15","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T00:21:15","slug":"this-south-bay-veterinarian-is-leading-the-pack-to-provide-hospice-care-for-cats-and-dogs-who-are-terminally-ill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.org\/blog\/2020\/02\/this-south-bay-veterinarian-is-leading-the-pack-to-provide-hospice-care-for-cats-and-dogs-who-are-terminally-ill\/","title":{"rendered":"This South Bay veterinarian is leading the pack to provide hospice care for cats and dogs who are terminally ill"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From The Beach Reporter \u00a0By Melissa Heckscher\u00a0\u00a0<\/a> Feb 5, 2020<\/h5>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
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\"TDB-L-HOSPICEPETS-0205-02BM.JPG\"<\/div>\n
Ari Dane holds his 17.5 year-old Chihuahua mix, Roxy, while Dr. Alice Villalobos listens to her heart in Torrance on Tuesday, February 4, 2020. Roxy has been treated for a tumor and end-of-life hospice care by Dr. Villalobos at Harbor Animal Hospital for the past two years. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"TDB-L-HOSPICEPETS<\/div>\n
Shirley Russell consults with Dr. Alice Villalobos about end-of-life care for her dog Cricket.(Photo by Melissa Heckscher)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Shirley Russell knew a lot about her dog, Cricket. She knew that the shaggy-haired Pumi loved to catch a ball before it bounced, that she loved being a therapy dog, and that she\u2019d give her human friends a gentle tap on the arm if she wanted more petting.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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So when\u00a0emergency vets recommended hospitalizing the 12-year-old dog to give her, maybe, a few extra weeks in her six-year battle against cancer, Russell knew what needed to be done:<\/p>\n

\u201cI just looked at them and said, \u2018I\u2019m taking her home,\u201d she said. \u201cWe sat in the chair until about midnight, then I put her in the bed and laid there holding her until 4:30 in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cricket died the next day with the help of in-home euthanasia.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was tired,\u201d Russell said. \u201cShe had gone through a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she wasn\u2019t alone. For the past six years, Cricket has had the help of veterinary oncologist Alice Villalobos, a Torrance-based veterinarian who specializes in palliative and end-of-life hospice care for dogs and cats.<\/p>\n

For Cricket, palliative care meant treating the cancer\u2014the dog underwent four surgeries and four chemotherapy sessions for her recurrent tumors\u2014and getting a slew of supplements and medications to keep the champion agility dog active and comfortable.<\/p>\n

Hospice care meant preparing Russell for the days when nature would take its inevitable course\u2014and guiding her about how to recognize her dog was \u201cready to cross the rainbow bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn human medicine, physicians don\u2019t generally refer to hospice until patients are about three days before death,\u201d said Villalobos, who in January received the Shomer Ethics Award from the Society of Veterinary Medical Ethics for her contributions to both cancer and palliative care for pets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we use the word \u2018hospice,\u2019 we want to make sure people know that we are going to support the pet and provide comfort care whenever they get the diagnosis of a life-limiting disease,\u201d said the Hermosa Beach resident.<\/p>\n

While palliative care is a growing niche in the world of pet care, it isn\u2019t all that different for dogs and cats than it is for humans. The goal is to make patients comfortable so they can live out their days in peace, even in spite of incurable conditions. The only difference for pets is the added option of euthanasia when suffering becomes intolerable.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany times people say, \u2018Let nature take its course,\u2019\u201d said Villalobos, who has been called the”Mother of Veterinary Hospice\u201d by the SVME. \u00a0\u201cAnd then I\u2019m contacted to help with that end-of-life decision. People want to know, \u2018When is the right time to put my pet down?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

To aid in this decision-making, Villalobos developed a Quality of Life Scale to help people determine if their pet has \u201cacceptable life quality to continue with pet hospice.\u201d Her guidelines have been shared and used by veterinarians and pet-owners worldwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the old days some doctors would just recommend euthanasia right away,\u201d Villalobos said. \u201cPeople would take a limping dog into the vet and they would come home without a dog. [Doctors] would choose to do euthanasia upon diagnosis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veterinarians, she said, would often give patients two options when presented with a seriously sick pet: Euthanize the pet or opt for surgery, the latter of which is expensive and may not necessarily extend the animal\u2019s life significantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to give people a third option\u2014and that is hospice,\u201d Villalobos said. \u201cHospice embraces the whole beginning right up to the end. It allows people time to grieve and gives me time to counsel the family members.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Ari Dane of Playa del Rey, Villalobos helped his 17-year-old chihuahua, Roxy, stay comfortable despite a trio of grim diagnoses including a chest tumor, heart problems and kidney disease.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Roxy) keeps bouncing back and she\u2019s still here,\u201d said Dane, who sees Villalobos about every six weeks. \u201cShe will perk up around mealtime, but most of the time she sleeps. It\u2019s fading time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Villalobos\u2019 direction, Dane adds more than 15 different medicines and supplements to Roxy\u2019s food every day, all of which are meant to treat the tiny dog’s myriad health issues. It\u2019s a tedious, expensive process, but one that Dane wouldn\u2019t give up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sad thing to watch her decline, but that\u2019s the price of admission,\u201d he said. \u201cRoxy has been a part of the family for 17 and a half years. I wouldn\u2019t want her to be treated any differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pets As family<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a society where people consider pets part of the family\u2014and where half of all dogs that reach the age of 10 will be diagnosed with cancer, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association\u2014it only makes sense that palliative care would become a part of the deal.<\/p>\n

As of 2020, there were more than 800 members in the International Association for Animal Hospice & Palliative Care (IAAHPC), an organization dedicated to developing guidelines for comfort-oriented care to pets as they approach the end of life. The organization was founded in 2009.<\/p>\n

\u201cVeterinarians have been offering some measure of comfort care for animals as long as they have been caring for them, but the shift has come with families embracing pets as members of the family,\u201d said IAAHPC President Tyler Carmack, a Virginia-based veterinarian. \u201cThey now wish their pets to have the same level of compassionate care at end of life as our human family members.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carmack said many providers and pet-owners shy away from discussing hospice and palliative care until their pets are already very sick. She hopes this will change as people become more aware of their options.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we open the communication about caring for pets as they enter their end-of-life stage, we allow more and more families to make the best possible decision for their pet and their family,\u201d Carmack said.<\/p>\n

Costs of care<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, caring for sick and dying pets isn\u2019t cheap.<\/p>\n

According to the Veterinary Cancer Society, cancer care costs for dogs ranges between $150 and $600 per dose of chemotherapy and between $1,000 and $6,000 for radiation. Pet insurance can help pay some of these costs, but many companies have a cap on annual or per-illness expenses.<\/p>\n

On top of that, in-home euthanasia, the option most palliative care specialists prefer, costs about $250.<\/p>\n

For many pet-owners, it\u2019s a price that must be paid.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get them as a pup and you know that you\u2019re probably going to outlive them,\u201d Russell said. \u201cIt\u2019s part of the package.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about Dr. Alice Villalobos and to get information on palliative care for pets, visit\u00a0www.pawspice.com<\/a>. Villalobos operates out of Harbor Animal Hospital. She plans to move her services to Redwood Animal Hospital in Redondo Beach in the coming months.<\/p>\n

Contact Lisa Jacobs lisa.jacobs@TBRnews.com<\/a> or follow her on Twitter @lisaannjacobs.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From The Beach Reporter \u00a0By Melissa Heckscher\u00a0\u00a0 Feb 5, 2020 Ari Dane holds his 17.5 year-old Chihuahua mix, Roxy, while Dr. Alice Villalobos listens to her heart in Torrance on Tuesday, February 4, 2020. 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